Aaron O'Neill
Research expert covering historical data
The Bible - Statistics & Facts
The Bible is the central text of Judaism and Christianity and is also considered sacred in Islam and other Abrahamic religions. The Bible is a collection of writings from numerous authors, compiled over many centuries. Believers consider it to be a product of “divine inspiration”, written with direct influence from God, although there are many different versions and interpretations of the Bible depending on the religion. The Hebrew Bible, the Tanakh, provides the foundation for all other versions and its contents are almost identical to the Christian Bible’s first division, the Old Testament. The Christian Bible also has a second division, the New Testament, which focuses on the story of Jesus.
The next four books tell the story of Moses, considered Judaism’s most important prophet and the author of the Torah (although modern scholars contest this). In Moses’ story he leads the Israelites to freedom from slavery in Egypt, but they are forced to wander the desert for 40 years before eventually arriving back in Canaan. In the desert, God reveals almost all the 613 Mitzvot (commandments) to Moses, the most famous being the 10 Commandments - these rules are at the foundation of many Jewish customs and practices, while Christianity also acknowledges many of these (albeit to a lesser degree).
The next section covers historical events such as the Israelites’ reconquest of Canaan, its various partitions, rulers, and kings (such as the judges, David, and Solomon), the construction of the First and Second Temples, and the Babylonian captivity, while the final section is a non-chronological collection of writings and poetry. There are many events from the Bible that are corroborated by sources from other civilizations, however details can vary. Many adherents consider the Bible's contents historically accurate and believe the events occurred as described, whereas the modern scholarly consensus is that most books were written by multiple authors, and the stories changed over time through the tradition of oral storytelling. In fact, the oral tradition allowed interpretations to evolve as Hebrew society advanced - this changed, however, with the composition of the Talmud in the 3rd to 6th centuries, which is a holy text that uniformized biblical interpretations across an increasingly displaced Jewish diaspora.
Christianity split from Judaism in the 1st century CE but remained a minority religion in the Middle East until the 4th century, when the Byzantine Empire adopted it as their official religion. It then spread to become the dominant religion in Europe, although it was superseded by Islam in the Middle East. Christianity became a truly global religion during the age of European colonization and its spread was accelerated by the development of the Gutenberg printing press in the 15th century. Today, Christianity is the world’s largest religion, and the Christian Bible is thought to be the most-read, most-published, and most-sold book of all time. The Bible has played an important role in shaping beliefs, cultures, and laws throughout history, and has been one of the most important drivers of literacy and education across the globe.
The Hebrew Bible & Old Testament
The Hebrew Bible contains 24 books across three divisions, which are the Torah (“laws”), the Nevi’im (“prophets”), and the Ketuvim (“writings”), forming the acronym “Tanakh”. In Christian Bibles, these are split into 39 books and subdivisions are known as the Pentateuch, History, Poetry, and Prophets. The contents of the Tanakh and Old Testament are very similar, with some deviations in sequence. Some Christian bibles, such as the Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox bibles, include additional sections - these come from a Koine Greek translation from the 3rd century BCE, known as the Septuagint, which includes writings not considered divinely inspired and are therefore not included in authoritative Jewish or Protestant bibles.Contents
The Bible begins with Genesis, telling stories such as the Garden of Eden and the Great Flood, which relate to the inherent flaws of man. Because of these flaws, God chose Abraham, considered Judaism’s founder, to establish a Hebrew nation in Canaan (Israel) and promised to protect the land of Israel in return for religious adherence – through this, followers believe it is their responsibility to restore the relationship between God and mankind on behalf of humanity. The belief that Israel is the God-given homeland of the Hebrew people also became very important in the past century during the founding of the state of Israel.The next four books tell the story of Moses, considered Judaism’s most important prophet and the author of the Torah (although modern scholars contest this). In Moses’ story he leads the Israelites to freedom from slavery in Egypt, but they are forced to wander the desert for 40 years before eventually arriving back in Canaan. In the desert, God reveals almost all the 613 Mitzvot (commandments) to Moses, the most famous being the 10 Commandments - these rules are at the foundation of many Jewish customs and practices, while Christianity also acknowledges many of these (albeit to a lesser degree).
The next section covers historical events such as the Israelites’ reconquest of Canaan, its various partitions, rulers, and kings (such as the judges, David, and Solomon), the construction of the First and Second Temples, and the Babylonian captivity, while the final section is a non-chronological collection of writings and poetry. There are many events from the Bible that are corroborated by sources from other civilizations, however details can vary. Many adherents consider the Bible's contents historically accurate and believe the events occurred as described, whereas the modern scholarly consensus is that most books were written by multiple authors, and the stories changed over time through the tradition of oral storytelling. In fact, the oral tradition allowed interpretations to evolve as Hebrew society advanced - this changed, however, with the composition of the Talmud in the 3rd to 6th centuries, which is a holy text that uniformized biblical interpretations across an increasingly displaced Jewish diaspora.
New Testament & Christianity
The second division of the Christian Bible is centered around the story of the prophet Jesus, a Jewish religious leader in the region of Israel around 2,000 years ago. Christians believe Jesus was the personification and Son of God prophesied throughout the Old Testament. The first four books, the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, are the best-known in the New Testament - they are separate accounts of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Most of the remaining books give accounts of Jesus’ followers after his death and of the development of Christianity in its first century, while the final book, the Book of Revelation, contains prophecies of the Second Coming of Jesus and the world's end. The New Testament is split into 27 books in all major Christian denominations’ bibles, with little deviation.Christianity split from Judaism in the 1st century CE but remained a minority religion in the Middle East until the 4th century, when the Byzantine Empire adopted it as their official religion. It then spread to become the dominant religion in Europe, although it was superseded by Islam in the Middle East. Christianity became a truly global religion during the age of European colonization and its spread was accelerated by the development of the Gutenberg printing press in the 15th century. Today, Christianity is the world’s largest religion, and the Christian Bible is thought to be the most-read, most-published, and most-sold book of all time. The Bible has played an important role in shaping beliefs, cultures, and laws throughout history, and has been one of the most important drivers of literacy and education across the globe.
