Interesting And Amazing Facts About the Bible (A Guest Post by Marcia Colgar)

Picture Credit. sxc.hu

1. The Bible was written by about 40 different men over a period of 600 years – from 1500 BC to 100 AD. The men who wrote the Scripture were inspired by God (2 Timothy 3:16).

2. The first English translation of the Bible was performed by John Wycliffe and John Purvey. It was completed in 1388.

3. The Bible was divided into chapters by Cardinal Hugo S. Caro in 1238. The Old Testament was further divided into verses by R. Nathan in 1488 and the New Testament was divided by Robertus Stephanus in 1551.

4. The Bible has been translated into over 2000 languages and dialects.

5. The verse at the exact center of the Bible speaks a message about the power of God’s Word in Scripture: “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man” (Psalms 118:8).

6. The word “God” appears 4,370 times, “Jehovah” 6,855 times, and “Lord” 7,736 times.

7. Some biblical scholars believe that the language of Aramaic did not have an easy way to say “many.” Through translation we have come to know it as “40.” Think of the 40 days and nights God flooded the earth, the 40 years the Israelites spent in the wilderness, or the 40 days Jesus fasted.

8. If you read the Bible aloud it would take 70 hours, or a little less than 3 days.

9. About 168,000 Bibles are sold, given away, or distributed otherwise every day in the U.S. (according to Wycliffe International, the Society of Gideons, and the International Bible Society).

10. There are 49 different kinds of food mentioned in the Bible. Almonds and pistachios are the only nuts. Salt is mentioned at least 30 times.

11. The oldest near-complete manuscript of the Bible that still exists today is the Codex Vaticanus. It dates from the early 4th century and is held in the Vatican library.

12. The word “God” does not appear in the books of Esther or Song of Solomon.

13. The word Testament means “covenant” or “contract.”

14. The Bible was the first book ever printed on a printing press, by Johann Gutenberg in 1454.

15. There are over 12,000 manuscripts in at least 12 languages that prove the existence of the Bible. No other book in existence has anywhere near so many manuscripts spanning such a long period of time.

16. About 50 Bibles are sold every minute.

17. The word “Bible” comes from the Greek word “biblia” meaning “books,” since the Bible is in fact made up of several books.

18. The phrase, “Don’t be afraid,” appears 365 times in the Bible.

19. The Bible gives Jesus many names: Immanuel, Alpha and Omega, Bright and Morning Star, Good Shepherd, I Am, King of Kings, Lamb of God, Master, Prince of Life, Root of Jesse, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.

20. The Bible is the best-selling book of all time.

(Marcia Colgar owns the website Online Christian Colleges Guide. She writes various articles about faith-based education. P V )

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