Old Testament
English
Etymology
From Middle English [Term?], calqued from Latin Vetus Testāmentum. Old refers to ancientness, not to obsolescence. Equivalent to a retronym, by comparison with the New Testament.
Pronunciation
Audio (Mid-Atlantic US): (file)
Proper noun
- (religion, chiefly Christianity) 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.
- Coordinate term: New Testament
- The Old Testament says that eating shellfish is a sin.
Usage notes
- Old Testament is the most common English term used by Christians to refer to the first major part of the Christian Bible. Old means “ancient”, “having great(er) age” here, not “superseded” or “obsolete”.
- In Biblical scholarship the term Hebrew Bible is preferred nowadays.
- The use of this term is considered offensive by some Jews, based on the misconception that Old suggests that the Tanach has been superseded by Christian scriptures.
- The corresponding adjective is vetero-testamentary.
Derived terms
Translations
first half of the Christian Bible
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See also
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Latin
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English proper nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English multiword terms
- en:Religion
- en:Christianity
- English terms with usage examples
- English retronyms
- en:Bible