family Bible
3
4.9
- noun
- /ˈfæmɪli ˈbaɪbəl/
:
Biblia familiar
- Shelves of old books lined the walls, and a worn family Bible lay open on a walnut stand.
- an old family Bible
- a large family Bible
- opening the family Bible
Examples
-
Sometimes I'd take the Hamilton family Bible out there and try to make sense of it all.
Fiction book (1990) -
With one finger, Nathan traced an aimless pattern on the cover of the old family Bible.
Fiction book (1990) -
I have the old family Bible.
-
But they were all there, gathered around the table, the old family Bible opened in front of them.
Fiction book (1990) -
Relatives called me to check dates in the family Bible.
Fiction book (2002) -
Thelma asked me straight out as we headed down Union Street, "Daddy, did you bring the family Bible with you?"
Fiction book (1994) -
The family Bible appeared, and passages of encouragement were read aloud.
Fiction book (1995) -
For one morning, back at Jane's and Joshua's home, I was leafing through the family Bible when I came to the central pages, where all the births, deaths, and "unions" were listed.
Fiction book (2002) -
Maybe it was the chore she'd finished—writing her mother's name and date of death in the Long family Bible—or the way she sat with the book open on her lap, watching the ink soak into the page and dry.
Fiction book (1996) -
Many families keep information about births and deaths in the family Bible, so start your search there.
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is compositionally a Bible that belongs to or is kept by a family, so a B1 learner who knows 'family' and 'Bible' can infer the core meaning (a household or family-owned Bible). The additional cultural detail about blank pages for recording events is specific but does not undermine the straightforward, cross-linguistically common possessive/compound interpretation.
Etymology
Family Bible comes from an old custom: families kept a large Bible at home and wrote important dates like 'births', 'marriages', and 'deaths' on its blank pages. That's why family Bible now means the Bible a family keeps as a record and a treasured object.