Amazing Bible Facts And Statistics - compiled from various sites and sources
Read all the facts from our Bible history timeline poster. Based on statistics, these will help you understand so many things that weren’t clear after reading the Bible. We have compiled these Bible facts and statistics after much research from various places to provide you vivid knowledge of the holy book.
Some Bible Facts:
You may find it interesting that the system of chapters was introduced in A.D. 1238 by Cardinal Hugo de S. Caro, while the verse notations were added in 1551 by Robertus Stephanus, after the advent of printing.
There is a Bible in the University of Gottingen written on 2,470 palm leaves.
According to statistics from Wycliffe International, Gideons International, and the International Bible Society, the number of new Bibles that are sold, given away, or otherwise distributed in the United States is about 168,000 per day.
There are 8,674 different Hebrew words in the Bible, 5,624 different Greek words, and 12,143 different English words in the King James Version.
Some verses in the Bible (KJV) contain all but 1 letter of the alphabet:
Ezra 7:21 contains all but the letter j;
Joshua 7:24, 1 Kings 1:9, 1 Chronicles 12:40, 2 Chronicles 36:10, Ezekiel 28:13, Daniel 4:37, and Haggai 1:1 contain all but q;
2 Kings 16:15 and 1 Chronicles 4:10 contain all but x;
Galatians 1:14 contains all but the letter k.
BIBLE STATISTICS (King James Authorized):
Number of books in the Bible: 66
Chapters: 1,189
Verses: 31,102
Words: 783,137
Letters: 3,116,480
Number of promises that are given in the Bible: 1,260
Commands: 6,468
Predictions: over 8,000
Fulfilled prophecy: 3,268 verses
Unfulfilled prophecy: 3,140
Number of questions: 3,294
Longest name: Mahershalalhashbaz (Isaiah 8:1)
Longest verse: Esther 8:9 (78 words)
Shortest verse: John 11:35 (2 words: "Jesus wept"). This is the King James Bible. Some Bibles might be Job 3:2 (Job said.), but King James has that as "Job answered" which is longer than Jesus wept.
Middle books: Micah and Nahum
Middle verse: Psalm 103:2-3
Middle chapter: Psalm 117
Shortest chapter (by number of words): Psalm 117 (by number of words)
Longest book: Psalms (150 chapters)
Shortest book (by number of words): 3 John
Longest chapter: Psalm 119 (176 verses)
Number of times the word "God" appears: 4,094
Number of times the word "Lord" appears: 6,781
Number of different authors: 40
Number of languages the Bible has been translated into: over 1,200
OLD BIBLE TESTAMENT STATISTICS (King James Authorized):
Second Era: from Creation to the Tower of Babel (Genesis chapters 3-12.) This is too far back in antiquity to either prove or disprove. Scientists will argue on both sides for and against a world wide flood, the tower of Babel and more.
The Bible is essentially a religious history. Even those who wrote the Bible made it clear it was not a secular history, even though secular events are referred to. It is a book about God and his relationship with man. That cannot be proven or dis-proven logically. It is a spiritual matter.
However, people and events mentioned in the Bible can be found in the historical writings of other nearby countries. Also, historical records of the Israelite nations other than the Bible prove the history of the Bible is correct.
The earliest records of the Israelites were written on papyrus, rather than clay tablets that were used by other cultures at that time. Many of those papyri have been destroyed. And yet proof of Biblical events exist.
1. The Smithsonian Department of Anthropology is reported to have said this about the Bible (referring to history, not spiritual teachings.)
“Much of the Bible, in particular the historical books of the old testament, are as accurate historical documents as any that we have from antiquity and are in fact more accurate than many of the Egyptian, Mesopotamian, or Greek histories. These Biblical records can be and are used as are other ancient documents in archeological work. For the most part, historical events described took place and the peoples cited really existed. This is not to say that names of all peoples and places mentioned can be identified today, or that every event as reported in the historical books happened exactly as stated.” (http://www.csnradio.com/tema/links/SmithsonianLetter.pdf.)
Here's part of a letter from the National Geographic
I referred your inquiries to our staff archeologist, Dr. George Stuart. He said that archaeologists do indeed find the Bible a valuable reference tool, and use it many times for geographical relationships, old names and relative chronologies. On the enclosed list, you will find many articles concerning discoveries verifying events discussed in the Bible. ~ National Geographic Society, Washington D.C.
Historical Events from Abraham to Solomon.
2. In 1990 Frank Yurco, an Egyptologist at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago used hieroglyphic clues from a monolith known as the Merneptah Stele to identify figures in a Luxor wall relief as ancient Israelites. The stele itself, dated to 1207 B.C. celebrates a military victory by the Pharaoh Merneptah. “Israel is laid waste” it reads. This lets us know the Israelites were a separate people more than 3,000 years ago. (for more on the steleh)
3. Some historians insist the Canaanites were a dying culture when the Israelites gradually moved in and took over their lands. This actually supports the Bible which has God saying to the Israelites
"And I will send hornets [despair] before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee. I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee. By little and little I will drive them out from before thee until thou be increased, and inherit the land." Exodus 23:28-30 King James Authorized
Detractors of the Bible claim that there is little proof of the use of slaves in Egypt or of the Exodus, of the conquering of the Canaanites by the Israelites or (prior to 1993) of King David’s reign. But the absence of proof is not proof of absence. It only takes one find to change that picture.
4. For example, until 1993 there was no proof of the existence of King David or even of Israel as a nation prior to Solomon. Then in 1993 archeologists found proof of King David's existence outside the Bible. At an ancient mound called Tel Dan, in the north of Israel, words carved into a chunk of basalt were translated as "House of David" and "King of Israel". This proved that David was more than just a legend.
