More Bible Fun Facts

Posted on November 30, 2020

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By David Ettinger

Last December, I ran a post called Bible Fun Facts. Readers enjoyed it, so here’s a follow up, courtesy of factretriever.com.

1. Over 100 million copies of the Bible are sold each year.

2. In 1631, a publishing company published a Bible with the typo “Thou Shalt Commit Adultery.” Only 9 of these Bibles, known as the “Sinners’ Bible,” exist today.

3. The word “bible” is from the Greek biblia, which means “the scrolls” or “the books.” The word is derived from the ancient city of Byblos, which was the official supplier of paper products to the ancient world.

4. The full Bible has been translated into 532 languages. It has been partially translated into 2,883 languages.

5. Women are more likely than men, older people are more likely than younger people, and African Americans are more likely than other races to read the Bible.

6. According to one author, God killed about 25 million people in the Bible. Satan kills about 60 people, 10 of whom God allowed Satan to kill as part of an agreement in the Book of Job. (Note, regarding God’s “killing” of people, I would regard these all as “God’s righteous judgment, or justice.”)

7. The longest word in the Bible is Mahershalalhashbaz (Isaiah 8:3).

8. While it took more than 1,000 years to write the Old Testament, the New Testament was written within a period of 50-75 years.

9. No original writings of the Bible exist.

10. The Bible informs the tradition of three major world religions: Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.

11. The top 3 highlighted books of all time on Kindle are 1) “The Holy Bible” by Crossway Bibles, 2) “Steve Jobs” by Walter Isaacson, and 3) “The Hunger Games.”

12. John Wycliffe produced the first translation of the entire Bible from the Latin Vulgate into English. However, after he died, the Catholic Church exhumed and burned his corpse as punishment for his translation work.

13. William Tyndale produced the first printed edition of the New Testament in English. He was later burned at the stake for his efforts.

15. Adam’s name is from the Hebrew word adama, which means “the ground.”

16. Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” and Michelangelo’s “Creation of Adam” are the most replicated paintings of all time

17. The first authorized Bible printed in English is the Great Bible of 1539. King Henry VIII of England declared that it should be read aloud during the church services in the Church of England.

18. China is not only the largest producer of textiles and manufactured goods in the world; the country is also the largest producer of Bibles.

19. The Geneva Bible is the first Bible to use numbered verses. It is also the Bible Shakespeare used and the one the Pilgrims brought to America in 1620.

20. While there are no physical descriptions of Jesus in the Bible, the image of him with fair skin, light hair, and blue eyes is most likely incorrect and reflect the cultural influences of European Christians. Christ most likely had more Middle Eastern features.

21. The Bible is the most commonly stolen book in the world, most likely because it is so available in hotel rooms and places of worship.

22. Muslims believe the Bible is revelation from God that has been corrupted by men. They believe the Koran is its correction.

23. Robert Aitken’s Bible (The King James Version without the Apocrypha) was the first English Bible printed in America.

24. The Bible takes place across three continents: Asia, Africa, and Europe.

25. The Bible doesn’t mention how many wise men visited Christ, only that they brought three types of gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

26. The Bible is the best-selling book in history, with total sales exceeding 5 billion copies.

27. The word “Christ” is from the Greek Christos, meaning “the anointed,” which is the noun of the verbal adjective khriein, meaning, “to rub,” or “anoint.”

28. There are 93 women who speak in the Bible, 49 of whom are named. They speak a total of 14,056 words, or about 1.1 percent of the Bible. There are a total of 188 named women in the Bible.

29. Polish-born author Joseph Conrad learned English by reading pages of a Bible before he tore them out and rolled them into cigarettes.

30. Johannes Gutenberg didn’t make any money off of his Bibles

31. The Gutenberg Bible was the first book to be printed using movable metal type.

32. The most expensive book in the world is the translation of Biblical psalms, “The Bay Psalm Book,” which was sold for more than $14 million. It is the first book printed in America and was the Puritans’ attempt to make their translation of the Old Testament book.

33. The world’s smallest Bible can fit on the tip of a pen. Scientists etched the 1.2 million letters of the Old Testament on a tiny silicone disk, which they call the “Nano Bible.”

34. The world’s largest Bible weighs 1,094 pounds. Built by Louis Waynai in 1930, the book is 43.5 inches tall and a laid-open width of 98 inches.

35. The word “Lucifer” is from the Latin lux ­– “light” – plus ferre ­– “carry,” or, literally, “light-bringing.”

36. The last word in the Bible is “Amen.”

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Posted in: Bible history, Editorial/Blog, Having Some Fun, New Testament, Old Testament