diff --git a/test/notmuch-test b/test/notmuch-test
index 7feb5bdf..60c3ecbc 100755
--- a/test/notmuch-test
+++ b/test/notmuch-test
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-#!/bin/sh
+#!/bin/bash
 
 # Run tests
 #
@@ -6,6 +6,14 @@
 #
 # Adapted from a Makefile to a shell script by Carl Worth (2010)
 
+if [ ${BASH_VERSINFO[0]} -lt 4 ]; then
+    echo "Error: The notmuch test suite requires a bash version >= 4.0"
+    echo "due to use of associative arrays within the test suite."
+    echo "Please try again with a newer bash (or help us fix the"
+    echo "test suite to be more portable). Thanks."
+    exit 1
+fi
+
 cd $(dirname "$0")
 
 TESTS="basic new search json thread-naming reply dump-restore uuencode thread-order author-order from-guessing long-id encoding emacs"
diff --git a/test/test-lib.sh b/test/test-lib.sh
index 28d14ef9..8f39aa78 100644
--- a/test/test-lib.sh
+++ b/test/test-lib.sh
@@ -15,6 +15,14 @@
 # You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
 # along with this program.  If not, see http://www.gnu.org/licenses/ .
 
+if [ ${BASH_VERSINFO[0]} -lt 4 ]; then
+    echo "Error: The notmuch test suite requires a bash version >= 4.0"
+    echo "due to use of associative arrays within the test suite."
+    echo "Please try again with a newer bash (or help us fix the"
+    echo "test suite to be more portable). Thanks."
+    exit 1
+fi
+
 # if --tee was passed, write the output not only to the terminal, but
 # additionally to the file test-results/$BASENAME.out, too.
 case "$GIT_TEST_TEE_STARTED, $* " in