5. In 2005 Israeli archaeologist Eilat Mazar found King David's palace relying on the Bible as one of her many tools. She says:
“What is amazing about the Bible is that very often we see that it is very accurate and sometimes amazingly accurate.” (from Using the Bible As Her Guide)
Fourth Era: Historical Events From Solomon to the End of the Old Testament
6. R.D. Wilson who wrote “A Scientific Investigation of the Old Testament” pointed out that the names of 29 Kings from ten nations (Egypt, Assyria, Babylon and more) are mentioned not only in the Bible but are also found on monuments of their own time. Every single name is transliterated in the Old Testament exactly as it appears on the archaeological artifact – syllable for syllable, consonant for consonant. The chronological order of the kings is correct.
7. John M. Lundquist writes
“A significant example of the contribution ancient inscriptions have made to our understanding of the Old Testament is the Moabite Stone, also known as the Mesha Inscription.
Biblical Account
Mesha, king of the Moabites, those distant cousins of the Israelites who lived on the east side of the Dead Sea, is introduced in the Bible in the third chapter of 2 Kings [2 Kgs. 3] as a vassal to the King of Israel, about 849 B.C. With the death of Ahab, Mesha rebelled against this relationship. This prompted Ahab's son, Jehoram, to engage the alliance of Jehoshaphat, the King of Judah, and the King of Edom in a military campaign against Mesha. With the help of prophetic advice from Elisha, the alliance was able to gain a victory over the Moabites. Mesha retreated behind the walls of his citadel, Kir-hareseth, and it was there, upon one of these walls, that he sacrificed his first-born son as a burnt offering in order to invoke the wrath of his god, Chemosh, against Jehoram's army. The Bible tells us that the Israelites were so horrified by this act that they returned home. (See 2 Kgs. 3:27.)
This ends the biblical account of Mesha, and if it weren't for the discovery of the Moabite Stone in 1868 by a German missionary, the story would have ended there.
Moabite Record Confirming Biblical Account
The Moabite Stone is an inscription in the Moabite language, a Semitic language closely related to biblical Hebrew. The inscription, of about thirty-five lines, was chiseled into a piece of black basalt measuring about three feet tall by one-and-one-half feet wide. That inscription, dated approximately 830 B.C., was set up by King Mesha in a temple at Dhiban to commemorate his "victory" over the Israelites. The Moabite Stone, in fact, gives King Mesha's side of the story. As such it provides a rare glimpse from a genuinely ancient but non-biblical source of an incident in biblical history.
The overriding theme of the inscription is very familiar: that the deity, in this case Chemosh, guided Mesha in his trials and finally gave him victory. The inscription states that Chemosh had allowed King Omri of Israel to oppress Moab for many years because of the Moabites' sins. (See Near Eastern Religious Texts Relating to the Old Testament, ed. Walter Beyerlin, Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1978, pp. 237-40.) During this time, Omri and his followers had taken much land in Moab and fortified it. (The Bible itself does not mention these campaigns by northern kings-with the exception of the account already quoted from 2 Kgs. 3.) At that point, Chemosh turns his favor toward Mesha and instructs him to defeat the Israelites. Mesha follows instructions, defeats the Israelites, and then uses Israelite prisoners to make repairs on the temple of Chemosh at Dhiban.
From a historian's point of view, Mesha's account of his successful rebellion against Israelite domination can probably be given credibility. As we have already seen, the Israelite-Judahite-Edomite coalition against him in 849 B.C. was successfully rebuffed by the human sacrifice which Mesha offered to Chemosh on the wall of his citadel. (See 2 Kgs. 3.) What's more, if the date of 830 B.C. for the setting up of this monument is accurate, then Mesha's statement about the fate of the house of Omri would also be accurate, since we know that Omri's royal line was wiped out by Jehu in about 842 B.C. (See 2 Kgs. 9.) Thus, Mesha no doubt saw himself and his god, Chemosh, vindicated by events.
The fact that Israel's neighbors viewed their gods in the same light as Israel viewed the Lord, and the fact that certain biblical customs should also be found among some of these neighbors, should in no way disturb anyone. Perhaps the Moabites and others borrowed these customs from the Israelites, or, more probably, since the Moabites are descendants from Abraham's nephew Lot through the latter's daughter (see Gen. 19:37), there would be much in the way of religion and culture that they would share in common. One of the sobering facts that we learn from a study of the Bible during the period of the united and divided monarchies is that sometimes the worship of idols such as Chemosh appears to have been more popular among the Israelites than the worship of the Lord himself. (See 1 Kgs. 11:7; 1 Kgs. 19:18; 2 Kgs. 17; 2 Kgs. 21; 1 Ne. 1:19-20.) The Moabite Stone gives us a picture of such an idol as one of his native adherents would have viewed him.
Facts 8-11: Ancient Inscriptions confirming Assyrian Kings' Siege of Jerusalem and Nebuchadnezzar's Conquest
There are a number of other ancient inscriptions that have provided valuable insights into biblical history from a non-biblical perspective. Among these are the Gezar Calendar, the Samaria Ostraca, the Siloam Inscription, the Lachish Letters, and numerous Phoenician and Aramaic inscriptions. (These can be examined in translation, with reference to the originals, in Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, ed. James B. Pritchard, 2nd ed., Princeton: Princeton University, 1955, pp. 320-24; 3rd ed., 1969, pp. 653-62.) Among the most important of these are the royal inscriptions of the Assyrian and Babylonian kings. We have inscriptions of the Assyrian kings Sargon II and Sennacherib describing their sieges of Samaria in 721 and Jerusalem in 701, respectively, as well as inscriptions relating the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar's conquests of Jerusalem in the latter years of Judah's existence before the exile. (See Pritchard, 2nd ed., pp. 284-88; 3rd ed., pp. 563-64.)
