biblical

Etymology

From Medieval Latin biblicus + -al.

adj

1. Of or relating to the Bible.
   Tithing is both a quranic and biblical virtue.
   Sepia Delft tiles surrounded the fireplace, their crudely drawn Biblical scenes in faded cyclamen blending with the pinkish pine, while above them, instead of a mantelshelf, there was an archway high enough to form a balcony with slender balusters and a tapestry-hung wall behind. 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 3, in The China Governess
2. In accordance with the teachings of the Bible (according to some interpretation of it).
   The biblical teaching is that[…]
   biblical morality
   Mike Pompeo, the former US secretary of state, has defended Israel’s decades-long control of the Palestinian territories by claiming that the Jewish state has a biblical claim to the land and is therefore not occupying it. 2023-02-16, Chris McGreal, quoting Mike Pompeo, “Pompeo says Israel has biblical claim to Palestine and is ‘not an occupying nation’”, in The Guardian, →ISSN
3. (figurative) Very great; especially, exceeding previous records in scale.
   of biblical proportions
   with biblical fury
   Dr. Peter Venkman: This city is headed for a disaster of biblical proportions. Mayor: What do you mean, "biblical"? Dr. Raymond Stantz: What he means is Old Testament, Mr. Mayor, real wrath-of-God type stuff. 1984, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Ghostbusters
   Russell Banks's “Cloudsplitter,” a novel of near-biblical proportions about the abolitionist freedom fighter John Brown, is shaped like an explosive with an exceedingly long and winding fuse. 1998-02-22, Walter Kirn, “The Wages of Righteousness”, in The New York Times
   An increase in the pace at which sea levels are rising threatens “a mass exodus of entire populations on a biblical scale”, the UN secretary general has warned. 2023-02-14, Damian Carrington, quoting António Guterres, “Rising seas threaten ‘mass exodus on a biblical scale’, UN chief warns”, in The Guardian, →ISSN