The Facts about Bible

1. How many books are in the Bible?
The Bible contains 66 books, divided among the Old and New Testaments.

2. How many books are in the Old Testament?
There are 39 books in the Old Testament.

3. How many books are in the New Testament?
There are 27 books in the New Testament.

4. What does "testament" mean?
Testament means "covenant" or "contract."

5. Who wrote the Bible?
The Bible was written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit by over 40 different authors from all walks of life: shepherds, farmers, tent-makers, physicians, fishermen, priests, philosophers and kings. Despite these differences in occupation and the span of years it took to write it, the Bible is an extremely cohesive and unified book.

6. Which single author contributed the most books to the Old Testament?
Moses. He wrote the first five books of the Bible, referred to as the Pentateuch; the foundation of the Bible.

7. Which single author contributed the most books to the New Testament?
The Apostle Paul, who wrote 14 books (over half) of the New Testament.

8. When was the Bible written?
It was written over a period of some 1,500 years, from around 1450 B.C. (the time of Moses) to about 100 A.D. (following the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ).

9. What is the oldest book in the Old Testament? 
Many scholars agree that Job is the oldest book in the Bible, written by an unknown Israelite about 1500 B.C. Others hold that the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible) are the oldest books in the Bible, written between 1446 and 1406 B.C.

10. What is the youngest book in the Old Testament?
The book of Malachi, written about 400 B.C.

11. What is the oldest book of the New Testament?
Probably the book of James, written as early as A.D. 45.

12. What is the youngest book in the New Testament?
The Book of Revelation is the youngest book of the New Testament, written about 95 A.D.

13. What languages was the Bible written in?
The Bible was written in three languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Koine Greek.

14. When was the Bible canonized?
The entire New Testament as we know it today, was canonized before the year 375 A.D. The Old Testament had previously been canonized long before the advent of Christ.

15. What does "canon" mean?
"Canon" is derived front the Greek word "Kanon," signifying a measuring rod. Thus, to have the Bible "canonized" meant that it had been measured by the standard or test of divine inspiration and authority. It became the collection of books or writings accepted by the apostles and leadership of the early Christian church as a basis for Christian belief. It is the standard by which all Christians throughout the ages live and worship.

16. When was the first translation of the Bible made into English?
The First translation was initiated in 1382 A.D., by John Wycliffe from Vulgate to Vernacular English now known as Wycliffe Bible. Completed by his associate John Purvey in 1388.

17. When was the Bible printed?
The Bible was printed in 1454 A.D. by Johannes Gutenberg who invented the "type mold" for the printing press. It was the first book ever printed.

18. What is the oldest almost-complete manuscript of the Bible now in existence?
The Codex Vaticanus, which dates from the first half of the fourth Century. It is located in the library of the Vatican in Rome. There are older fragments of the Bible that are still preserved however-- the oldest being a tiny scrap of the Gospel of John was found in Egypt, dating back to the beginning of the second century. (It is currently in the Rayland's Library in Manchester, England).

19. What is the longest book in the Bible?
The book of Psalms.

20. What is the shortest book in the Bible?
2 John.

21. What is the longest chapter in the Bible?
Psalm 119

22. What is the shortest chapter in the Bible?
Psalm 117

23. What is the longest verse in the Bible?
Esther 8:9

24. What is the shortest verse in the Bible?
John 11:35

25. Which book in the Bible does not mention the word "God?"
The book of Esther.

26. Who was the oldest man that ever lived?
Methuselah who lived to be 969 years old (Genesis 5:27).

27. Who were the two men in the Bible who never died but were caught up to heaven?
Enoch, who walked with God and was no more (Genesis 5:22-24). Elijah, who was caught up by a whirlwind into heaven (II Kings 2:11).

28. Who does the Bible say was the meekest man in the Bible (not including Jesus)?
Moses (Numbers 12:3).

29. How many languages has the Bible been translated into?

The Holy Bible has been translated into 2,018 languages, with countless more partial translations, and audio translations (for unwritten languages). (This is an enormous amount of translations. In comparison, Shakespeare, considered by many to be the master writer of the English language, has only been translated into 50 languages.)

