Miscellaneous Information About The Bible

by Matt Slick

It has been reported for about 50 years that the Bible has been the largest seller of all books published in the history of the world.

The Bible was written by about 40 men in about 1600 years, dating from 1500 B.C. to about 100 A.D.  These men wrote as they were moved by the Holy Spirit (2 Pet. 1:21).  They wrote not in words of human wisdom but in words taught by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 2:13).

English Bible

  • The first translation of the English Bible was initiated by John Wycliffe and completed by John Purvey in A.D. 1388.
  • The first American edition of the Bible was perhaps published some time before A.D. 1752.
  • The Bible has been translated in part or in whole as of 1964 in over 1,200 different languages or dialects.
  • The Bible was divided into chapters by Stephen Langton about A.D. 1228.
  • The Old Testament was divided into verses by R. Nathan in A.D. 1448 and the New Testament by Robert Stephanus in A.D. 1551.
  • There are 66 books in the Bible, 39 in the OT and 27 in the New. (Note: 3 x 9 = 27).
  • The OT has 929 chapters and 23,214 verses. The NT has 260 chapters and 7,959 verses.
  • In the OT, the longest book is Psalms.  The shortest book is Obadiah.
  • In the NT, the longest book is Acts. The shortest is 3 John.
  • The word "God" occurs 4,379 times. The word "Lord" occurs 7,738 times.
  • Isaiah is referenced 419 times in 23 NT books; Psalms 414 times in 23 books; Genesis 260 times in 21 books.

Unusual things in the Bible

  • Methuselah, who lived to be 969 years old (Gen. 5:27).
  • Sons of God married the daughters of men (Gen. 6:2).
  • Baby had a scarlet thread tied around its hand before it was born (Gen. 38:28-29).
  • Battle won because a man stretched out his hand (Exodus 17:11).
  • Man was spoken to by a donkey (Num. 22:28-30).
  • One who had a bed 13 feet long and 6 feet wide (Deut. 3:11).
  • The women who had to shave their heads before they could marry (Deut. 21:11-13).
  • Sun stood still for a whole day (Josh. 10:13).
  • An army with 700 left-handed men (Judges 20:16).
  • Man whose hair weighed about 6 pounds when it was cut annually (2 Sam. 14:26).
  • Man who had 12 fingers and 12 toes (2 Sam. 21:20).
  • Father who had eighty-eight children (2 Chron. 11:21).
  • The sun traveled backward (Isaiah 38:8).
  • A harlot was an ancestor of Christ (Matt. 1:5).

 

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