BibleFacts

Interesting Bible facts collected from various sources.

The Books of the Bible

The Old Testament has 17 Historical, 5 Poetical, and 17 Prophetic books in it.
The 17 Historical Books are: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1Samuel, 2Samuel, 1Kings, 2Kings, 1Chronicles, 2Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther.
The 5 Poetical Books are: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon,
The 17 Prophetic Books are: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.
The New Testament has 4 Gospels, Acts, 21 Epistles, and Revelation in it.
The 4 Gospels are: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John,
The 21 Epistles are: Romans, 1Corinthians, 2Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1Thessalonians, 2Thessalonians, 1Timothy, 2Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1Peter, 2Peter, 1John, 2John, 3John, and Jude.

The Bible was written:

over a 1500 year span (from 1400 B.C to A.D. 100)
over 40 generations
over 40 authors from many walks of life (i.e. - kings, peasants, philosophers, fishermen, poets, statesmen, scholars)

in different places (i.e. wilderness, dungeon, palaces)

at different times (i.e. war, peace)

in different moods (i.e. heights of joy, depths of despair)

on three continents (Asia, Africa, and Europe)

in three languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek)

BIBLE FACTS:

The system of chapters was introduced in A.D. 1238 by Cardinal Hugo de S. Caro, while the verse notations were added in 1551 by Robertus Stephanus, after the advent of printing.
A Bible in the University of Gottingen is written on 2,470 palm leaves.
According to statistics from Wycliffe International, the Society of Gideons, and the International Bible Society, the number of new Bibles that are sold, given away, or otherwise distributed in the United States is about 168,000 per day.

There are 8,674 different Hebrew words in the Bible, 5,624 different Greek words, and 12,143 different English words in the King James Version.
A number of verses in the Bible (KJV) contain all but 1 letter of the alphabet: kjv@Ezra:7:21 contains all but the letter j; kjv@Joshua:7:24, kjv@1Kings:1:9, kjv@1Chronicles:12:40, kjv@2Chronicles:36:10, kjv@Ezekiel:28:13, kjv@Daniel:4:37, and kjv@Haggai:1:1 contain all but q; kjv@2Kings:16:15 and kjv@1Chronicles:4:10 contain all but z; and kjv@Galatians:1:14 contains all but k.
Chapters that are alike . . . . 2Kings:19 & Isaiah:37
Between chapters 6 & 7 of Ezra, both Confucius and Buddha died (516-458 B.C.)
The Bible, the world's best selling book, is also the world's most shoplifted book.
The oldest almost-complete manuscript of the Bible still existing is the Codex Vaticanus, dating from the first half of the 4th century, now held in the Vatican library.

BIBLE STATISTICS:

Number of books in the Bible=66
Chapters=1,189
Verses=31,101
Words=783,137
Letters=3,566,480
Number of promises given in the Bible=1,260
Commands=6,468
Predictions=over 8,000
Fulfilled prophecy=3,268 verses
Unfulfilled prophecy=3,140
Number of questions=3,294
Longest name=Mahershalalhashbaz (kjv@Isaiah:8:1)
Longest verse=kjv@Esther:8:9 (78 words)
Shortest verse=kjv@John:11:35 (2 words: "Jesus wept").
Middle books=Micah and Nahum
Middle verse=kjv@Psalms:118:8
Middle chapter=kjv@Psalms:117
Shortest chapter (by number of words)=kjv@Psalms:117 (by number of words)
Longest book=Psalms (150 chapters)
Shortest book (by number of words)= 3 John
Longest chapter=Psalms:119 (176 verses)
Number of times the word "God" appears=3,358
Number of times the word "Lord" appears=7,736
Number of languages the Bible has been translated into=over 1,200

OLD TESTAMENT STATISTICS:

Number of books=39
Chapters=929
Verses=23,114
Words=602,585
Letters=2,278,100
Middle book=kjv@Proverbs
Middle chapter=kjv@Job:20
Middle verses=kjv@2Chronicles 20:17,18
Smallest book=kjv@Obadiah
Shortest verse=kjv@1Chronicles:1:25
Longest verse=kjv@Esther:8:9
Longest chapter=kjv@Psalms:119
Largest book=Psalms

NEW TESTAMENT STATISTICS:

