Bible Facts & Triva
Bible as a word
Our word Bible originates from the Greek word βιβλος meaning books (scroll format) and derived from the ancient city of Biblos, a large supplier of paper to the ancient world.
Bible into Chapters?
Stephen Langton was the Archbishop of Canterbury (1207-1228 AD). He divided the Bible into chapters around 1227. This pattern was first used by John Wycliffe in his English translation of the Latin Vulgate in 1382. Since that time, most Bibles still reflect Langton's chapter divisions.
Bible into Verses?
The Hebrew Old Testament was divided into verses by Rabbi Nathan in 1448 A.D. Robert Estienne, also known as Stephanus, first divided the New Testament into verses in 1555, also incorporating Nathan's Old Testament verse divisions. The Geneva Bible of 1560 was the first Bible in any language to use the chapter and verse divisions of Langton and Stephanus.
Red Text for words of Jesus?
Answer: Lous Klopsch, editor of the Christian Herald magazine, got the idea after reading the words of Jesus in Luke 22:20, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” Klopsch asked influential people about this innovation and it soon became a reality.
Old Testament Quotes in the New?
Jesus directly quoted or indirectly referenced Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Psalms, Proverbs, 1 Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Amos, Jonah, Micah, Zechariah, and Malachi. Only Esther, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon are silent in the New Testament.
How long to Read?
Most people can read the Bible in less than a year by reading three chapters each day and five on Sunday. Reading fifteen chapters each day will finish the exercise in about three months.
The following is based on the King James Bible, Oxford Standard edition of 1769
Biblical Totals?
66 books, OT 39, NT 27
1,189 chapters, OT 929, NT 260
31,173 verses, OT 23,214, NT 7,958
783,137 words, OT 622,771, NT 180,552
3,566,480 letters, OT. 2,728,100, NT 838,380
This lengthy and invaluable calculation was completed and confirmed before the use of modern computers
Most & Least
33,002 - Jeremiah has the most words
219 - 3 John has the least words
Original Languages
8,674 Old Testament Hebrew words
5,624 New Testament Greek words
12,143 English words
O.T. Longest Book
Psalms with 150 chapters
O.T. Longest Chapter
Psalm 119 with 176 verses
O.T. Longest Verse
Esther 8:9 with 89 words and 425 letters
O.T. Shortest Book
Obadiah with 1 chapter and 21 verses
O.T. Shortest Chapter
Psalm 117 with 2 verses
O.T. Shortest Verse
1 Chronicles 1:25 with 3 words and 12 letters
N.T. Longest Book
Luke with 24 chapters and 1151 verses (Acts has 28 chapters but 1006 verses)
N.T. Longest Chapter
Luke 1 with 80 verses
N.T. Longest Verse
Revelation 20:4 with 68 words and 282 letters
N.T. Shortest Book
3 John with 1 chapter, 14 verses, and 294 words (2 John has 13 verses but 298 words)
N.T. Shortest Chapter
Revelation 15 with 8 verses and 252 words
N.T. Shortest Verse
John 11:35 with 2 words and 9 letters
N.T. Longest Sentence in Greek manuscripts
Ephesians 1:3-14 with 203 words and 1312 letters
Many translations change this into more than sentence.
Longest Name in the Bible
Isaiah 8:1 Mahershalalhashbaz with 18 letters
Price of a Chariot
A chariot imported from Egypt cost around 600 shekels of silver (1 Kings 10:29). That would be about $77,000 in 2016 US dollars, based on one shekel being about 4 days' wages.
Missing Animal
The Bible mentions the ant, antelope, badger, bat, bear, bee, camel, cow, deer, dog, donkey, dove, eagle, fish, fox, goat, gnat, grasshopper, hawk, horse, lamb, leviathan, lion, locust, lizard, moth, mule, ox, owl, peacock, pig, pigeon, quail, ram, raven, rooster, seagull, serpent, sheep, snail, sparrow, viper, vulture, wolf, worm --- but not the domestic house cat.
10 Plagues of Egypt
1. Water turns to blood
2. Frogs
3. Lice
4. Flies
5. Livestock die
6. Boils and sores
7. Hailstorm
8. Locust devastation
9. Darkness
10. Death of all first-born
NOWHERE
Nowhere in the Bible does it say that the forbidden fruit of Adam & Eve was an apple.
NOWHERE
Nowhere in the Bible does it say that angels have wings.
NOWHERE
Nowhere in the Bible does it say people mocked Noah for building the ark.
NOWHERE
Nowhere in the Bible does it say Elijah went to heaven in a chariot. It was a whirlwind.
NOWHERE
Nowhere in the book of Esther or Song of Solomon do we find the word God.
NOWHERE
Nowhere in the Bible does it say that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute or even overtly sexual.
NOWHERE
Nowhere in the book of Matthew does it say three kings visited the birthplace of Jesus. Only three gifts.