15 Fascinating Facts About The Bible

15 Fascinating Facts About The Bible

At the center of artistic creations, music, and literature is the Christian’s holy book, the Bible. Besides, it is also an answer to philosophical concerns. It tops in the world as the most translated book and the number one most sold throughout history.

Furthermore, it’s a collection of books by more than 35 authors of different times based in different geographical locations. The book took more than 1000 years to write.

To add on, the original manuscripts were recorded on papyrus scrolls or parchment (animal skin). It also began in three languages and now exists in over 700 languages and still counting. The recorded stories of miraculous signs and wonders are also an interesting reality about the Bible. Discover more below.

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Here are the 15 Amazing Truths About The Bible.

1. The Bible is the world’s best-seller

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The Christian scriptural reference is a leading top seller across the globe with over 5 billion copies sold. Hence it is one of the best-selling books of all time with a high record of published, printed, and distributed copies in the history of the world.

2. The Bible took over 1000 years to write

It was written by different authors. Among them, about 35 are called out by name in the Bible. Yet it is estimated that in total there were around 40 individuals credited with writing the Christian scriptures.

Moreover, the authors wrote at different times, from different locations, and in different languages. Thus it was compiled through a period of about 1,500–1,600 years. So it is approximated that this period was between the 8th BC (Before Christ) and the 1st Century CE(Common Era or Christian era).

3. It is a collection of books

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The Bible is the authority of faith and morality for both the Protestant and Catholic faithful. Though there is a slight difference in the number of books in the Roman Catholic Bible and the Protestant Bible.

Additionally, the Protestant Bible has 66 books while the Catholic one has 73 books. These seven extra books are called the deuterocanonical books. Both versions of the Bible are the same the only difference is the addition of the extra books.

Learn the Differences Between Christianity And Catholicism.

4. The Bible is grouped into two main accounts

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It is classified into two large segments. The first is the Old Testament which is the foundation of the Hebrew Bible and the second is the New Testament. The Old Testament contains 39 books in the Protestant Bible and 46 in the Catholic Bible.

Furthermore, in a broad classification, the Old Testament books belong to four categories. The Pentateuch or Books of Law, Historical Books, Poetical Books, and Prophetic Books (Major and Minor Prophets). The Old Testament is also the Hebrew Bible and sacred to the Jewish faith written around 1200 and 165 BC.

The New Testament has 27 books and was penned by Christians in the first century AD. There are also other Christian entities such as the Orthodox and more whose Bible consists of more books.

5. The original writings were on papyrus or animal skin

The Bible’s ancient manuscripts were written on papyrus scrolls. When parchment (animal skin) became available it was preferred as the best writing material. It was written with ink until the invention of printing.

Many of the New Testament texts written between the 4th and the 15th century are parchment codices. It is thanks to archaeological excavations that some of the Biblical texts were discovered. Other manuscripts were preserved in different places such as libraries or monasteries. Hence they were passed down to different generations.

6. The Bible began in three languages

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Hebrew, Aramaic, and Koine Greek are the three languages credited as the original biblical languages. As of early 2023 reports, the full Bible has been translated into over 700 languages throughout the world.

Over and above that, there are over 6000 languages in the world. According to early 2023 records, portions of the Bible like The New Testament or at least one Bible book have been translated into more than 3000 languages.

7. The name Bible was lifted from two languages

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This name is a transliteration of Greek and Latin languages. In Greek, it’s derived from the words “ta biblia” and “Byblos” which when translated to English, means books. It also translates from “Biblia” which is a Latin word.

8. It is a direction to the center of Christianity

The Christian holy scriptures offer a foundation for the sense of culture, morality, and belief to its subscribers. Better still, the Bible explores the life, character, and nature of Jesus Christ who is the center of the Christian faith.

Get insights into the Facts About Christianity.

9. Psalms make up the longest Bible book by chapters

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The Old Testament book, Psalms has the highest number of Chapters in the Bible. It has 150 chapters (Psalms).

10. The shortest Bible book has less than 300 words

This third last book in the New Testament, 3 John has 14 verses. Though the book of 2 John has 13 verses, 3 John is recorded as the shortest because of its word count. The number of words varies by a slight margin in different Bible translations. The range is from 219 up to 294 words, while 2 John has an extra 4 to 5 words.

11. The Bible verses number upward of 30000

The exact number of Bible verses is 31,102. In the Old Testament, there are 929 chapters with 23,145 verses. Further, the New Testament has 260 chapters with 7,957 verses. The chapter and verse divisions were not part of the original manuscripts. They were added by translators later on to ease reading.

For instance, chapters were added by biblical commentator Cardinal Hugh of Saint-Cher in 1238. In Latin, he was called Hugo de Sancto Charo. The verse divisions came in 1551 and were implemented by Robertus Stephanus.

12. The longest and shortest chapters are from the same book

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The Bible has Psalm 119 as its longest chapter and has 176 verses. The shortest chapter is Psalms 117, it has only two verses and less than 70 characters.

13. The Bible’s shortest verse has two words

The shortest Bible verse is John 11:35. It only has two words, “Jesus wept”. To contrast, the longest verse has 78 words and is Esther 8:9.

14. The Bible narratives take place on three continents

Biblical events recorded by the authors cut across the continents of Asia, Africa, and Europe. The authors came from different professions and walks of life.

Find out How Christianity Spread.

15. It has many stories of miracles

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The Bible gives chronicles of miraculous signs. Such as healing the sick, the blind receiving sight, the lame made whole, raising the dead, parting the sea, and more.

The Bible is a treasure of inspiration to many from generation to generation. It is a source of information and wisdom for some of life’s fundamental concerns like morality and spiritual matters. Also, the Bible promotes issues related to human relationships such as love and forgiveness. Thus this Christian holy book is a positive impact on society for all time.