What value have such inscriptions added to our understanding of the Bible? In addition to providing new perspective, they "pinpoint events and ... supply a wider view of the biblical past, discovering phenomena in ancient Israel not preserved in its literature." (See Gaalyahu Cornfeld, Archaeology of the Bible)"
The following information is taken from a site dedicated to discoveries made by archaeologists working in and around present day Jerusalem.
12. Ostraca (inscribed potsherds) Over 100 ostraca inscribed in biblical Hebrew (in paleo-Hebrew script) were found in the citadel of Arad. This is the largest and richest collection of inscriptions from the biblical period ever discovered in Israel. The letters are from all periods of the citadel's existence, but most date to the last decades of the kingdom of Judah. Dates and several names of places in the Negev are mentioned, including Be'er Sheva.
13. Among the personal names are those of the priestly families Pashur and Meremoth, both mentioned in the Bible. (Jeremiah 20:1; Ezra 8:33) Some of the letters were addressed to the commander of the citadel of Arad, Eliashiv ben Ashiyahu, and deal with the distribution of bread (flour), wine and oil to the soldiers serving in the fortresses of the Negev. Seals bearing the inscription "Eliashiv ben Ashiyahu" were also found.
Some of the commander's letters (probably "file" copies) were addressed to his superior and deal with the deteriorating security situation in the Negev. In one of them, he gives warning of an emergency and requests reinforcements to be sent to another citadel in the region to repulse an Edomite invasion. Also, in one of the letters, the "house of YHWH" is mentioned. For more information click here.
Fifth Era: Christ
What evidence do we have the he existed?
14. The Roman historian Tacitus writing between 115-117 A.D. had this to say:
"They got their name from Christ, who was executed by sentence of the procurator Pontius Pilate in the reign of Tiberius. That checked the pernicious superstition for a short time, but it broke out afresh-not only in Judea, where the plague first arose, but in Rome itself, where all the horrible and shameful things in the world collect and find a home." From his Annals, xv. 44.
Here is a pagan historian, hostile to Christianity, who had access to records about what happened to Jesus Christ.
15. Mention of Jesus can also be found in Jewish Rabbinical writings from what is known as the Tannaitic period, between 70-200 A.D. In Sanhedrin 43a it says:
"Jesus was hanged on Passover Eve. Forty days previously the herald had cried, 'He is being led out for stoning, because he has practiced sorcery and led Israel astray and enticed them into apostasy. Whoever has anything to say in his defence, let him come and declare it.' As nothing was brought forward in his defence, he was hanged on Passover Eve."
That there is any mention of Jesus at all is unususal. As far as the Roman world was concerned, Jesus was a nobody who live in an insignificant province, sentenced to death by a minor procurator.
To conclude, there is plenty of historical proof that the Bible is historically accurate, much more than can be contained in this article.
What do we mean by scientific proof of the Bible? For this issue, we are going to look at the creation only. The creation is covered in 31 verses in the first chapter of Genesis. It is obvious we aren’t looking at a detailed step by step instructions on how to create a universe, but rather a broad overview of how the universe was created.
Moses wrote Genesis 3500 years ago. He either saw in vision or was taught by tradition the creation of the universe and wrote what he learned. Since then scientists have found his description and their findings to be in complete agreement. Moses wrote 3500 years ago about events that scientists have not fully understood until just recently.
One example is the first event, the separation of light from the darkness. This is an excellent description of an event astronomers refers to as the photon decoupling event. Prior to that event, say, modern astronomers, the universe was opaque.
Light could not stream, helium atoms could not form. There was no material for building worlds; there was no light and darkness. After this event, light formed and streamed creating light and dark places in the universe. Helium atoms could form, and thus worlds were able to be formed. The photon decoupling event as described by astronomers matches Moses description of the separation of light from the darkness. From there, the following takes place:
The creation of the earth itself
The separation of the dry land from the seas
The creation of plants in a particular order – grasses, shrubs and trees
The placing of the heavenly bodies in relationship to the earth
The creation of animal life in a particular order – fish, birds, land animals
The creation of man
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As scientists study the creation of the universe and life on earth, they have found that it happened in exactly that order. David Attenborough’s book “Life on Earth” gives a good description of the order of the creation of life on earth. His listing of the order of appearance of various types of life and the sequence given in Genesis agree. While Moses does not mention every item, those he does mention are in the correct order. The placing of heavenly bodies is also in agreement. The moon is of particular interest. Genesis 1:17 says “God set them [the moon and the sun] in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth”.
What is interesting is the size of the moon in relationship to the earth. It is much larger in comparison to the earth than any other moon is compared to the planet it circles. Due to its size and composition, the Moon is sometimes classified as a terrestrial “planet” along with Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars.
Scientists still have not decided exactly how the moon came to be in orbit around the earth or even how it was formed. What is interesting to us, is that the moon is so large that it could easily destroy the earth. A shorter distance away and the moon would not circle the earth. If it were any closer, it would impact the earth creating massive destruction. Our moon is unique in the Universe and is precisely placed to accomplish it’s purpose.
Science itself proves the Bible to be correct in it’s description of the creation.
Summary: The Bible only mentions the deaths of two apostles, James who was put to death by Herod Agrippa I in 44 AD and Judas Iscariot who committed suicide shortly after the death of Christ. The details of the deaths of three of the apostles (John, the Beloved, Bartholomew and Simon the Canaanite) are not known at all, either by tradition or early historians. The deaths of the other seven apostles are known by tradition or the writings of early Christian historians. According to traditions and the Bible, eight of the Apostles died as Martyrs. At least two of the Apostles, Peter and Andrew were crucified.
