[Marguerite]

definition of bible Bible

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A book.

The Book by way of eminence, -- that is, the book which is made up of the writings accepted by Christians as of divine origin and authority, whether such writings be in the original language, or translated; the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments; -- sometimes in a restricted sense, the Old Testament; as, King James's Bible; Douay Bible; Luther's Bible. Also, the book which is made up of writings similarly accepted by the Jews; as, a rabbinical Bible.

http://www.brainydictionary.com/words/bi/bible136536.html

[RobbyS]

A book that is the defining document of western civilization. The book of books in the West, which used to be called Christendom. Incidentally, as Barbara Tuchman pointed out, was warf and woof to the English settlers of New England, so much so that they adopted the ancient Hebrews as their ancestors rather than the ancient Angles and Saxons. Adair's History of the American Indians even sought to find the origin of the Indian languages in Hebrew. We know that many were convinced that they were remnants of the "Lost Tribes of Israel. " This is but one indication of how much the Bible was in the minds of the early Americans.