30. Who does the Bible say was the meekest man in the Bible (not including Jesus)?

Stephen Langton, (c.1150- 9 July 1228) was the Archbishop of Canterbury. 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.

31. How many chapters and verses does Old Testament and New Testament has?

The Old Testament has 939 chapters and 23214 verses and the New Testament has 260 chapters and 7959 verses.

32. How much times in the Bible the word "God" and "Lord" appears?

God - 4379 times and Lord - 7738 times

References:

American Bible Society, 1865 Broadway, New York, NY 10023
Halley, Henry H. Halley's Bible Handbook (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1927, 1965).
Maxwell, Arthur. Your Bible And You (Washington D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1959).
Mickelson, A. Berkley and Alvera. Understanding Scripture (Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 1982, 1992).
Unger, Merrill F. TH.D., PH.D. Unger's Bible Handbook (Chicago: Moody Press, 1967)

Christian Apologetic & Research Ministry (CARM - 2012)

Uniqueness of the Bible

Bible has a lot of variety; Bible consists of 66 books written

•   Over about a fifteen-hundred-year span (around 1400 B.C to 100 A.D.)
•   By more than forty authors from every walk of life including
     •    Moses, a political leader and judge, trained in the universities of Egypt
     •    David, a king, poet, musician, shepherd, and warrior
     •    Amos, a herdsman
     •    Joshua, a military general
     •    Nehemiah, a cupbearer to a pagan king
     •    Daniel, a prime minister
     •    Solomon, a king and philosopher
     •    Luke, a physician and historian
     •    Peter, a fisherman
     •    Matthew, a tax collector
     •    Paul, a Jewish rabbi
     •    Mark, Peterís secretary
•    In different places
     •    Moses in the wilderness
     •    Jeremiah in a dungeon
     •    Daniel on a hillside and in a palace
     •    Paul inside prison walls
     •    Luke while traveling
     •    John in exile
•    At different times
     •    David in times of war and sacrifice
     •    Solomon in times of peace and prosperity
•    During different moods
     •    Some writing from the heights of joy
     •    Some writing from the depths of sorrow and despair
     •    Some during times of certainty and conviction
     •    Some during days of confusion and doubt
•    On three continents
     •    Asia
     •    Africa
     •    Europe
•    In three languages
     •    Hebrew (for almost all of Old Testament)
     •    Aramaic (Daniel 2-7, Ezra 4-7)

     •    Greek (New Testament)
•     In a wide variety of literary styles
     •     Historical narrative
     •     Poetry
     •     Song
     •     Romance
     •     Personal correspondence
     •     Memoirs
     •     Satire
     •     Biography
     •     Autobiography
     •     Law
     •     Prophecy
     •     Parable
     •     Allegory


The Bible is unique in its
• Teachings not natural to the mind of man ñ Godís holiness, manís total sinfulness, his disobedience and rebellion, the punishment for sin - death, Godís immeasurable love
• Story, The Person named Christ. Each Book in the Bible reveals more of Christ for e.g.:                   The books of the Law prepare the foundation for Christ, the historical books prepare for Christ, the poetical books aspire for Christ, the prophetical books   expect   Christ,   the   gospels   manifest   Christ   while   the   epistles   propagate   Christ   and   the   book   of   Revelation consummates everything in Christ.
•    Circulation (read by more people than any other book in the world)
•    Translation (translated into all the major languages of the world )
•    Survival through time, persecution and criticism .
•     In its influence on mankind and history.

Courtesy: Compilation of works by Various Christian Theologians and Techno park Christian Friends (Thiruvanthapuram, Kerala | India)

The Beginning - the Last 2 Days of God's Creation

Sixth Day  - Wild Animals, livestock, everything that crawl on the ground and man.

And God said, "Let the land Produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock,creatures that move along the ground and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

Then God said,"Let US make man in OUR image, in OUR likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea, and the birds of the air,over the livestock,over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

So God created man in his own image, in the image of god he created him; male and female he created them.

God Blessed them and said to them,"Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."Then God said,"Igive you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground - everything that has breadth of life in it - I give every green plant for food." And it was so.

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening,and there was morning - the sixth day.

Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.

Seventh Day - God Rested and made Holy Day

By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.