The word Bible comes from Greek, through Latin, and means: books.
The Bible has already been translated into more than 1500 languages and dialects.
In the year 1250 Cardinal Caro divided the Bible into chapters, which were divided into verses in the year 1550, by Robert Stevens.
The entire Bible was written over a period spanning more than 1600 years.
It is a work of about 40 authors, from the most varied professions: from humble farmers, fishermen to renowned kings.
The Old Testament was written in Hebrew, with the exception of some passages in Esdras, Jeremiah and Daniel that were written in Aramaic.
The New Testament was written in Greek.
The Codex Vaticanus is probably the oldest copy of the Bible in complete form.
The first complete translation of the Bible into English was made by Wycliffe, in 1380.
Martin Luther was the first translator of the Bible into the language of the German people.
In the library of the University of Gottingen, Germany, there is a Bible that was written on 470 palm leaves.
The oldest book of the Bible is not Genesis, but Jo. It is believed to have been written by Moses, when he was in the desert.
The first Psalm is found in II Samuel 1:19-27, an elegy by David in memory of Saul and his son Jonathan.
The Bible contains 1189 chapters and 31102 verses.
Esther 8:9 is the longest verse in the Bible.
In the book of Esther and in the book of Song of Songs the word God is not found.
The Old Testament ends with a curse, and the New Testament ends with a blessing.
The last book of the Bible to be written was III Jo.
There are 3573 promises in the Bible.
The book of Isaiah resembles a small Bible: it contains 66 chapters; the first 39 speak of past history, and the remaining 27 present promises of the future.
Of the four evangelists only two walked with Jesus; Mark and Luke were not his disciples.
All verses of Psalm 136 end with the same refrain: "For His mercy endures forever."
The prophet who came after Malachi was Jo the Baptist.
Judas was the only one of the twelve apostles who was not a Galilean.
Jo was the youngest disciple of the twelve.
The verses 8, 15, 21 and 31 of Psalm 107 are the same.
Methuselah, the oldest man in the Bible, died before his father, Enoch, who ascended to Heaven.
Lot was the father of Moab and Ben-ammi, and also the grandfather of the two because "Lot's two daughters conceived by their own father". (Gen. 19:36-38).
42 thousand people lost their lives for not knowing how to pronounce the word Shibboleth. (Judges 12:5, 6).
Adam did not have a mother-in-law.
The only age of a woman that is mentioned in the Bible is that of Sarah (Gen. 23:1).
The first surgery was performed by God, when he took a rib from Adam. (Gen. 2:21,22).
Besides Jesus, Elijah and Moses were the only men who fasted 40 days and 40 nights. (I Kings 19:8 and Deut. 9:9).
Noah's ark had three floors. (Gen. 6:16).
Psalm 119 is the longest in the Bible, it is an acrostic. The 176 verses are divided into 22 sections of eight verses each, corresponding to each of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
In Gath there was a man of great stature, who had 6 fingers on each hand and on each foot. (II Samuel 21:20).
Elijah had the privilege of eating a meal prepared by an angel.
There are many curious data relating to biblical statistics. One of the numbers that appears most in the Bible is 7. Among the Hebrews this number was considered sacred and a symbol of perfection.
Noah was 600 years old when he finished the ark.
The wise Solomon left more than three thousand proverbs.
The most profitable mathematical operation was performed by Jesus when he multiplied 5 loaves and 2 fish to feed more than five thousand people and there were still 12 baskets full left over.
A talent was a Greek coin worth the equivalent of about fifteen hundred dollars.
Judas sold Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, equivalent to about 20 dollars.
It is calculated that the gift that Naaman offered to Elisha, which Gehazi finally took for himself, was equivalent to about 48,000 dollars.
James, son of Zebedee, was the first of the apostles to die for his faith. He was beheaded by sword by order of King Herod Agrippa I, around the year 44 of our era.
Paul, the great apostle of the gentiles, was beheaded in Rome by order of the tyrant Nero.
In I Samuel 17:18, cheese is mentioned for the first time in the Bible.
In Judges 14:18 we find one of the oldest examples of a riddle.
Two kings of the Amorites were put to flight by wasps.
The last city mentioned in the Bible is the holy city. (Rev. 22:19).
Psalm 117 is the shortest chapter in the Bible.
Psalm 118 is the chapter that is in the center of the Bible. There are 594 chapters before and after Psalm 118.
The verse that is found in the center of the Bible is in Psalm 118:8.
The Church is built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets (Ephesians 2:20).
The greeting of the Church is with a holy kiss (Rom 16:16).
For a woman to pray to the Lord, and to prophesy, she must cover herself with a veil (I Cor. 11:5, 6).
There is one Lord one faith and one baptism (Ephesians 4:5).
The Lord Jesus is the true God and eternal life (I Jo 5:20).
We must be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and not in the titles Father, Son and Holy Spirit (I Jo 2:13).
That the first baptism performed by the Church was in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 2:38).
Ev. Luiz Carlos
ev.luizcarlos@obraemrestauracao.org