Amazing Facts About The Bible

amazing facts about bible

Whether you are a devout follower of the Bible’s teachings or have little interest in reading this ancient text,  plenty of bible facts will spark interest in all audiences. From impressive yearly sales to embarrassing typos, this list of Bible facts is sure to teach you something new about this ancient book.

The Shortest Bible Verse is Two Words

While the Bible is well-known for being wordy and confusing to understand, there remains one verse that is short, sweet and to the point. Found in the New Testament, verse John 11:35 merely reads, “Jesus wept.”

Millions of Bible Sell Every Year

Each year the Bible is printed in thousands of languages around the world. With so much availability it’s no surprise that this religious text sells over 100 million copies per year.

The Bible Was Written in Three Languages

written in Hebrew

Image: CC BY 2.0, Stock Catalog, via Flickr

Most people are accustomed to reading the bible in one single language, but that’s not the way it was written. The books known as the Old Testament were originally written in Hebrew with bits of Aramaic thrown in. The New Testament was originally penned in Greek. These three different languages are representing the different times and places that the bible was written.

The Bible Had Over 40 Traditional Authors

Plenty of the books in the Bible are attributed to specific authors such as Moses and other prophets. However, when you break it down, the bible is known to have numerous authors totaling over forty in all. These authors came from diverse backgrounds including kings and criminals.

Only One Book in the New Testament Has Unknown Author

On the subject of authorship, the New Testament has a well-defined origin for each of its books except one. For centuries scholars have debated about who is responsible for penning the letter found in the book of Hebrews. To date, numerous potential authors have been brought forth including Paul, Apollos, and even Barnabas.

Bible Facts: God Killed More People Than Satan

According to the stories in the Bible, God is directly responsible for a far more significant number of deaths than Satan himself. In bible facts, in one story, God gives Satan permission to kill ten people. Although, if you consider the fact that Satan was initially an angel, this may be less surprising.

 Parts of the Bible are a Dream Journal

We’ve all heard about the benefits of recording our dreams when we wake up in the morning. Apparently, the practice was common in the days of biblical writings as well. At least twenty-one dreams are recorded in the bible.

The Bible is Relevant to Three Religions

While most people associate the Bible with the different Christian faiths, the teachings found within are, in fact, relevant to two other religions as well. Both Judaism and Islam use instructions found in the Bible to inform their followers. Together the three religions are referring to as the “People of the Book.”

A Heretic Originally Translated the Bible into English

The bible was once only available in Latin and accessible mainly to Catholic church officials.  However, John Wycliffe would work tirelessly in his lifetime to change that fact. While his life was somewhat eventful, Wycliffe did eventually translate the Bible into English. After his death, the Catholic church exhumed and burned his corpse deeming Wycliffe a heretic.

Many Bibles are Made in China

bible made in china

Image: Public Domain, GnuDoyng, via Wikimedia

China is well known as a leading producer of textiles and manufactured goods. But most people don’t realize that China is also the world’s largest producers of bibles. In 2012 alone the country’s only bible printer manufactured approximately 12 million Bibles and new testaments.

Bible Facts: Bibles are a Favorite of Thieves

Many people are at least vaguely aware of the Bible’s commandment, “Thou shall not steal.” However, experts agree, the most commonly stolen book is the bible. Some people think that this phenomenon occurs because these holy texts are so readily available in public places like hotels.

Only Two Angels Have Names

angels

Image: Public Domain United States, Szilas in the Greek Orthodox Church and Museum, Miskolc, via Wikimedia

Angels are undoubtedly an integral part of the Christian faith. However, as important as they may be just two angels have a name. These angels are the well known Michael and Gabriel. Lucifer is known as “anointed cherub” in the bible.

The Truth of Adam and Eve

Although most people will tell you that Adam and Eve were expelled from Eden for eating from the Tree of Knowledge, that isn’t entirely true. Genesis 3:22-23, God expels the original humans from his harmonious garden to prevent them from eating from the Tree of Life.

