THE BIBLE

Interesting Facts About the

Written Word of God
10 OLDEST BIBLE
THE BISHOP’S BIBLE
Publish Date: 1568
Language: English
Printer/Writer/Translator: Church of English Bishops

Discovery or Publish Location: England

The Bishop’s Bible was translated by fewer than 10
bishops and was based on three earlier versions of the
Bible: one in Greek, one in Latin, and one in Hebrew.
 THE GENEVA BIBLE
Publish Date: 1560
Language: English
Printer/Writer/Translator: William Tyndale and
Myles Coverdale
Discovery or Publish Location: Geneva, Switzerland
The Geneva Bible was also the first mechanically printed Bible to
be mass produced and was widely available to the general public.
You can still find the Geneva Bible today.
 THE GREAT BIBLE
Publish Date: 1539
Language: Modern English
Printer/Writer/Translator: Myles Coverdale
Discovery or Publish Location: England
The Great Bible was commissioned by King Henry VIII of
England. Every parish in the country was required by the King to
buy a copy of this Bible from the Crown. It was also the first
Bible to have a colored title page.
THE COVERDALE BIBLE
Publish Date: 1535
Language: Modern English
Printer/Writer/Translator: Compiled by Myles Coverdale
Discovery or Publish Location: Zurich, Switzerland or
Antwerp, Belgium
The Coverdale Bible was the first Bible to be a full Modern
English translation of the full Bible, and it contained both the
Old and the New Testaments. T
 THE LENINGRAD CODEX
Publish Date: 1008 AD
Language: Hebrew
Printer/Writer/Translator: Samuel ben Jacob, and Others
Discovery or Publish Location: Cairo, Egypt
One of the unusual things about the Leningrad Codex is that some
of the books are out of order when compared to the traditional
Bible. It is also remarkably in great shape, considering it is more
than 1,000 years old. Today, the Leningrad Codex is at the National
Library of Russia.
 THE ALEPPO CODEX
Publish Date: 930 AD
Language: Hebrew
Printer/Writer/Translator: Masoretes
Discovery or Publish Location: Tiberias, Israel

The Aleppo Codex was held and protected for more than 1,000 years
in a number of Jewish communities in Egypt, Jerusalem, and Syria,
which is where it gets its name. It was held in Syria until 1958, when
it was smuggled out of the country and given to Izhak Ben-Zvi,the
President of Israel.
CODEX EPHRAEMI RESCRIPTUS
Publish Date: 460 AD
Language: Greek
Printer/Writer/Translator: Unknown Scribes
Discovery or Publish Location: Unknown, but Possibly Egypt

Experts who have studied the Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus believe

that those who wrote it were based on other manuscripts. The scribe
switched from one manuscript to another as he wrote. Today, you can
see the Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus in Paris. It is housed at the
Bibliothèque nationale de France.
 CODEX ALEXANDRINUS
Publish Date: 400 to 440 AD
Language: Greek
Printer/Writer/Translator: Unknown Scribes
Discovery or Publish Location: Alexandria , Egypt – Gifted to
King Charles I of England in 1627According to some scholars, the
Codex Alexandrinus could be one of the best in the world. It is
regarded to be one of the most complete version of the New
Testament. This is the New Testament version that most of our
New Testaments are based on today.
 CODEX SINAITICUS
(THE SINAI BIBLE)
Publish Date: 330 – 360 AD
Language: Greek
Printer/Writer/Translator: Unknown Scribes
Discovery or Publish Location: Saint Catherine’s Monastery in the Sinai
Peninsula

The Codex Sinaiticus was widely considered to be the oldest Bible in

existence until the actual oldest Bible was scientifically dated. The manuscript
was discovered in the 19th century, though it was incomplete. Other parts of
the same manuscript were found in both the 20th and 21st centuries. Its on
display at the British Library, which is in London.
 CODEX VATICANUS
(THE LATIN BIBLE)
Publish Date: 300-305 AD
Language: Greek
Printer/Writer/Translator: Unknown Scribes
Discovery or Publish Location: Unknown, but possibly Rome,
Alexandria, or Caesarea

Most scholars believe that the Codex Vaticanus is the most accurate Bible in
existence, as it was written only a couple of hundred years after the death of
Jesus. It is also considered to be one of the best translations of a Greek
Bible. Though this isn’t a complete translation of the Bible, it is remarkably
intact and mostly complete.
Books in the Bible: 66
Books in the OT: 39
Books in the NT: 27
Shortest book in the Bible:
2 John
Longest book in the Bible: Psalms
Chapters in the Bible: 1,189
Chapters in the OT: 929
Chapters in the NT: 260
Middle chapter of the Bible:
Psalm 117
Shortest chapter in the Bible:
Psalm 117
Longest chapter in the Bible:
Psalm 119
Verses in the Bible: 31,102
Verses in the OT: 23,145
Verses in the NT: 7,957
Shortest verse in the Bible:
John 11:35
Middle verses of the Bible:
Psalm 103:1-2
Longest verse in the Bible:
Esther 8:9
Words in the Bible: 773,692
Words in the OT: 592,439
Words in the NT: 181,253