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Simon Called Peter by Christ died 33-34 years after the death of Christ. According to Smith’s Bible Dictionary, there is "satisfactory evidence that he and Paul were the founders of the church at Rome and died in that city. The time and manner of the apostle’s martyrdom are less certain. According to the early writers, he died at or about the same time with Paul, and in the Neronian persecution, A.D. 67,68. All agree that he was crucified. Origen says that Peter felt himself to be unworthy to be put to death in the same manner as his Master, and was, therefore, at his request, crucified with his head downward."
'Caravaggio's depiction of the crucifixion of Apostle Peter.
James the son of Zebedee: He was put to death by Herod Agrippa I shortly before the day of the Passover, in the year 44 or about 11 years after the death of Christ. From Acts 12: 1-2.
John: No death date given by early writers. Death date is by conjecture only and is variously assigned as being between 89 AD to 120 AD
Andrew: No accurate death date given. A variety of traditions says he preached in Scythia, in Greece, in Asia Minor and Thrace. He is reported to have been crucified at Patrae in Achaia.
Phillip: Again, the Bible does not say when he died nor do we have accurate information. According to tradition, he preached in Phrygia and died at Hierapolis. Update: FoxNews July 27, 2011, Tomb of the Apostle Phillip is found in Hierapolis.
Bartholomew: There is no information concerning his death, not even by tradition
Matthew: He must have lived many years as an apostle since he was the author of the Gospel of Matthew, which was written at least twenty years after the death of Christ. There is a reason to believe that he stayed for fifteen years at Jerusalem, after which he went as a missionary to the Persians, Parthians and Medes. There is a legend that he died a martyr in Ethiopia.
Thomas: The earlier traditions, as believed in the fourth century, say he preached in Parthia or Persia and was finally buried at Edessa. The later traditions carry him farther east. His martyrdom whether in Persia or India, is said to have been by a lance. And is commemorated by the Latin Church on December 21 the Greek Church on October 6, and by the Native Americans on July 1.
James Alpheus: We know he lived at least five years after the death of Christ because of mentions in the Bible. According to tradition, James son of Alpheus was thrown down from the temple by the scribes and Pharisees; he was then stoned, and his brains dashed out with a fuller’s club.
Simon the Canaanite – No information either in the Bible or by tradition.
Jude (Thaddeus): according to tradition Jude taught in Armenia, Syria and Persia where he was martyred. Tradition tells us he was buried in Kara Kalisa in what is now Iran.
Judas Iscariot: Shortly after the death of Christ Judas killed himself. According to the Bible he hanged himself, (Matthew 27:5) at Aceldama, on the southern slope of the valley of Hinnom, near Jerusalem, and in the act he fell down a precipice and was dashed into pieces.
(Note: We like to present both sides to every question here. Since the “evolutionists” have plenty of sites explaining that side, this short excerpt will present the side of creationists. The answer to this question is taken directly from the book In the Beginning: Compelling Evidence for Creation and the Flood by Walt Brown, Ph.D. Here’s more information on: In the Beginning: Compelling Evidence for Creation and the Flood (8th Edition)
This frequent question, asked in just this way, implies many questions related to dinosaurs—a word meaning “terrible lizards.” When did they live? What killed the dinosaurs? What were they like? What does the Bible say about them? Could so many large animals have fit on the Ark? There were about 300 different types of dinosaurs. Most were large; some even gigantic. One adult dinosaur was as tall as a five-story building. However, some were small, about the size of a chicken.
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Many other questions will be answered if we focus on one question, “When did they live?” There are two common, but quite different, answers. Evolutionists say dinosaurs lived, died, and became extinct at least 60 million years before man evolved. Others believe God created all living things during the creation week. So man and dinosaurs lived at the same time. If we look at the evidence, sorting out these two very different answers should be easy.
Did dinosaurs become extinct at least 60 million years before man evolved? Almost all textbooks that address the subject say so. Movies and television vividly portray this. One even hears it at Disney World and other amusement parks. Some will say that every educated person believes this. We frequently hear stories that begin with impressive-sounding phrases such as, “Two hundred million years ago, as dinosaurs ruled the earth, …” But none of this is evidence; some of it is an appeal to authority. (Evidence must be observable and verifiable.) Did man and dinosaurs live at the same time? Scientists in the former Soviet Union have reported a layer of rock containing more than 2,000 dinosaur footprints alongside tracks “resembling human footprints.”1 Obviously, both types of footprints were made in mud or sand that has since hardened into rock. If they are human footprints, then man and dinosaurs lived at the same time. Similar discoveries have been made in Arizona.2 If it were not for the theory of evolution, few would doubt that these were human footprints.
The Book of Job is one of the oldest books ever written. In it, God tells Job of his greatness as Creator and describes an animal, called Behemoth, as follows:
Behold now, Behemoth, which I made as well as you; He eats grass like an ox. Behold now, his strength in his loins, And his power in the muscles of his belly. He bends his tail like a cedar; The sinews of his thighs are knit together. His bones are tubes of bronze; His limbs are like bars of iron. (Job 40:15–18)
Marginal notes in most Bibles speculate that Behemoth was probably an elephant or a hippopotamus, but those animals have tails like ropes. Behemoth had a “tail like a cedar.” Any animal with a tail as huge and strong as a cedar tree is probably a dinosaur. Job 40:19–24 describes this giant, difficult-to-capture animal as not alarmed by a raging river. If the writer of Job knew of a dinosaur, then the evolution position is wrong, and man saw dinosaurs.
The next chapter of Job describes another huge, fierce animal, a sea monster named Leviathan.3 It was not a whale or crocodile because the Hebrew language had other words to describe such animals. Leviathan may be a plesiosaur (PLEE see uh sore), a large seagoing reptile that evolutionists say became extinct 60 million years before man evolved.
