10 Amazing Bible Facts

The Bible has so many amazing facts. Here is a list of ten of them.

1 – The Writing of the Bible

The Bible was written over a 1600 year period by approximately 40 men. The time of the writing was from 1500 BC to AD 100.

2 – The Divisions of the Bible

While the Bible is 1 book, it contain 66 smaller books. The books of the Old Testament were written before the birth of Jesus Christ and the New Testament covers the life of Christ and beyond.

3 – Chapters and Verses

Each of the books, except 5, are divided into chapters and verses. The 5 which aren’t divided by chapters are Obadiah, Philemon, 2 John, 3 John, and Jude. These are short books which only have verse divisions.

Chapters were introduced to the Bible in 1238 by Cardinal Hugo de S. Caro. Verse divisions were not added until 1551 by Robertus Stephanus.

4 – The Longest and Shortest of the Bible

The longest chapter if the Bible is Psalm 119 with 176 verses. The shortest chapter is Psalm 117 with only 2 verses. Incidentally, the middle chapter of the Bible is Psalm 118.

The longest book of the Bible is Psalms with 150 chapters, or psalms. It contains 43,743 words. The shortest book is 3 John with only 1 chapter and 299 words.

The longest verse in the Bible is Esther 8:9 with 90 words. The shortest verse is John 11:35 with only 2 words, “Jesus wept.”

5 – The Bible Claims to be God’s Word

There are many books written about and by various religions. But the Bible is the only one which claims to be the actual words of God. Those who believe the Bible also believe that God inspired various people through the years to write down His actual words for mankind. The Bible says more than 3,000 times “thus saith the Lord.” It claims that the words which follow are quotes from God.

6 – The Bible is Historically Accurate

There were several secular historians who wrote about the events of the New Testament at the same time the Bible was being written. Josephus is the most well-known of them. He was a Jewish historian. Tacitus was a Roman historian who would have no benefit from not telling the truth. Both these men, as well as others, can be used to back up the historical accuracy of the Bible.

There are historical discoveries regularly coming to light that continue to support the accuracy of the Bible. Merrill Unger, who compiled a Bible dictionary wrote, “Old Testament archeology has rediscovered whole nations, resurrected important peoples, and in a most astonishing manner filled in historical gaps, adding immeasurably to the knowledge of Biblical backgrounds.”

7 – The Business of the Bible

There are more than 168,000 Bibles either sold or given away per day in the United States according to the Gideons, Wycliffe International and the International Bible Societies.

Historically it has been said that the Bible is the most sold book of all time. It is regularly on various best seller lists.

The Bible has been translated into more than 1,200 languages.

8 – The Bible Never Contradicts Itself

There are no contradictions in the Bible. Various people claim to find contradictions but they have to take verses out of context to do so. When looking at the Bible as a whole and understanding its teachings there are no contradictions. This is amazing when one considers that the Bible was written over such a long period of time.

9 – The Prophecies of the Bible

There are more than 3,200 verses with fulfilled prophecy either within the Bible itself or since the Bible was written. But there are still more than 3,100 verses with unfulfilled prophecies.

10 – The Writers of the Bible

While there were at least 40 different people who wrote parts of the Bible, some were more prolific than others. The Apostle Paul wrote at least 13 books of the Bible. He may have also been the author of the book of Hebrews. Moses wrote the first 5 books.

The Bible attributes more than 3,000 proverbs to King Solomon. These are not all written in the book of Proverbs. However, most of that book is said to be the proverbs of Solomon.

Does warm water really freeze faster than cold water?

 What do you think? Well here is your answer, hot water can and frequently does freeze faster than colder water. This phenomenon has been discussed for centuries; although, it wasn’t until 1969 that a Tanzanian high school student introduced it to the scientific community. For his troubles, the phenomenon was named the “Mpemba Effect” after the student. Since then, physicists have verified that hot water often freezes more quickly than cold water. Scientists have not been able to definitively explain why this happens, but a few phenomena are thought to contribute to the effect: Evaporation—Hot water evaporates faster than cold water and brings away steam (water), thereby reducing the amount of liquid to be cooled. Less ice is created, but it is made at a faster rate. This can only be a partial explanation, however, because studies of completely enclosed containers have also exhibited the Mpemba effect. Convection—As the water cools, its temperature does not remain uniform throughout. The swirling around of the hotter and cooler sections may contribute to faster cooling. Dissolved Gases—Hot water holds fewer amounts of dissolved gases than cold water. These gases may prevent convection or change the temperature necessary to freeze the liquid. Container and Surroundings—The container in which the water is held, as well as the surface or the surroundings in which it is placed, may also affect the cooling process differently at different temperatures. Interesting fact: Many ice cream makers use warm milk to take advantage of the Mpemba effect. Another interesting fact: Cecil Adams of the Straight Dope basically got this one wrong!