Number of books=27
Chapters=260
Verses=7,957
Words=180,552
Letters=838,380
Middle book=kjv@2Thessalonians
Middle chapters=kjv@Romans 8, 9
Middle verse=kjv@Acts:27:17
Smallest book=kjv@3John
Shortest verse=kjv@John:11:35
Longest verse=kjv@Revelation:20:4
Longest chapter= kjv@Luke:1
Largest book= Luke

WHO WROTE:WHEN:TIME COVERED:PLACE WRITTEN:

Genesis	Moses	1513	"In the Wilderness beginning" to 1657 B.C.	Wilderness
Exodus	Moses	1512	1657-1512	Wilderness
Leviticus	Moses	1512	1 month 1512	Wilderness
Job	Moses	c. 1473	Over 140 years between 1657 and 1473	Wilderness
Numbers	Moses	1473	1512-1473	Wilderness / Plains of Moab
Deuteronomy	Moses	1473	2 months 1473	Plains of Moab
Joshua	Joshua	c. 1450	1473- c. 1450	Canaan
Judges	Samuel	c. 1100	c. 1450- c. 1120	Israel
Ruth	Samuel	c. 1090	11 years of Judges' rule	Israel
1Samuel	Samuel; Gad; Nathan	c. 1078	c. 1180-1078	Israel
2Samuel	Gad; Nathan	c. 1040	1077-c. 1040	Israel
Song of Solomon	Solomon	c. 1020	*	Jerusalem
Ecclesiastes	Solomon	b. 1000	*	Jerusalem
Jonah	Jonah	c. 844	*	*
Joel	Joel	c. 820 (?)	*	Judah
Amos	Amos	c. 804	*	Judah
Hosea	Hosea	a. 745	b. 804- a. 745	Samaria (District)
Isaiah	Isaiah	a. 732	c. 778- a. 732	Jerusalem
Micah	Micah	b. 717	c. 777-717	Judah
Proverbs	Solomon; Agur; Lemuel	c. 717	Jerusalem
Zephaniah	Zephaniah	b. 648	*	Judah
Nahum	Nahum	b. 632	*	Judah
Habakkuk	Habakkuk	c. 628 (?)	*	Judah
Lamentations	Jeremiah	607	*	Nr. Jerusalem
Obadiah	Obadiah	c. 607	*	*
Ezekiel	Ezekiel	c. 591	613-c. 591	Babylon
1Kings	Jeremiah	580	c. 1040-580	Judah/Egypt
2Kings	Jeremiah	580	c. 1040-580	Judah/Egypt
Jeremiah	Jeremiah	580	647-580	Judah/Egypt
Daniel	Daniel	c. 536	618-c. 536	Babylon
Haggai	Haggai	520	112 days (520)	Jerusalem
Zechariah	Zechariah	518	520-518	Jerusalem
Esther	Mordecai	c. 475	493-c. 475	Shushan, Elam
1Chronicles	Ezra	c. 460	After 1 Chronicles kjv@9:44, 1077-537	Jerusalem?
2Chronicles	Ezra	c. 460	After 1 Chronicles kjv@9:44, 1077-537	Jerusalem?
Ezra	Ezra	c. 460	537-c. 467	Jerusalem
Psalms	David and others	c. 460	*	*
Nehemiah	Nehemiah	a. 443	456-a. 443	Jerusalem
Malachi	Malachi	a. 443	*	Jerusalem
Matthew	Matthew	c. 41	2 B.C.- 33 A.D.	Palestine
1Thessalonians	Paul	c. 50	*	Corinth
2Thessalonians	Paul	c. 51	*	Corinth
Galatians	Paul	c. 50-52	*	Corinth or Syr. Antioch
1Corinthians	Paul	c. 55	*	Ephesus
2Corinthians	Paul	c. 55	*	Macedonia
Romans	Paul	c. 56	*	Corinth
Luke	Luke	c. 56-58	3 B.C.- 34 AD.	Caesarea
Ephesians	Paul	c. 60-61	*	Rome
Colossians	Paul	c. 60-61	*	Rome
Philemon	Paul	c. 60-61	*	Rome
Philippians	Paul	c. 60-61	*	Rome
Hebrews	Paul	c. 61	*	Rome
Acts	Luke	c. 61	34-c. 62 AD.	Caesarea
James	James	b. 62	*	Jerusalem
Mark	Mark	c. 60-65	30-34AD.	Rome
1Timothy	Paul	c. 61-64	*	Macedonia
Titus	Paul	c. 61-64	*	Macedonia?
1Peter	Peter	c. 62-64	*	Babylon
2Peter	Peter	c. 64	*	Babylon?
2Timothy	Paul	c. 65	*	Rome
Jude	Jude	c. 65	*	Palestine?
Revelation	Apostle John	c. 96	*	Patmos
John	Apostle John	c. 98	After prologue, 30-34 AD.	Ephesus, or near
1John	Apostle John	c. 98	*	Ephesus, or near
2John	Apostle John	c. 98	*	Ephesus, or near
3John	Apostle John	c. 98	*	Ephesus, or near

