Facts About the Bible*
The following statistics are based on the KJV
Breakdown of the Bible
Bible Books
The Bible contains 66 books:
39 in the Old Testament
27 in the New Testament
1,189 chapters
31,173 verses
774,746 words
3,566,480 letters
Middles
The middle books of the Bible are Micah and Nahum.
Middle chapter: Psalm 118
Middle verses: Psalm 118:8
The contents of Psalm 118:8 could be said to be the central message of the Bible:
"It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man."
Shortest and Longest Chapters
Shortest chapter: Psalm 117
Longest chapter: Psalm 119
Breakdown of the Old Testament
39 books
929 chapters
23,214 verses
593,493 words
2,278,100 letters
Middles
The middle book of the Old Testament is Proverbs.
Middle chapter: Job 20
Middle verses: 2 Chronicles 20:17, 18
Shortest and Longest
Shortest book: Obadiah
Longest book: Psalms
Shortest verse in the Old Testament: 1 Chronicles 1:25
Longest verse in the Old Testament: Esther 8:9
(89 words, 425 letters)
Breakdown of the New Testament
27 books
260 chapters
7,959 verses
181,253 words
838,380 letters
Types of Books
4 Gospels
1 Historical book
22 Letters
1 Apocalyptic book
Middles
The middle book of the New Testament is 1 Thessalonians.
Middle chapters: Romans 8 and 9
Middle verse: Acts 27:17
Shortest and Longest
Shortest book (counting words): 3 John
Shortest book (counting verses): 2 John
Longest book: Luke
Longest chapter: Luke 1
Shortest verse in the New Testament: John 11:35
Longest verse in the New Testament: Revelation 20:4 (68 words)
Bible Statistics
Most mentioned humans in the Bible:
David - 1,118 times
Moses - 740 times
Aaron - 339 times
Saul - 338 times
Abraham - 306 times
The second most commonly occurring name in the Bible is "Jesus," which occurs 973 times.
Most frequently mentioned women in the Bible:
Sarah, Abraham's wife - 57 times
Rachel, Jacob's second wife - 47 times
Leah, Jacob's first wife - 34 times
Rebekah, Isaac's wife - 31 times
Jezebel, wicked queen - 23 times
Longest names found in the Bible:
18 letters
Johath-Elem-Recho-Kim in the title of Psalm 56. This is the name of a song and means "the silent dove of far-off places."
MAHER-SHALAL-HASH-BAZ (Isaiah 8:1). This is the name given to Isaiah's son, meaning "swift is booty, speedy is prey."
17 letters
CHU-SHAN-RISH-A-THA-IM (Judges 3:8)
Shortest names found in the Bible:
AI (Joshua 7:2)
AR (Numbers 21:15)
ED (Joshua 22:34)
ER (Genesis 38:3)
IR (1 Chronicles 7:12)
NO (Jeremiah 46:25)
OG (Numbers 21:3)
ON (Numbers 16:11)
PE (Psalm 119:129)
SO (2 Kings 17:4)
UR (Genesis 11:28)
UZ (Genesis 10:23)
Longest words found in the Bible:
16 letters
COVENANTBREAKERS (Romans 1:31)
EVILFAVOUREDNESS (Deuteronomy 17:1)
LOVINGKINDNESSES (Psalm 25:6)
UNPROFITABLENESS (Hebrews 7:18)
15 letters
ADMINISTRATIONS (1 Corinthians 12:5)
BLOODGUILTINESS (Psalm 51:14)
CONFECTIONARIES (1 Samuel 8:13)
FELLOWDISCIPLES (John 11:16)
FELLOWLABOURERS (Philippians 4:3)
FELLOWPRISONERS (Romans 16:7)
INTERPRETATIONS (Genesis 40:8)
KNEADINGTROUGHS (Exodus 8:3)
NOTWITHSTANDING (Exodus 16:20)
PROGNOSTICATORS (Isaiah 47:13)
RIGHTEOUSNESSES (Isaiah 64:6)
STUMBLINGBLOCKS (Jeremiah 6:21)
THRESHINGFLOORS (1 Samuel 23:1)
UNRIGHTEOUSNESS (Leviticus 19:15)
Unusual things recorded in the Bible:
Methuselah who lived to be 969 years old (Genesis 5:27)
Man was spoken to by a donkey (Numbers 22:28-30)
A bed measuring 13 1/2 feet in length and 6 feet in width (Deuteronomy 3:11)
Women who shaved their heads before they married (Deuteronomy 21:11-13)
The sun standing still for a whole day (Joshua 10:13)
An army with 700 left-handed men (Judges 20:16)
A man whose hair weighed about 6 pounds when it was cut annually (2 Samuel 14:26)
A man who had 12 fingers and 12 toes (2 Samuel 21:20)
Man had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines (1 Kings 11:3)
A father who had eighty-eight children (2 Chronicles 11:21)
Army of 185,000 destroyed in one night (Isaiah 37:36)
A man whose life was increased by fifteen years in answer to prayer (Isaiah 38:1-5)
A day the sun went backward (Isaiah 38:8)
A prostitute who was an ancestor of Christ (Matthew 1:5)
(* from AMG's Encyclopedia of Bible Facts, by Mark Water, 2004, AMG)