Do you know that the bible is written by more than 40 authors spanning over 1600 (written from approximately 1500-400 B.C.) years. Originally it was written in three languages (Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek) in 3 continents of Asia, Africa and Europe. Another important fact about the Bible is it wasn’t written in a single room by a unified group of people. Instead, these writings were accumulated over the centuries and eventually compiled into the volume we call “the Bible” today.
The Bible is a collection of individual documents pulled together into one series over time. Because of this, the Bible doesn’t read like a single timeline—it jumps around. And while the Bible contains many narrative sections, it’s not all narrative. The Bible also includes songs, wisdom literature, decrees, and letters written by religious leaders.
Each book of the Bible is a standalone work and this has to be kept in mind when reading the Bible: there was no “The Bible” to speak of when each of the individual books was written!
Do you also know that the bible kickstarted the publishing industry (Gutenberg Press, 1455, Latin Bible). Before the printing press was invented, the Bible was copied by hand. The Bible was copied very accurately, in many cases by special scribes who developed intricate methods of counting words and letters to ensure that no errors had been made.
The Old Testament has 39-45 books (depends who you ask it and was written from approximately 1500-400 B.C.). The New Testament has 27 books (written from approximately A.D. 45-100).