Consider the many dragon legends. Most ancient cultures have stories or artwork of dragons that strongly resemble dinosaurs.4 The World Book Encyclopedia states that:
The dragons of legend are strangely like actual creatures that have lived in the past. They are much like the great reptiles [dinosaurs] which inhabited the earth long before man is supposed to have appeared on earth. Dragons were generally evil and destructive. Every country had them in its mythology.5
The simplest and most obvious explanation for so many common descriptions of dragons from around the world is that man once knew the dinosaurs.
What caused the extinction of dinosaurs? The flood. Because dinosaur bones are found among other fossils, dinosaurs must have been living when the flood began. There are dozens of other dinosaur extinction theories, but they all have recognized problems. Most of the food chain was buried in the flood. Therefore, many large dinosaurs that survived the flood probably had difficulty feeding themselves and became extinct.
Were dinosaurs on the Ark? Yes. God told Noah to put representatives of every kind of land animal on the Ark. (Some dinosaurs were semiaquatic and could have survived outside the Ark.) But why put adult dinosaurs on the Ark? Young dinosaurs would take up less room, eat less, and be easier to manage. The purpose for having animals on board was so they could reproduce after the flood and repopulate the earth. Young dinosaurs would have more potential for reproduction than old dinosaurs.
Most, if not all, dinosaurs hatched from eggs. The largest dinosaur eggs ever found were a foot long. Hatchlings, even after a year of growth while on the Ark, would be quite easy to handle.
Possibly dinosaurs became very large because they lived to great ages. Preflood humans could live for more than 900 years. If whatever caused man to live so long had the same effect on dinosaurs, they could have grown very large. Reptiles, unlike other animals, continue to grow throughout their lives. Perhaps large dinosaurs, which are similar to reptiles in many ways, were just old.
Alexander Romashko, “Tracking Dinosaurs,” Moscow News, No. 24, 1983, p. 10.
Paul O. Rosenau et al., “Are Human and Mammal Tracks Found Together with the Tracks of Dinosaurs in the Kayenta of Arizona?” Parts I and II, Creation Research Society Quarterly; Vol. 26, September 1989, pp. 41–48 and December 1989, pp. 77–98.
Before 1986, many thought dinosaur tracks and human tracks were together along the banks of the Paluxy River in Texas. Some, but not necessarily all, of the humanlike tracks were apparently made by part of a dinosaur’s foot. A film, Footprints in Stone, and John Morris’ book, Tracking Those Incredible Dinosaurs, which popularized the man-track idea, have been withdrawn. A few creationists still claim that some of these manlike tracks were made by humans. I believe the Paluxy tracks should be studied more and many questions satisfactorily answered before claiming human tracks are along the Paluxy River.
In Uzbekistan, 86 consecutive horse hoofprints were found beside supposedly 90 –100-million-year-old dinosaur tracks. Evolutionists have almost as much difficulty believing that horses and dinosaurs lived together as they do man and dinosaurs. Horses allegedly did not evolve until many millions of years after the dinosaurs became extinct. [See Y. Kruzhilin and V. Ovcharov, “A Horse from the Dinosaur Epoch?” Moskovskaya Pravda (Moscow Truth), 5 February 1984.] For a report of a quadruped that left hoof-shaped prints alongside 1,000 dinosaur prints, see Richard Monastersky, “A Walk along the Lakeshore, Dinosaur-Style,” Science News, Vol. 136, 8 July 1989, p. 21.
Leviathan is also mentioned in Psalms 74:14 and 104:26 and in Isaiah 27:1. Both Leviathan and Behemoth are described in the apocryphal book II Esdras. II Esdras 6:49–53 says these beasts were created on the fifth day and given separate territories because of their large size.
Lorella Rouster, “The Footprints of Dragons,” Creation Social Science and Humanities Quarterly, Fall 1978, pp. 23–28.
Knox Wilson, “Dragon,” The World Book Encyclopedia, Vol. 5, 1973, p. 265.
How did we get our English version of the Bible and how accurate is it?
What is the difference between the Catholic and Protestant versions?
When were the Apocrypha removed from the Protestant version of the Bible?
How many people worked on the King James Version, the most widely used Protestant version today? How long did it take?
What a fascinating history the English Bible has including martyrs, translations by Kings and poets and a search for the definitive translation that would confirm “truth.” Here’s a short, concise history of the English Bible from the earliest times to the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.
443 BC Completion of all the books of the original Hebrew manuscripts that make up the 39 books of the Old Testament
200 BC Completion of the Septuagint Greek Manuscripts that contain the translation of the 39 books of the Old Testament and the 14 books of the Apocrypha.
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60 AD Completion of the Greek manuscripts that make up the 27 books of the New Testament
90-95 AD Council of Jamnia, a Jewish council, met to revise the Books of the Canon (or the Old Testament as it is known to Christians.) These were the criteria:
The books had to conform to the Pentateuch (the first five books).
The books had to be written in Hebrew.
The books had to be written in Palestine.
The books had to be written before 400 B.C..
One result is the removal of the 14 books known as the Apocrypha.
360 AD Laodocia Council meets to decide which books and writings will be accepted as Holy Scripture. The Greek Septuagint is accepted for the Old Testament. Criteria for the New Testament writings include that they must be written by an Apostle or during the time of the Apostles, that they must support true doctrine and must have wide spread usage. Thus, even though the Shepherd of Hermas, the First Letter of Clement, and the Didache may have been widely used and contain true doctrines. They were not canonical because they were not apostolic nor connected to the apostolic age, or they were local writings without support in many areas.
