biblical sense

Meanings

1. 1phrasefixed phrasereligion

   A meaning of a word or phrase that comes from, or is explained by, the language and ideas of the Bible.

   Grammar: Used after 'in' or 'in a': 'the word in a biblical sense'.

   Patterns

   • in a biblical sense
   • in the biblical sense
   • used in a biblical sense

   When the poem says the lovers 'knew' each other, it is using the word in a biblical sense.

   The teacher explained that the phrase has a biblical sense that most modern readers miss.

   In a biblical sense, the word 'flesh' means far more than just the body.

2. 2phrasefixed phraseeuphemistichumorous

   A way of referring to sexual relations, based on an old biblical use of the verb 'to know'.

   Grammar: Almost always in the pattern 'know someone in the biblical sense'.

   Patterns

   • know someone in the biblical sense

   He joked that he had known her in the biblical sense, though they were only old friends.

   The novel avoids saying directly that they slept together, hinting instead that he knew her in the biblical sense.

3. 3phrasefixed phrase

   Not literal; understood as a metaphor or image drawn from the Bible rather than as a factual statement.

   Grammar: Often contrasted with a literal reading: 'not in a literal but in a biblical sense'.

   Patterns

   • in a biblical sense rather than a literal one

   The flood in the story is, in a biblical sense, a picture of judgment rather than a weather report.

   She read the passage in a biblical sense, as a lesson about pride.

Common combinations

in the biblical sense

He said he knew her in the biblical sense, and everyone laughed.

a biblical sense of the word

They are prophets in a biblical sense of the word, warning of disaster.

use something in a biblical sense

The writer uses 'wilderness' in a biblical sense.

not in a literal but a biblical sense

The story is true not in a literal but a biblical sense.

Synonyms and how they differ

scriptural sense

Very close in meaning, but it stresses the holy writings generally rather than the Bible alone.

figurative meaning

Wider and more neutral; it covers any non-literal use, not only one linked to the Bible.

Opposites

Word family

biblical adjective

Relating to the Bible or its contents.

biblically adverb

In a way that relates to the Bible.

Commonly confused: biblical sense or biblical times?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “biblical sense”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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