Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The first of the two main divisions of the Christian Bible, corresponding to the Hebrew Scriptures.
  • noun The covenant of God with Israel as distinguished in Christianity from the dispensation of Jesus constituting the New Testament.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun The first major part of the Christian Bible, covering events before the coming of Christ, corresponding roughly to the Jewish Tanakh. Usually subdivided into the categories of law, history, poetry (or wisdom books) and prophecy.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the collection of books comprising the sacred scripture of the Hebrews and recording their history as the chosen people; the first half of the Christian Bible

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

A retronym, by comparison with the New Testament.

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Examples

  • But if we are going to be honest and go back even further than this, it is clear that the Old Testament as some call it is even more liberal and inclusive even than any of these.

    Robert Eisenman: Abrahamic Conversion Robert Eisenman 2011

  • But if we are going to be honest and go back even further than this, it is clear that the Old Testament as some call it is even more liberal and inclusive even than any of these.

    Robert Eisenman: Abrahamic Conversion Robert Eisenman 2011

  • This is an Old Testament concept, one that Jesus attempted to dispel.

    God is Not a Christian, Nor a Jew, Muslim, Hindu … Carlton Pearson 2010

  • This is an Old Testament concept, one that Jesus attempted to dispel.

    God is Not a Christian, Nor a Jew, Muslim, Hindu … Carlton Pearson 2010

  • In contrast to the free Sarah, Hagar, the slave woman, represents the Old Testament (as opposed to the New Testament), the principle of law (as opposed to that of mercy and grace), and literal meaning (as opposed to spiritual).

    Biblical Women in World and Hebrew Literature. 2009

  • I'm sure the airwaves and the cable channels will soon be wall-to-wall with conservatives and Republicans and other assorted 133h-century thinkers whining and moaning and ringing their hands - probably gnashing their teeth and rending their garments, too, according to the Old Testament model.

    Mary Lyon: Reason Returns to the White House 2009

  • In my survey of Old Testament, I try for a both/and.

    The Whole Bible? James F. McGrath 2009

  • "I can see why women would raise questions, but it seems to me ludicrous for the school to reach a punitive decision because so much of our work is studying old texts," says Walter Brueggemann, professor of Old Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Ga.

    Sexual or Textual Harassment? 2008

  • But there is another thing that the prophet tells us of the Old Testament; the spirit of wisdom and understanding is at work in us.

    China - Sermon at the Mu En Church 2006

  • The spectacled young man led them into a gloomy little waiting-room, suggestive of a railway station and hung with Old Testament prints.

    Unnatural Death Sayers, Dorothy L.Lord Peter 03 1988

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