From Middle English bible, from Medieval Latin biblia (“book”) (misinterpreted as a feminine from earlier Latin neuter plural biblia (“books”)), from Ancient Greek βιβλία (biblía, “books”), plural of βιβλίον (biblíon, “small book”), originally a diminutive of βίβλος (bíblos, “book”), from βύβλος (búblos, “papyrus”) (from the ancient Phoenician city of Byblos which exported this writing material).
Old English used biblioþēce (from βιβλιοθήκη) and ġewritu (whence English writs) for "the Scriptures".
Meanings
A specific version, edition, translation, or copy of one of the above-mentioned texts.
An American imprisoned for nearly six months in North Korea has admitted that he deliberately left a Bible in a nightclub, in one of his first major interviews since his release.[…]“I felt once I left the Bible somewhere that God would take it the rest of the way into the hands of some kind of Christian organisation, and I’d be able to waltz out of country fat, dumb and happy, no problem... But God had other plans.” 2014 November 1, Tony Bonnici, “US tourist held in North Korea felt ‘compelled to leave Bible’”, in The Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 27 Aug 2023:
He had just become able to read, with much effort, short sentences in his Bible, and was constantly engaged during his leisure hours in studying its pages. 1842, A. D. Eddy, Black Jacob, page 38:
From Middle English bible, from Medieval Latin biblia (“book”) (misinterpreted as a feminine from earlier Latin neuter plural biblia (“books”)), from Ancient Greek βιβλία (biblía, “books”), plural of βιβλίον (biblíon, “small book”), originally a diminutive of βίβλος (bíblos, “book”), from βύβλος (búblos, “papyrus”) (from the ancient Phoenician city of Byblos which exported this writing material).
Old English used biblioþēce (from βιβλιοθήκη) and ġewritu (whence English writs) for "the Scriptures".
Meanings
Either of two major versions of the main religious text in the Judeo-Christian group of traditions. ▸ The main religious text in Christianity.
Many non-Christians regard portions of the Bible as “inspiring,” but they do not believe the Bible was “inspired by God” […] 2009, Across the Spectrum: Understanding Issues in Evangelical Theology, page 16:
He spoke of the great demand for books. Had sold as many as fifty Bibles in one day. Has sold Bibles to nearly all the officials in the Nan-ch'ang prefecture and has several orders in hand for books of good binding. 1898 October, “Missionary Conference held at Kuling, Central China, August 22nd to 25th, 1898”, in Chinese Recorder and Missionary Journal, volume 39, number 10, page 496:
In my religion class we learn about the Bible, as well as religious texts of other religions.
Second, the romance option brings up a unique issue: having sex with an alien. It’s somewhat difficult to say what the Christian should think on this issue because, well, the Bible doesn’t talk about aliens. Probably because they don’t exist (sorry to burst your bubble). Would this be considered bestiality? Or is it not bestiality since they are also beings capable of rational and ethical thought and self-reflection unlike usual animals? 2019 October 31, Garrick Beckett, “Beckett: How BioWare Approaches Religion & Sexuality”, in The Lutheran Column, archived from the original on 17 Sep 2020, Blog:
Meronyms: Old Testament, New Testament
“They wave their Bibles at passersby, screaming their condemnations,” writes Kurt Eichenwald of evangelical Christians. 2015 January 6, Rachel Held Evans, “What Newsweek gets wrong about evangelicals”, in CNN:
Either of two major versions of the main religious text in the Judeo-Christian group of traditions. ▸ The Jewish holy book that was largely incorporated into the Christian Bible.
Near-synonym: Old Testament (loosely synonymous)
She's Jewish, but she doesn't read the Bible because she's not religious.
The analogous holy book of another religion or belief system.
The cult's ideological substance was the popular digest dubbed by foreigners the Little Red Book or the Bible of Maoism. 1977, Roxane Witke, Comrade Chiang Chʻing, Little, Brown and Company, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 360:
He conveys to his foreign students the importance of the Qur'an by explaining that it is the Bible of Islam.
(broadly) The principal important document of some area of skill or expertise.
This technical handbook is the Bible of our trade.