Read along with the three podcasts, or open the full dictionary entry for Scripture for the definition, Arabic meaning, synonyms and example sentences.
Narrator: Today's word is "Scripture" — noun, pronounced /ˈskrɪptʃə/, with the stress on "scrip".
Narrator: Scripture is the sacred writings of a religion, especially the Bible in Christianity.
Narrator: In plain English, scripture means holy texts — the Bible for Christians, the Quran for Muslims, the Torah for Jews.
Narrator: It comes from the Latin scriptura, meaning a writing, from scribere, to write.
Narrator: "Holy scripture" describes the sacred texts of a faith.
Narrator: It differs from script because scripture is sacred, whereas script is any written text.
Narrator: "The scriptures" is a plural sense meaning the collection of sacred writings.
Narrator: Religion, theology, history and literature all rely on the word scripture.
Narrator: So remember: scripture is sacred writing, from the Latin for a writing.
Speaker A: What is scripture?
Speaker B: Sacred writing! SCRIPTURE comes from the Latin scriptura, a writing, so it means the holy texts of a religion, especially the Bible.
Speaker A: So the Bible is scripture?
Speaker B: Yes — and the Quran and Torah too!
Speaker A: Example sentences?
Speaker B: "Holy scripture"; "the scriptures"; "reading scripture" — faith, texts and devotion.
Speaker A: Common mistakes?
Speaker B: Capitalise Scripture when referring to the Bible specifically, but use lowercase for general sacred writings.
Speaker A: Close relatives?
Speaker B: 'Bible' the Christian cousin, 'Quran' the Islamic twin, 'Torah' the Jewish alternative. The word keeps its sacred charm!
Speaker B: Let's use "scripture" in AI prompts — useful for religion apps and study tools.
Speaker A: So a prompt could frame faith?
Speaker B: Right. For a religion app, you'd write:
Prompt: Write a short guide to studying scripture, naming two methods.
Speaker A: How about a history tool?
Speaker B: Ask the model to narrate:
Prompt: Draft a short history of how scripture was preserved, naming one century.
Speaker A: Could it help with a theology bot?
Speaker B: Yes, you can frame debate:
Prompt: Summarise in two sentences how different faiths view scripture, naming one tradition.
Speaker A: One more?
Speaker B: For a literature chatbot, try this:
Prompt: Write a short note on scripture's influence on English literature, naming one work.
Scripture — meaning in Arabic & definition More S courses GL Dictionary