Is Old Testament Capitalized

Is Old Testament Capitalized?

The short answer is yes. The longer answer is that it depends on what you mean by “Old Testament.” The Old Testament is a collection of books written by multiple authors and compiled into one volume under the direction of the Catholic Church.

The Old Testament includes the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. These books were written between 1400 BC and 600 BC.

Some people refer to these as “the Jewish Torah,” but they’re actually considered holy scripture by Christians as well as Jews. If you’re unsure whether to capitalize it or not, keep in mind that capitalization is a sign of respect for something, as when we capitalize titles like President Obama’s name or God’s name, and that God himself (through his chosen prophets) wrote these texts.

Is Old Testament Capitalized

When referring to the holy Christian book itself, the word Bible should always be capitalized. For example, “The story of Abraham is told in the Bible.” The word Bible is also capitalized when referring to the Jewish Bible, when used as the first word in a sentence, and when used in the main title of written works.

You always capitalize the Bible when referring to a proper noun, including the various versions of both the Christian and Jewish Bibles. For example, “King James Bible”, “Gideon’s Bible,” or “Hebrews Bible. “The Holy Bible” is a proper title of a book and the word bible in this case must always be capitalized.

You will find that at times, especially when you are likening other books to the Bible, you do not capitalize the word bible. For example, ” Gordon Ramsey’s cookbook is a chefs’ bible. Additionally, the adjective biblical is an exception to capitalization, even though it refers to the proper noun of “Bible”.

Why Is The Bible Capitalized?

Why Is The Bible Capitalized? You always capitalize the Holy Bible when describing a proper noun, consisting of different versions of the Scriptures, both Christian and Jewish. For instance, “King James Scriptures,” “Gideon’s Bible,” or “Hebrews Bible.” “The Holy Bible” is a suitable title for a publication, and in this case, the word Holy Bible should be constantly capitalized.

Capitalization In Bible Translations Affects Our Thinking

We will talk about how capitalization in translations can affect our interpretation. Now I’m going to be referring specifically to talking about the Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament as people call it. It’s not.

When we look at it, these traditional translations often have capitalized words that they presume are either referring to God or referring to a presumed messianic figure.

So when we’re talking about God and someone says he, for example, or him, and they presume it’s referring to God, they capitalize the H even if it’s in the middle of the sentence, for example.

One thing to recognize here is that this does not go on in Hebrew. There is no distinction in Hebrew. It’s just a single cause for all the letters. There’s not an upper case in a lower case. So any capitalization of any sort is based upon an individual’s interpretation, based on an opinion.

So, capitalization does not exist in Hebrew like this. So whenever we see that it says he is capitalized, that is an assumption. Now a lot of cases, it’s going to be obvious that it’s going to have that context with it, and we’re going to know, yeah, that’s probably talking about God and so, therefore, it’s capitalized.

However, there are a few issues where there might be some controversy. So an example that I’ve seen before is people talking about Abraham believing in God, and he couches him as righteousness in Genesis. This is interesting because, of course, the traditional view is that he is talking about God.

But some people argue it means something different than it means; it’s talking about crediting Gauze for being one God of his word type of thing. And I’m not saying that either one is my hitting on the subject, but it illustrates that capitalization can affect our thinking on it.

Just knowing that this capitalization doesn’t exist in Hebrew isn’t enough; it still predisposes us to think that we’re still primed to think that that’s talking about God, whether it is or isn’t. Even if we know in our minds that this is just their interpretation, it still affects us now. The thing is a lot of people don’t know that a lot of people just assume that it is authoritative that this capitalization is definite; they don’t realize that it’s an opinion.

So also talk about things like, like I said, Messianic symbols that are perceived to be in the text. For example, in numbers, when Balaam gives the prophecy about the star rising out of Jacob that says star in traditional translations, of course, it capitalizes the S.
Because it wants us to presume that it’s a messianic prophecy, and in the implications about Messianic stuff that are conventionally believed, they capitalize this S.

Therefore, we’re automatically assuming that if we believe in that sort of thing, if we have that kind of frame of mind, we’re going to assume, oh, okay, a messianic prophecy type thing, and that may or may not be the case, and this goes on of course throughout the rest of the Hebrew Bible as well.

It’s something to be aware of because it affects our thinking. Even if we know, it can still affect our thinking because it predisposes us to think in the way they expressed their opinion. So something to consider is something to keep in mind as you study.

FAQ About Why Is The Bible Capitalized?

Is Scripture capitalized in AP style?

You should always capitalize related words such as Gospel, Gospel of John, Scripture, etc. All individual publications of the Bible, such as Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and so on, need to additionally be capitalized but never ever abbreviated.

Are religions capitalized in AP style?

Religious titles are formal titles. They should be capitalized when appended before a person’s name and lowercase when they stand alone. A religious title is appropriate based on the first reference before the name of the clergy.

Why is the Gospel capitalized?

It can carry specific religious meanings. When Christians say the word “gospel,” they will most likely mean “gospel,” which their religion believes in and will need to be capitalized, as it is a special word. For instance, “Stevens’ favored publication in the New Testament is the Scripture of John.”

Is Fruit of the Spirit capitalized?

In these two verses, ‘ soul’ is in capital letters. This is because the verses speak of the Spirit of God, not the human spirit.

How do you write, Lord our God?

Our Lord, our Lord Jesus Christ, Lamb. DRAE records the Supreme Being and His Divine Glory in lowercase, both indicating God. Voice Providence is capitalized when it refers to God the same, but in lowercase, it means ‘beware that God takes de creation and de his creatures.’

What is the difference between a capital-letter God and a small-letter God?

God is written with a capital initial when it serves as a proper noun and in lower case when it is a generic name. Therefore, we would write «Christians believe in God” with a capital initial d, but «this is considered a dios” with lower case because that is the generic name.