Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun plural The Writings.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • The Greek name of the last (Hebrew Ketubim or writings) of the three Jewish divisions of the Old Testament, differently reckoned, but usually comprising the Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Ruth, Esther, Chronicles, Canticles, Lamentations, and Ecclesiastes.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun plural The last of the three Jewish divisions of the Old Testament, comprising Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Canticles, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Chronicles, or that portion of the Old Testament not contained in the Law (Tora) and the Prophets (Nevi'im) -- it is also called in Hebrew the Ketuvim. Together with the Tora and Nevi'im, it comprises the Hebrew Bible, which is called in Hebrew the Tanach, a vocalization of the first letters of its three parts.
  • noun plural (R. C. Ch.) The lives of the saints.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun the third division of the Hebrew scriptures; the Writings

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the third of three divisions of the Hebrew Scriptures

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Late Latin, from Late Greek, from neuter pl. of hagiographos, written by inspiration, scriptural : Greek hagio-, hagio- + Greek -graphos, written (from graphein, to write; see –graph).]

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Examples

  • "Hagiographa" (writings held by the ancient Hebrews as less sacred and authoritative than either the "Law" or the "Prophets"), and, in consequence, copyists felt naturally less bound to transcribe its text with scrupulous accuracy.

    The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 12: Philip II-Reuss 1840-1916 1913

  • Perhaps they might so reject them as to forbid their being read in their synagogues, in the same manner as the Jews rejected the Hagiographa from being read in the synagogues: but the question is, whether they did not use them, read them, and believe them, as the Jews did those holy writings?

    From the Talmud and Hebraica 1602-1675 1979

  • But R. Judah saith, 'Let the Law be apart by itself; the book of the Prophets by itself; and the book of the holy writings [Hagiographa] by itself.'

    From the Talmud and Hebraica 1602-1675 1979

  • And to this doth that in some measure attest which the Talmudists relate concerning the paraphrast of the prophets, that when he went about to paraphrase also the Hagiographa, or holy writings, he was forbidden by Bath Kol, saying, That he must abstain from that; for in those books was the end of the Messiah, viz. Daniel 9: 26. 13.

    From the Talmud and Hebraica 1602-1675 1979

  • Octateuch perhaps may seem to have some reference to the Hagiographa, or

    From the Talmud and Hebraica 1602-1675 1979

  • But are the Hagiographa excluded, when mention is made only of the law and the prophets?

    From the Talmud and Hebraica 1602-1675 1979

  • "In the Psalms"; that is, in the Book of Hagiographa, in which the Psalms were placed first.

    From the Talmud and Hebraica 1602-1675 1979

  • "They fold up the book of the Law in the cloth of the quintanes, and the quintanes in the cloth of the Prophets and Hagiographa: but they do not fold up the Prophets and Hagiographa in the cloth of the quintanes, nor the quintanes in the cloth of the Law."

    From the Talmud and Hebraica 1602-1675 1979

  • They preferred the Law before the Prophets, and the Law and the Prophets above the Hagiographa, or holy writings: and yet they yielded that honour to the Prophets, that even they should not be read but standing up.

    From the Talmud and Hebraica 1602-1675 1979

  • And a little after; "They lay the Law upon the quintanes, and the quintanes upon the Prophets and Hagiographa; but not the Prophets and Hagiographa upon the quintanes, nor the quintanes upon the Law": that is, not any one single quintane upon all the quintanes made up into one volume.

    From the Talmud and Hebraica 1602-1675 1979

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