HISTORY OF ENGLISH BIBLE:

443 BC Completion of all the books of the original Hebrew manuscripts which make up the 39 books of the Old Testament
200 BC Completion of the Septuagint Greek manuscripts which contain the translation of the 39 books of the Old Testament and the 14 books of the Apochrypha.
60 AD Completion of the Greek manuscripts which make up the 27 books of the New Testament
90-95 AD Council of Jamnia, a Jewish council, met to revise the Books of the Canon (or the Old Testament as it is known to Christians.) These were the criteria:1. The books had to conform to the Pentateuch (the first 5 books). 2. The books had to be written in Hebrew. 3. The books had to be written in Palestine. 4. The books had to be written before 400 B.C.. One result is the removal of the 14 books known as the Apochrypha.
360 AD Laodocia Council meets to decide which books and writings will be accepted as Holy Scripture. The Greek Septuagint is accepted for the Old Testament. Criteria for the New Testament writings include that they must be written by an Apostle or during the time of the Apostles, that they must support true doctrine and must have wide spread usage. Thus, even though the Shepherd of Hermas, the First Letter of Clement, and the Didache may have been widely used and contain true doctrines, they were not canonical because they were not apostolic nor connected to the apostolic age, or they were local writings without support in many areas.
390 AD Jerome's Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible is produced and in wide circulation. It includes all 80 books including the Apochrypha. It is used in Celtic monastaries in Britain. During this period the British within the Roman Empire use Latin as the official language
Historical Background: 5th - 6th Century: Germanic peoples who came to Britain bring their dialects of which Saxon becomes standard Old English. Because of this, a need for an English version of the scriptures arises.
7th Century: Herdsman Caedmon, spoken of by Bede, the learned monk of Jarrow, sings the themes of the Bible in English. This becomes a common method for presenting scriptural themes in English.
640 AD to 735 AD Aldheim is credited with translating the whole Bible into English while Bede was still working on completing his translation when he died. The translations of these times are based on translations of the Latin Vulgate version rather than translations of the original Hebrew and Greek versions.
1384 John Wycliffe finishes the first translation of the entire Bible into English. His version and copies of it are handwritten.
1408 Synod of Oxford tries to suppress the Wycliffe Bible with little success.
1455 Gutenberg invents the printing press making it possible to mass produce books. The first book printed is Gutenberg's Bible in Latin.
Historical Background: Reformation - A revolution in western thinking followed the midpoint of the 15th century A.D. The Renaissance opened up the treasures of both classical and patristic learning in a new way. It also revived an interest in the study of both Greek and Hebrew that made possible the study of the Bible in the original languages. This new interest in original editions stimulated textual research and also evidenced anew the corruption and ignorance of the contemporary church. The Renaissance created new opportunities for humanist scholars such as Erasmus of Rotterdam, who sought to make the Bible available to people of all ages, social levels, and countries. More radical in outlook than Renaissance humanists were the Reformers, who measured the teaching and practice of the contemporary church by the standards of scripture. The Reformers were horrified by the obvious discrepancies. There soon emerged a mission to discover the pure biblical message and to reconstruct both the teaching and practice of the church. The Reformers became deeply convinced that it was both reasonable and necessary to circulate God's word in order to purify the church from ignorance and destructive practices. (fromhttp://davidsonpress.com)
1525 William Tyndale's New Testament is completed. His translation is based on the Latin vulgate, Erasmus Greek and the original Greek manuscripts. His wording and sentence structures are found in most modern day translations of the Bible.
Tyndale was committed to taking the Bible directly to the people. Expressing open defiance of the Pope, Tyndale said that if God would spare his life he would make it possible for even a ploughboy to know more about Holy Scripture than the Pope himself. By August of 1525 his translation of the New Testament was complete. Printing began at Cologne, but when the authorities forbade the project, Tyndale escaped to Worms, where 6,000 copies were printed and sold in England by April of 1526. Official opposition in England led to the destruction of most of these early copies.
