Ten years ago the Society of Biblical Literature, the leading colloquium of biblical scholars in America, still called the two parts of the Bible the Old Testament and New Testament. Today both SBL and its sister organization, the American Academy of Religion, regularly refer to the Old Testament as "Hebrew Scriptures," or "Hebrew Bible."

Unlike many innovations of professional societies that begin and end there, this one is steadily making itself felt beyond the scholarly guild. Courses on the Old Testament now regularly appear in college and seminary catalogues as "Hebrew Scriptures." Trade publishers of both scholarly and popular books on the Bible increasingly list titles on the Old Testament under "Hebrew Scriptures" or a similar rubric. Recent television programs on Scripture, including PBS specials on "Genesis" and "From Jesus to Christ: The First Christians," also refer to the Old Testament as the "Hebrew Bible." It is not uncommon to hear pastors, especially recent seminary graduates, referring to Old Testament readings as "readings from the Hebrew Scriptures."

At first glance, the change from Old Testament to Hebrew Scriptures seems innocuous enough. Several reasons even seem to commend it. Hebrew Scriptures seems to avoid the pejorative connotations inherent in "Old Testament," which sounds old-fashioned and outdated, and has been superseded by the New Testament. Hebrew Scriptures is also more descriptive of the original language of the Old Testament as well as of the ethnic designation of the people who produced it.

Perhaps most important, the growing number of Jewish scholars in the field of biblical studies and increased interest in Jewish-Christian dialogue are making a significant difference in the biblical ...