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

Geithner famously scoffed at the cries for “Old Testament” justice after the calamity of 2008.

From ProPublica

In the Old Testament, the heart is not an island of emotion, but the seat of understanding and will.

From The Daily Beast

In the Old Testament, a man can divorce his wife for any reason at all.

From The Daily Beast

Over the course of the Old Testament God firms up the regulations about consuming shellfish and pork.

From The Daily Beast

The title—The Great Deformation—and tale of the decline you describe has an Old Testament-prophet quality to it.

From The Daily Beast

After the Civil War, the Old Testament never regained its prominence in American myth.

From The Daily Beast

The latter are countenanced by no class of vows lawfully made, either in Old Testament times or in a later period.

From Project Gutenberg

Subjects from the Old Testament are more numerous in proportion to the whole than would have been anticipated.

From Project Gutenberg

It is seemingly ignored in the Old Testament, and hence many have been led to suppose that the Jews did not believe in it.

From Project Gutenberg

We can say that the prophecies of the Old Testament adjusted to the New, would be very absurd and puerile things.

From Project Gutenberg

The whole history of the Old Testament displays nothing but the vain efforts of God to vanquish the obstinacy of his people.

From Project Gutenberg