390 AD Jerome’s Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible is produced and in wide circulation. It includes all 80 books including the Apocrypha. It is used in Celtic monasteries in Britain. During this period the British within the Roman Empire use Latin as the official language
Historical Background: 5th – 6th Century: Germanic peoples who came to Britain bring their dialects of which Saxon becomes standard Old English. Because of this, a need for an English version of the scriptures arises.
7th Century: Herdsman Caedmon, spoken of by Bede, the learned monk of Jarrow, sings the themes of the Bible in English. This becomes a common method for presenting scriptural themes in English.
640 AD to 735 AD Aldheim is credited with translating the whole Bible into English while Bede was still working on completing his translation when he died. The translations of these times are based on translations of the Latin Vulgate version rather than translations of the original Hebrew and Greek versions.
1384 John Wycliffe finishes the first translation of the entire Bible into English. His version and copies of it are handwritten.
1408 Synod of Oxford tries to suppress the Wycliffe Bible with little success.
1455 Gutenberg invents the printing press making it possible to mass produce books. The first book printed is Gutenberg’s Bible in Latin.
Historical Background: Reformation
A revolution in western thinking followed the midpoint of the 15th century A.D. The Renaissance opened up the treasures of both classical and patristic learning in a new way. It also revived interest in the study of both Greek and Hebrew that made possible the study of the Bible in the original languages. This new interest in original editions stimulated textual research and also evidenced the corruption and ignorance of the contemporary church anew. The Renaissance created new opportunities for humanist scholars such as Erasmus of Rotterdam, who sought to make the Bible available to people of all ages, social levels, and countries.
More radical in outlook than Renaissance humanists were the Reformers, who measured the teaching and practice of the contemporary church by the standards of scripture. The Reformers were horrified by the obvious discrepancies. There soon emerged a mission to discover the pure biblical message and to reconstruct both the teaching and practice of the church. The Reformers became deeply convinced that it was both reasonable and necessary to circulate God’s word to purify the church from ignorance and destructive practices. (from http://davidsonpress.com)
1525 William Tyndale’s New Testament is completed. His translation is based on the Latin Vulgate, Erasmus Greek and the original Greek manuscripts. His wording and sentence structures are found in most modern day translations of the Bible.
Tyndale was committed to taking the Bible directly to the people. Expressing open defiance of the Pope, Tyndale said that if God would spare his life he would make it possible for even a ploughboy to know more about Holy Scripture than the Pope himself. By August of 1525, his translation of the New Testament was complete. Printing began at Cologne, but when the authorities forbade the project, Tyndale escaped to Worms, where 6,000 copies were printed and sold in England by April of 1526. The official opposition in England led to the destruction of most of these early copies.
Tyndale’s English work is similar to that of Martin Luther. Although he used Luther’s German translation, Tyndale also drew upon the Latin Vulgate as well as Erasmus’ Greek text. Ninety percent of the New Testament in the King James Version (KJV) is Tyndale’s translation. By the same token, where the KJV departed from Tyndale’s wording, the English Revised Version (ERV) of 1881 went back to it. Without question, this first printed English New Testament is the basis of all future works in translation.
1536 Tyndale executed. Tyndale did not live to complete his Old Testament translation. On May 21, 1535, he was arrested and later executed for heresy at Vilvorde, Belgium, on October 6, 1536. His dying prayer was that the Lord would open the eyes of the King of England. He left behind a manuscript containing the translation of the historical books from Joshua to 2 Chronicles that was finally published in 1537.
1535 Myles Coverdale, a student of Tyndale’s, produces a Bible. It includes 80 books (The 39 Old Testament, 27 New Testament and 14 Apochrypha) His version uses the translations Tyndale was able to complete. Coverdale finished translating the rest of the Bible but not being a Hebrew or Greek scholar his portions are based on intermediate Latin and German translations rather than the original Greek and Hebrew.
1537 Matthews Bible printed. Matthews Bible is really Tyndale’s translation supplemented by Coverdale’s translation. Henry VIII through the efforts of Archbishop Crammer and Thomas Cromwell gave permission for this English version of the Bible to be bought and sold throughout Britain.
Historical Background Leading to King James (Protestant) and Rheims-Douay (Catholic) Bibles: It is during this time that the Protestant Reformers gain political power in England with the breakoff from the Catholic Church by Henry VIII. The various Bible translations that follow are dependent upon the rise and fall of Protestant power. Mary Tudor is Catholic and during her time no new translations are permitted. Elizabeth is Protestant. Mary Stuart, never allowed to reign, is Catholic. Her son James who became King James I of England and King James VI of Scotland was raised in England by Elizabeth as a Protestant upon Mary Stuart’s abdication of the crown of Scotland when James was one year of age.
1539 The Great Bible is called that because of it’s size but it is basically Matthews Bible and was authorized for public use. It contains 80 books including the Apochrypha as an appendix.
1546 Council of Trent is called to answer the accusations of corruption and apostasy in the Catholic Church by the Protestant Reformers. The Council meets over a 27 year period. One of the results is that Jerome’s Latin Vulgate version of the Bible is held to be the official version of the Bible accepted by the Catholic Church.
1560 The Geneva Bible is printed. Verses are added for the first time in this edition. It is also the first translation of the Bible based entirely on the original Hebrew and Greek. It was translated by exiles from England living in Geneva during the Catholic Mary Tudor’s reign. The majority of the translation is attributed to William Whittington a relative of John Calvin.
1568 Bishops Bible produced. Because there was no “official” version of the Bible in England at this time, the Archbishop of Canterbury suggested the Geneva Bible be revised by the Bishop’s to be used by all the churches. This is the version known as The Bishop’s Bible
1609 Rheims-Douay Bible is the First Complete English Catholic Bible. Called Rheims – Douay because the New Testament portion was first completed in Rheims France in 1582 followed by the Old Testament finished in 1609 in Douay. In this version the 14 books of the Apochrypha are returned to the Bible in the order written rather than kept separate in an appendix.