The Bible Was not Originally Divided

Anphter Bible facts, here we are not referencing the division between Old Testament and New Testament. Instead, we are referencing all of the material in general. Chapters and verses were not identified until much later when various biblical scholars began the work of dividing out each. The first Bible to be completely divided into chapters and verses was the Geneva Bible of 1560 A.D.

The Longest Word in the Bible

The bible knowing for having a plethora of exciting and complicated to pronounce names throughout. However, the most difficult and the longest word found in the bible today. The name Maher-shalal-hash-baz is 18 letters long and appears in Isaiah 8:1.

Jesus’s Appearance

garden of eden

Image: Public Domain in the United States, Till Niermann, via Wikimedia

Although Jesus is present throughout much of the New Testament, there is not a single description of his appearance in the entire Bible. The typical depiction of Jesus with light hair, light skin, and blue eyes is likely inaccurate and based on the cultural influence of European Christians. This is a Bible fact.

The King James Bible

The King James Bible is frequently said to be unparalleled regarding translation accuracy and literary beauty. Over fifty scholars worked together to bring together this unique translation. Also, Shakespeare may have contributed to the composition of the King James Bible.

Bible Facts: The World’s Smallest Bible

When we think of small bibles, it is easy to envision the little palm-sized New Testaments that are frequently hand out free. However, in 2015, scientists were able to etch all of the Old Testament onto a disk as small as the tip of a pen. This so-called Nano-Bible began as an experiment in condensing large amounts of data into incredibly small spaces.

Jesus Had Six Siblings

family image of jesus

Image: CC BY 2.0, Waiting For The Word, via Flickr

A typical image of Jesus and his family would probably include Mary, Joseph and of course baby Jesus. However surprising it may be, according to the bible, Jesus had at least four brothers and two sisters. While each of his brothers have names, neither of his sisters have monikers.

The Old Testament Took A Long Time to Write

Being the more extended testament of the bible, it is not surprising that it took longer to write the Old Testament than the New Testament. However, what is surprising is that it took over 1000 years to write these words of God. In contrast, it took less than 100 years to compose the New Testament.

The Gnostic Gospels

In 1945, fifty-two texts were discovered in Egypt some of which concerned the life and teachings of Jesus. These texts are typically dated to the 4th century and still cause much controversy among biblical scholars. In these so-called gospels, Jesus’ teachings and actions are entirely different from what we see in the New Testament.

The Bible, Birthdays are Deadly

Jehovah’s Witnesses known for knocking on doors to spread their message. Nevertheless, did you know that followers of this faith do not celebrate birthdays? As an explanation of this culturally unique behavior, Jehovah’s Witnesses cite the fact that both birthday parties mentioned in the bible end in murder.

The Bible Forbids Swearing on the Bible

Further Bible facts, in the Book of Matthew, the bible explicitly states that Christians should not swear at all. In fact, Matthew attests that communications should be as simple as possible to avoid the “cometh of evil.” Interestingly enough, the Bible is still used to swear jurors and witnesses to honesty in court and to swear in public officials.

Owning a Bible Can Be Deadly

For North Koreans, possessing a Bible is a crime that is punishable by death. However, despite this startling fact, it is estimated that there are up to 100,000 Christians currently living in North Korea.

Eating the Bible

From 1889 to 1913, an eccentric leader named Menelik II ruled Ethiopia. One notable tidbit about this leader is his use of the bible to “heal” himself when feeling ill. He believed that eating a few pages of the Scripture could make him feel better. Unfortunately, this strange habit led to his demise in 1913 when he tried to eat the entire books of Kings.

Thou Shalt Commit Adultery?

To wrap up this exciting list of Bible facts, we will briefly mention an embarrassing typo that occurred in 1631. After printing 1000 copies, its officials found that this edition of the Bible was missing the word “not” in the Seventh Commandment: “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” The printers faced steep fines and lost their printing license.