Old Testament

[ohld tes-tuh-muhnt]

noun

Chiefly Christianity.

1. 1. the first of the two main divisions of the Christian Bible, including the Mosaic Law, the history of the people of Israel, the wisdom writings, and the major and minor prophets: in the Vulgate translation all but two books of the Apocrypha are included in the Old Testament.

   2. this part of the Bible thought of as the complete Scripture of the Jews.

2. the covenant between God and Israel on Mount Sinai, seen as the basis of the Jewish religion.

Old Testament

noun

1. the collection of books comprising the sacred Scriptures of the Hebrews and essentially recording the history of the Hebrew people as the chosen people of God; the first part of the Christian Bible

Old Testament

1. The first part of the Bible (see also Bible), so called by Christians (see also Christian), who believe that its laws and prophecies are fulfilled in the person of Jesus, whose mission is described in the New Testament.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Old Testament¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English; translation of Late Latin Vetus Testamentum, translation of Greek Palaià Diathḗkē; paleo- ( def. ), dia- ( def. ), tick ³ ( def. )

Example Sentences

But the balancing act ended when she read from the Old Testament—Jewish Scripture—on a day of national celebration, and the 13-year-old daughter of a baroness loyal to the Nazis informed on her.

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It appears in the Old Testament and the Talmud, is honored as Matariki in New Zealand, and is depicted in the logo of Subaru in Japan.

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Damon Landor is a Rastafarian who followed a vow, based in the Old Testament book of Numbers, not to cut his hair.

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Old Testament passages speak of the afterlife as a place in which movement in metaphysical position is possible.

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Christianity deepened and broadened this Old Testament legacy.

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