Old Testament

English

Etymology

From Middle English Olde Testament, 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

the Old Testament

1. (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 Old means “ancient”, “having great(er) age” here, not “superseded” or “obsolete”.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this term is considered offensive by some Jews, based on the misconception that Old suggests that the Tanach has been superseded by Christian scriptures.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

• Old Testamental

Translations

first half of the Christian Bible

• Afrikaans: Ou Testament (af)
• Albanian: Besëlidhja e Vjetër (sq)
• Arabic: اَلْعَهْد اَلْقَدِيم m (al-ʕahd al-qadīm)
• Armenian: Հին կտակարան (Hin ktakaran)
• Asturian: Vieyu Testamentu (ast) m, Antiguu Testamentu (ast) m
• Bengali: পুরাতন নিয়ম (puraton niẏom), পুরানো ইচ্ছাপত্র (puranō icchapotro), ধর্ম্মপুস্তকের আদিভাগ (dhormmopustoker adibhag) (archaic)
• Belarusian: Стары Запавет m (Stary Zapavjet)
• Bikol Central: Lumang Tipan
• Burmese: ဓမ္မဟောင်းကျမ်း (dhamma.haung:kyam:)
• Catalan: Antic Testament m
• Cebuano: Daang Tugon, Daang Saad
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 舊約聖經 / 旧约圣经 (gau⁶ joek³ sing³ ging¹), 舊約全書 / 旧约全书 (gau⁶ joek³ cyun⁴ syu¹), 舊約 / 旧约 (gau⁶ joek³)

  Mandarin: 舊約聖經 / 旧约圣经 (Jiùyuē Shèngjīng), 舊約全書 / 旧约全书 (zh) (Jiùyuē Quánshū), 舊約 / 旧约 (zh) (Jiùyuē)

• Cornish: Testament Koth m
• Czech: Starý zákon (cs) m
• Dutch: Oude Testament (nl) n
• Esperanto: Malnova Testamento
• Finnish: Vanha testamentti (fi)
• French: Ancien Testament (fr) m
• Galician: Antigo Testamento (gl) m
• Georgian: ძველი აღთქმა (ʒveli aɣtkma)
• German: Altes Testament (de) n
• Greek: Παλαιά Διαθήκη (el) f (Palaiá Diathíki)

  Ancient Greek: Παλαιὰ Διαθήκη f (Palaià Diathḗkē)

• Hausa: Attaura
• Hindi: पुराना नियम m (purānā niyam)
• Hungarian: Ószövetség (hu), Ótestamentum (hu)
• Icelandic: Gamla testamentið n
• Ido: Anciena Testamento
• Ilocano: Daan a Tulag
• Indonesian: Perjanjian Lama (id)
• Irish: An Sean-Tiomna m

  Old Irish: fetarlicc f

• Italian: Antico Testamento m
• Japanese: 旧約聖書 (ja) (きゅうやくせいしょ, Kyūyaku Seisho)
• Kankanaey: Daan Ay Tolag
• Kapampangan: Matuang Tipan
• Korean: 구약 성서(舊約聖書) (Guyak Seongseo)
• Latin: Vetus Testāmentum n
• Latvian: Vecā Derība f
• Macedonian: Стар за́вет m (Star závet)
• Malay: Perjanjian Lama (ms)
• Maltese: It-Testment il-Qadim
• Maori: Kawenata Tawhito
• Mari:

  Eastern Mari: Тошто Сугынь (Tošto Sugyń)

• Old English: eald ġecȳþnes f
• Persian: عهد عتیق ('ahd-e 'atiq)
• Polish: Stary Testament (pl) m
• Portuguese: Antigo Testamento (pt) m, Velho Testamento (pt) m
• Romanian: Vechiul Testament (ro) n (The Old Testament)
• Russian: Ве́тхий Заве́т (ru) m (Vétxij Zavét)
• Scottish Gaelic: an Seann Tiomnadh m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: Ста̑ри за́вет m, Ста̑ри за́вјет m

  Roman: Stȃri závet m, Stȃri závjet m

• Shan: ၵျၢမ်းၵဝ်ႇ (kjáam kào)
• Slovene: Stara Zaveza f
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: Stary Testament m

• Spanish: Antiguo Testamento m, veterotestamentario m (attributive)
• Swahili: Agano la Kale (sw)
• Swedish: Gamla Testamentet (sv) n
• Tagalog: Lumang Tipan
• Telugu: పాత నిబంధన (pāta nibandhana)
• Turkish: Eski Ahit (tr)
• Ukrainian: Старий Завіт m (Staryj Zavit), Старий Заповіт m (Staryj Zapovit)
• Urdu: عَہَد نامَہ قَدِیم m (ʻahad nāma qadīm)
• Vietnamese: Cựu Ước (vi)
• Volapük: Diatek Vönik
• Welsh: Hen Destament (cy) m

Adjective

Old Testament (comparative more Old Testament, superlative most Old Testament)

1. (often humorous) Reminiscent of the content of the Old Testament, or of the behavior of God in it; especially dramatic, violent or vengeful.
   • 2007 December 18, Gail Caldwell, A Strong West Wind: A Memoir, Random House, →ISBN:

     Given the Old Testament weather that defines the country, it's little wonder that religious faith became the cornerstone of the land and the people who stayed. I've seen hailstorms and tornadoes roll in over those fields with no more warning than God allowed Job

   • 2019 October 21, Jana DeLeon, Swamp Santa, Jana DeLeon, →ISBN:

     "Walter is a peaceful man, but I have a feeling that when it comes to you, he could get Old Testament."

   • (Can we date this quote?), Alexa Padgett, Many Sounds of Silence: A Bad Boy Rockstar Romance, Sidecar Press, Inc.:

     "So we hate this girl who has information about the slime ball who took pictures of you. The enemy of our enemy. Totally Old Testament. Got it."

See also

• Hebrew Scriptures
• Tanakh
• Final Testament