Facts About The Bible

The Bible is the book of all books. It is upholder of faith for millions of Christians throughout the world. The Bible is the word of God, His injunctions to mankind and His life and teachings. Written over a period of several millenniums, it is believed that the authors who composed this Holy Book were guided by the Holy Spirit and divine inspiration. Whatever may be the case, it is now the Bible itself that is serving the purpose and inspiration for a way of life, as envisioned by the Christ for millions of Christians. Needless to say, the story of the journey of the Bible through such a long duration can itself fill several volumes. Like all great books, the Bible is also plagued by myths that make it hard to distinguish between fact and fable. However, like discarding the husk reveals the more nourishing kernel, so when you dispel the haze of myths you can peer at some astonishing facts that are even more enticing than the myths. Given below are some interesting facts about the Bible.

Interesting & Fun Facts About The Bible

Did you know the word Bible comes from the Greek word ‘Biblia’, meaning; books. No wonder it is called the Bible, as it is a collection of 66 wonderful books!
The Bible was written over a period of 1600 years. During this period, about 40 men wrote the Bible at various points and in three different continents - Asia, Africa and Europe. The authors were also diverse, from shepherds to kings.
In 1228, Stephen Langton arranged the Bible into chapters. In 1488, R. Nathan arranged the Old Testament into verses and in 1551, Robert Stephens did the same for the New Testament. By 1560, the first Bible with chapters and verses appeared.
In total, the Bible consists of 66 books in which the Old Testament contains 39 books, while the New Testament contains 27 books. There are about 1189 chapters and 31,102 verses.
Bible contains 773, 693 words and 3,566,480 letters. Reading them all aloud is likely to a person approximately 70 hours!
The Old Testament was composed in Hebrew, while the New Testament in Greek.
The first five books of the Bible were written by Moses. These five books are considered to be the foundation of the Bible and are referred as Pentateuch.
In 1388, the first translation of the Bible to English was completed. It was done by John Purvey. It is believed that the task was initiated by John Wycliffe. Till date, the Bible has been translated into more than 1200 languages and dialects.
The Bible is the first book to be printed during the 1450s. Only 21 copies of the first print survive today. These Bibles were also known as Gutenberg Bibles, as Johannes Gutenberg first invented the printing press.
In the Bible, there is not a single mention of the cat. However, all the other domesticated animals as well as a few wild ones have been mentioned. Lions are mentioned 55 times, while the dog is mentioned 14 times.
The Bible is most bestselling book in the world. Every minute about 50 bibles are sold worldwide. Thus, till date, an estimated few billions Bible have been sold.
The Bible is also the most shoplifted book in the world.
There are seven instances of suicide in the Bible, while the word “eternity” is mentioned only once in Isaiah 57: 15.
The oldest manuscript of the Bible is the Codex Vaticanus. The manuscript dates back to the first half of the fourth century.
The first three words in the Bible are 'in the beginning', while the last word is ‘Amen’.
The phrase 'Do not be Afraid' appears 365 times in the Bible, just as the number of days in a year. This phrase is not a suggestion but a command so that we live each day without any fear or dread. It is believed that God has commanded us to trust Him with all our heart and be at rest, each passing day.

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