1611 King James Version. The stated purpose of the King James translation was “”not to make a bad version good, but to make a good one better, or out of many good ones one principal good one.” It is primarily a re-translation of the Bishop’s Bible. 54 men were called to work on translation (47 actually participated) using all the widely accepted versions up to then including Bishop’s, Geneva, Matthews, Coverdale and Tyndale translation as well as looking at original manuscripts. All available copies of the original manuscripts are brought in. It is found that the Hebrew manuscripts are virtually identical while there is wide variations in the Greek manuscripts as they have been hand copied and handed down. The 47 men work as teams checking each other’s work. It was printed originally with all 80 books including the Apochrypha again as a separate section.
1613-1901: At that time until today translations have continued as translators gained a better understanding of the Hebrew language and the Greek writers. 300 corrections were made in the 1613 version of the King James Version. In the 18th century Bishop Challoner made revisions to the Rheims-Douay Bible removing some Latin terms and adding the use of King James translation in some areas.
The Apochrypha were removed in 1885 from King James Versions when the English Revised Version was printed and in 1901 when the American Standard Version was printed.
Summary: The books of the Bible are organized according to the topic rather than in the order in which they were written. Yes, John wrote the book of Revelation before writing the letters we know as John 1 and 2.
The books of the Hebrew scriptures were organized slightly differently than our King James Old Testament. First is “the law” then “the prophets.” When New Testament writers or Christ spoke of “the law and the prophets” they were referring to the Hebrew scriptures. Next came the books of wisdom or “the writings” including Psalms, Proverbs, Job, etc. The King James Old Testament is also organized according to the topic. Starting with the writings of Moses, followed by historical books, the books of wisdom and ending with the Prophets. The New Testament is similarly organized. First are the Gospels, next are the letters or epistles including those written by John after he wrote Revelation and the last book is the book of prophecy or Revelation of John. A list of the books of the Bible including the author, when and where, as well as the time frame covered, is found on the page answering the question Who Wrote The Bible?.
The meaning of AD is Anno Domini or Year of our Lord referring to the year of Christ’s birth. The meaning of BC is Before Christ. CE is a recent term. It refers to Common Era and is used in place of A.D. the dates are the same i.e., 2009 AD is 2009 CE. BCE means Before Common Era. For example 400 BC is 400 BCE.
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Many different calendars have been used since man began tracking time. Most start with some epoch event or person. The use of BC and AD for numbering calendar years was invented by Dionysius Exiguus in 525 AD. His purpose was to determine the correct date for Easter under the direction of Pope St. John I.
Prior to this time, one method for determining Easter was based on a 532 year calendar cycle stemming from the Alexandrian era. Other methods were also used which led to the confusion. Dionysius was asked to determine a method for calculating Easter that would then be used by the entire church. Dionysius did not want to perpetuate the name of Alexander, the Great Persecutor. He decided to start his 532-year cycle from 753 years after the Founding of Rome.
Today, based on historical evidence relating to Herod and astronomical data from the study of eclipses and star novas, most historians believe Christ was born a few years earlier. Dionysius named the years relating to his cycle, BC meaning Before Christ, which starts with year 1 and AD meaning Anno Domini, the year of Our Lord referring to the year of Christ’s birth. This is also a year 1. There is no year 0. That’s the reason purists insists the 21st century began January 1, 2001. For example, the first year began in 1 AD and ended the beginning of 2 AD. So the first year of the 21st century begins in 2001 AD and ends with the beginning of 2002 AD. It took about 400 years for the dating system devised by Dionysius to reach common usage. In combination with the Julian Calendar system that determines the beginning of months and years, this continued until 1582 AD. The number of each year is based on the Dionysius numbering system.
'Today, based on historical evidence relating to Herod and astronomical data from the study of eclipses and star novas, most historians believe Christ was born a few years earlier.'
For more information on how it spread read our article What Did We Use Before BC and AD. The need for the introduction of the Gregorian Calendar came about because a year is not exactly 365 days long. It is 365 and a quarter days long. Every four years, March 1st moved behind a day until after centuries instead of being early spring March 1st was now the beginning of winter. Something had to be done. The Gregorian Calendar was introduced in the Catholic parts of Europe in 1582 A.D. by Pope Gregory XIII (then the religious leader of the Roman Catholic faith). It was an improvement upon the Julian Calendar to keep the average length of the calendar year better in line with the seasons.
Now here's a rule that will drive you crazy. The rules, months, and days of the Gregorian calendar are the same as those of the Julian Calendar, except for the leap year rules. In the Gregorian calendar, a year is a leap year if the year number is evenly divisible by 4. However century years follow a different rule. The number must be divisible by both 100 and 400 to be a leap year; otherwise it is not a leap year. For example, 1600 and 2000 are leap years, but 1700, 1800, and 1900 are not.
"The legal code of the United States does not specify an official national calendar. Use of the Gregorian calendar in the United States is a result of an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom in 1751, which specified use of the Gregorian calendar in England and its colonies. However, its adoption in the United Kingdom and other countries was fraught with confusion, controversy, and even violence. It also had a deeper cultural impact through the disruption of traditional festivals and calendrical practices." (Seidelmann, P. Kenneth, Explanatory Supplement, United States Naval Observatory. Nautical Almanac, pg. 578)
The widespread use of the Gregorian calendar and the use of BC and AD throughout the world came about thanks to the colonization practices of Europe. And economic pressures of a worldwide economy led by Europe and the United States. This is gradually changing as more and more academic writers prefer the use of CE rather than AD.
The Jewish people have been harassed, exterminated and put into slavery since 600 B.C. One of the great exterminations happened in 135 AD during the rule of the Roman Empire which is where it appears on the Bible Timeline.
