Skip to main content
biblical theme

biblical theme

1 6.1
A theme in stories or art that comes from the Bible
  • noun
  • /ˈbɪblɪkəl θim/
translation icon : tema bíblico
  • The artist's paintings often reflect biblical themes, emphasizing love, sacrifice, and redemption.

Examples

  • In his sermon, the pastor highlighted several biblical themes to inspire his congregation.

  • It's almost an entire biblical theme unto itself: who remembers what and when?

    Blog text (29)
  • So, yeah, they, they, they take on these these biblical themes and put them, you know, it makes sense if if you.

  • The "Wisdom" tradition represents a significant development and synthesis of the larger biblical theme of salvation as knowledge of God.

    Academic text (2005)
  • But then experts take a lot for granted too, and must, like the names of colors and familiar biblical themes like the Garden of Eden or the Crucifixion.

    Academic text (2005)
  • The two sonnets that close each collection treat Biblical themes, specifically from the Old Testament: Alfa y Omega.

    Academic text (1992)
  • A fourth part of the biblical witness can serve as a transition to our reflections on compassion, for it deals with the biblical theme of the relationship between justice and forgiveness.

    Academic text (1995)
  • The theological foundation of John Paul II's defense of human dignity may be discussed in terms of the biblical themes of creation, redemption, and consummation.

    Academic text (2003)
  • I've long been a fan of biblical themes receiving the "gritty" treatment, making Heaven and Hell much deeper than their biblical indications would lead one to believe.

    Blog text (22)
  • Poe's one novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, similarly ends with foregrounded polysyndeton, complementing the Biblical themes in that work.

    Academic text (1997)

Surface Forms

Morphology

biblical + theme

The meaning is directly and transparently derived from combining 'biblical' (related to the Bible) with 'theme' (central idea); the noun phrase simply denotes a theme that pertains to the Bible. This adjective+noun composition is a regular, cross-linguistically common pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily understand it.

Etymology

Biblical theme comes from artists, preachers, and writers who used stories from the 'Bible' as the main theme in their paintings, sermons, or books. So today Biblical theme means an idea or subject in art, books, or talks that comes from the 'Bible'.