Tyndale's English work is similar to that of Martin Luther. Although he used Luther's German translation, Tyndale also drew upon the Latin Vulgate as well as Erasmus' Greek text. Ninety percent of the New Testament in the King James Version (KJV) is Tyndale's translation. By the same token, where the KJV departed from Tyndale's wording, the English Revised Version (ERV) of 1881 went back to it. Without question, this first printed English New Testament is the basis of all future works of translation.
1536 Tyndale executed. Tyndale did not live to complete his Old Testament translation. On May 21, 1535, he was arrested and later executed for heresy at Vilvorde, Belgium, on October 6, 1536. His dying prayer was that the Lord would open the eyes of the King of England. He left behind a manuscript containing the translation of the historical books from Joshua to 2 Chronicles that was finally published in 1537.
1535 Myles Coverdale, student of Tyndale's, produces a Bible. It includes 80 books (The 39 Old Testament, 27 New Testament and 14 Apochrypha) His version uses the translations Tyndale was able to complete. Coverdale finished translating the rest of the Bible but not being a Hebrew or Greek scholar his portions are based on intermediate Latin and German translations rather than the original Greek and Hebrew.
1537 Matthews Bible printed. Matthews Bible is really Tyndale's translation supplemented by Coverdale's translation. Henry VIII through the efforts of Archbishop Crammer and Thomas Cromwell gave permission for this English version of the Bible to be bought and sold throughout Britain.
Historical Background Leading to King James (Protestant) and Rheims-Douay (Catholic) Bibles: It is during this time that the Protestant Reformers gain political power in England with the breakoff from the Catholic Church by Henry VIII. The various Bible translations that follow are dependent upon the rise and fall of Protestant power. Mary Tudor is Catholic and during her time no new translations are permitted. Elizabeth is Protestant. Mary Stuart, never allowed to reign, is Catholic. Her son James who became King James I of England and King James VI of Scotland was raised in England by Elizabeth as a Protestant upon Mary Stuart's abdication of the crown of Scotland when James was one year of age.
1539 The Great Bible is called that because of it's size but it is basically Matthews Bible and was authorized for public use. It contains 80 books including the Apochrypha as an appendix.
1546 Council of Trent is called to answer the accusations of corruption and apostasy in the Catholic Church by the Protestant Reformers. The Council meets over a 27 year period. One of the results is that Jerome's Latin Vulgate version of the Bible is held to be the official version of the Bible accepted by the Catholic Church.
1560 The Geneva Bible is printed. Verses are added for the first time in this edition. It is also the first translation of the Bible based entirely on the original Hebrew and Greek. It was translated by exiles from England living in Geneva during the Catholic Mary Tudor's reign. The majority of the translation is attributed to William Whittington a relative of John Calvin.
1568 Bishops Bible produced. Because there was no "official" version of the Bible in England at this time, the Archbishop of Canterbury suggested the Geneva Bible be revised by the Bishop's to be used by all the churches. This is the version known as The Bishop's Bible
1609 Rheims-Douay Bible is the First Complete English Catholic Bible. Called Rheims - Douay because the New Testament portion was first completed in Rheims France in 1582 followed by the Old Testament finished in 1609 in Douay. In this version the 14 books of the Apochrypha are returned to the Bible in the order written rather than kept separate in an appendix.
1611 King James Version. The stated purpose of the King James translation was ""not to make a bad version good, but to make a good one better, or out of many good ones one principal good one." It is primarily a re-translation of the Bishop's Bible. 54 men work on translation using all the widely accepted versions up to then including Bishop's, Geneva, Matthews, Coverdale and Tyndale translation as well as looking at original manuscripts. All available copies of the original manuscripts are brought in. It is found that the Hebrew manuscripts are virtually identical while there is wide variations in the Greek manuscripts as they have been hand copied and handed down. The 54 men work as teams checking each other's work. It was printed originally with all 80 books including the Apochrypha again as a separate section.
1613-1901:At that time until today translations have continued as translators gained a better understanding of the Hebrew language and the Greek writers. 300 corrections were made in the 1613 version of the King James Version. In the 18th century Bishop Challoner made revisions to the Rheims-Douay Bible removing some Latin terms and adding the use of King James translation in some areas.
The Apochrypha were removed in 1885 from King James Versions when the English Revised Version was printed and in 1901 when the American Standard Version was printed.

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