Biblical

or bib·li·cal

[ bib-li-kuhl ]

adjective

1. of or in the Bible:

   a Biblical name.

2. in accord with the Bible.
3. evocative of or suggesting the Bible or Biblical times, especially in size or extent:

   disaster on a Biblical scale; a Biblical landscape.

biblical

/ ˈbɪblɪkəl /

adjective

1. of, occurring in, or referring to the Bible
2. resembling the Bible in written style

Derived Forms

• ˈbiblically, adverb

Other Words From

• Bibli·cal·ly bibli·cal·ly adverb
• anti-Bibli·cal adjective
• anti-Bibli·cal·ly adverb
• non-Bibli·cal adjective
• non-Bibli·cal·ly adverb
• post-Bibli·cal adjective
• pro-Bibli·cal adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Biblical¹

1780–90; < Medieval Latin biblic ( us ) ( bibl ( ia ) Bible + -icus -ic ) + -al ¹

Example Sentences

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich celebrated Trump’s win and ordered preparations for the annexation of the West Bank, declaring on X that 2025 would be “the year of sovereignty in Judea and Samaria” — the biblical name Israel uses for the occupied territory.

From Los Angeles Times

He likens Trump to Samson, a flawed biblical figure who was used by God for a greater purpose.

From Los Angeles Times

Some cast the election in an apocalyptic light and likened Trump to a Biblical figure.

From BBC

Many of them believe that Jews should populate the whole of the area of biblical Israel, including what is now the occupied West Bank and Gaza, in order to precipitate events leading to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

From BBC

The IDF may have gone the Puritans one better in Gaza, but there's no minimizing Harvard's founders' delight in their genocidal assaults on Indigenous peoples, which they modeled explicitly on biblical Israelites' attacks, as I detailed in the Salon essay referenced above.

From Salon

Related Words

• doctrinal
• ecclesiastical
• scriptural
• theological