Here are the events leading up to that. The Jewish people were sent into exile around 600 B.C. when the Babylonians had conquered Judea and forced a great deal of its citizens to relocate to various parts of their empire. The Babylonians were conquered by the Persians, and the Jewish people served under them as well. God used the Persians to allow the Jewish people to return home and to rebuild their temple.
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These events took place during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah. When the Persian Empire fell to the Greeks, the Seleucid Empire dominated Judea. After the Seleucid’s were driven out of the land by the Maccabees, who established a dynasty that remained free for about 100 years. However, this all ended around 40 B.C. with the death of the last Hasmonean king of Judea. Herod the Great was backed by Rome and because of this Judea was considered a vassal state of the Roman Empire.
The First Rebellion
The Jewish people did not like this and wanted to be free from foreign rule. There were some anti-Jewish factions that formed throughout the land. They were hardliners who wanted to start an uprising against the pro-Roman Herod Dynasty and other Jewish sympathizers who were loyal to the Empire. They indiscriminately attacked Rome for many years and caused them problems. Eventually, all of this civil unrest came to boiling point around 70 B.C. when a group of Jewish people slaughtered Roman forces who witnessed the blasphemy committed against their religion. This event triggered the First Jewish-Roman War. General Titus of Rome ultimately defeated the Jewish people and deported many of them into other cities throughout the empire and sold much more into slavery. 66 – 73 A.D.
The Second Jewish War
Many Jews were deported to Cyrene, Libya, which is located in Africa. The Jews who were situated there rose up in rebellion against the Romans. Jews disliked the Romans and Greeks, and they eventually started to kill them. Meanwhile, trouble was occurring in Parthia and emperor Trajan had to get the situation under control. When Trajan forces were returning from their victory in Parthia, the Jewish rebels started to attack the garrisons that were placed in their territory. Many Jewish people all throughout the Empire got word of what had happened in Cyrene and decided to follow their lead. Soon many provinces had rebellious Jews attacking and killing Greek and Roman citizens. Cyrene, Libya was one of the worst places of the rebellion, so Trajan sent his forces to kill thousands upon thousands of people to get the situation under control. 115-117 A.D.
The Third and Final Jewish-Roman War
The Romans were sick of the Jews and by 132 A.D. they had passed a law forbidding the act of circumcision. Many fanatic Jews took this as an opportunity to rebel. Many Jews of the time believed that their Messiah had finally arrived, and his name was Bar Kokhba. They also believed that the end of the world was going to take place. So they decided to attack the Romans once again because this time around they believed they would overthrow them. At first the Jews were successful but they eventually started to lose many battles. The Romans were being defeated by the zealous Jews until they decided to enforce an annihilation campaign against the Jews. This strategy worked and hundreds of thousands of Jews all over the Roman Empire were slaughtered and killed during the process. Many Jews were forced to leave Palestine and sold into slavery. By 135 A.D., the Jews were scattered throughout the world and from this time up until 1949 they never had a country to call home.
After the third Jewish revolt occurred in 135 A.D. the Jewish people were scattered throughout the world by Emperor Hadrian. Since the time Rome had controlled Judea starting in 40 B.C., the Jews had been revolting and trying to gain their freedom. Rome had to suffer and put up with the Jews for almost 150 years before they finally decided to wipe them out and take their homeland from them. This is known as the Diaspora of the Jews and appears on the Biblical Timeline Poster in 135 AD.
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Roman Triumphal arch panel copy from Beth Hatefutsoth, showing spoils of Jerusalem temple.
Jewish people were constantly deported from their homeland starting first with the Babylonians, then the Persians, the Greeks and finally the Romans. They enjoyed a brief period of autonomous rule that lasted during the Hasmonean Dynasty. This ended in 40 B.C. when King Herod used the Roman Empire to gain control of Judea. Since that point, the Jews had been fighting hard against Roman domination.
Revolts and Rebellions
The next 150 years of Jewish history was marked by rebellion and revolts against Rome. The Jews were tired of the Romans and their lack of respect for Jewish life. They formed militant resistance groups that came and went over the years. The Zealots were probably the most famous resistance group during this era. Many of the people might not have liked the things that the Zealots had done, but most of them were allied to their cause. Eventually, the Zealots rebellion culminated in the first Jewish-Roman war where Jerusalem was taken and the Temple of Solomon was destroyed by the Romans once and for all. Many Jewish people were sold into slavery or resettled into other cities. These events happened in 70 A.D. About 45 years later in 115 A.D. a second Jewish revolt happened and shortly after this event (in 132 A.D.) the Jews revolted a third time under the rule of Hadrian. This was the final straw and after they were defeated Hadrian deported the Jews, sold them into slavery and renamed Jerusalem to Aelia Capitolina and the kingdom of Judea was now called Palestine, Syria. This event would mark a significant changing point in the history of the Jewish people.
The Jews in Other Territories
Many of the Jews were scattered across the empire and they never were able to regain their homeland. So they developed their own communities in the cultures where they lived. Jews were now living in various parts of Africa, Rome, Greece, Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt and some had gone to India and even as far as China. In time, Jews migrated to Russia, Germany, Canada, Mexico, Brazil and the United States.
They concentrated on keeping their way of life and did not assimilate into the dominant cultures that surrounded them. They became powerful members of their society and many Jewish people were involved in banking and commerce. The Jews learned how to gain leadership positions and they pretty much kept to themselves in order to avoid as much conflict as possible. They were hard workers and a respectable people who did their best not to be a burden on the societies where they lived.
The events of World War II forced the Jews to once again back into their homeland. In 1949, the British took Palestine and gave it back to the Jewish people and all the Jews in the world now had a place to call home once again.
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