What is the Bible

Literally translated, the word Bible means ‘book’ or ‘books’. And it’s a collection of books written over the course of more than 1,000 years. 

Christians see it as one of the ways God has made himself known – telling us personal things about himself, his relationship with us and his overall plans for the world.

It was written in three different languages and on three different continents. Its many authors include fishermen, kings, prophets, poets and musicians.

What’s in the Bible?
The Bible includes poetry, legal documents, songs, letters, eyewitness accounts, people stories, historical documents and advice literature.

Its subject matter goes from the creation of all things to the end of time as we know it. In between, it covers:

• God’s relationship with the ancient Hebrew nation.
• God’s promise of a future deliverer.
• The life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ – the promised deliverer.
• The establishment and growth of the Church.
• Teaching and encouragement for those who are followers of Jesus.

How is the Bible structured?
The Bible is usually divided into two sections:

• The Old Testament – texts written before Jesus Christ was born and covering God’s dealings with the ancient Hebrew world and its people. 
• The New Testament – writings following the death of Jesus and covering his life and teaching, the establishment of the Christian church, and letters from church leaders

Christians are not entirely agreed on the number of books in the Old Testament. Protestants recognise 39, Catholics include 46 and Ethiopian Orthodox have as many as 54.

How many copies have been printed or sold?
The Bible is by far the best-selling book of all time. However, no one can be absolutely sure exactly how many copies have been printed, sold or distributed.

Bible Society’s attempt to calculate the number printed between 1816 and 1975 produced the figure of 2,458,000,000 – almost 2 and a half billion.

Another survey, for the years up to 1992, put it closer to 6 billion.