Bible Study

Gideon is listed as an outstanding example of someone who exercised great faith in God (Hebrews 11:32). The Bible, however, states He needed to see EIGHT miracles before his faith was strong enough to battle the mighty Midianites (Judges 6 - 8)! Two of these miracles, which he requested, involved a fleece placed on a threshing floor (Judges 6:36 - 40). The Eternal even proactively gave him one final miraculous assurance that his victory was guaranteed (7:9 - 15)!

While all humans are sinners, some indulge in evil far more than others. Our pick for the greatest Old Testament sinners in the Bible includes the Egyptian Pharaoh who refused to free God's people, King Ahab of Israel and his wife Jezebel, Kings Ahaz and Manasseh of Judah, and Haman (who sought to mass exterminate the Jews). In the New Testament, chief sinners include Herod the Great and son Antipas, Judas Iscariot, Simon Magus, Saul, and the end time Beast and False Prophet.

Did you know . . . ?

At least seven Old Testament Bible books discuss the existence and activities of Satan. The book of Job has the most Old Testament references with fourteen. "Satan" is mentioned by name 56 times in God's word. "Devil" is used 61 times in the KJV translation, with all references occurring in the New Testament. Jesus directly discusses God's adversary in at least 25 Bible passages.

The Bible mentions at least 81 distinct animals, including bats, cranes, crocodiles, dragons, eagles, fleas, leopards, owls, peacocks, pelicans, ravens, spiders, unicorns, weasels, whales, wolves and worms!

Rome and the Word

It was not until 1250 that the Bible was divided into chapters by Cardinal Hugo. Although he separated chapters for convenience his divisions, though not always accurate, persists to this day and are in most modern translations.

The Bible mentions at least eleven distinct Roman provinces and at least eight geographical regions within the Empire. The most referenced provinces in the New Testament are Judea (43 times), Macedonia (28 times), Asia (21 times) and Achaia (11 times).

Silver and Gold

Scripture mentions gold 417 times while silver is referred to 320 times. Although in modern times silver can be found more abundantly than gold it was not always the case. In the Middle East, before 500 B.C., the metal was harder to find than its golden counterpart was. This may be why, when the Bible comments on the wealth of Abraham (Genesis 13:1 - 2, 24:35) or stating what the children the Israel took from the Egyptians (Exodus 3:22, 11:2), silver is listed before gold.

Promises, Promises

Here is a good Bible study question. How many promises are found in God's word? There are 7,487 of them made from God to humans, two made by the God the Father to Jesus Christ and 991 between humans. There are also 290 promises made by humans to God, 21 given by angels and one by a man to an angel. Amazingly, there are also in the Bible two promises made by demonic spirits to God and nine given by Satan himself (such as when he promised Jesus all the kingdoms of the world if He bowed down and worshipped him - see Matthew 4:9)! All together, Scripture contains at least 8,803 promises!

Bible Study Questions and Answers

Did you know that more than one edition of the King James Bible was printed in 1611? The first edition correctly states in Matthew 26:36 that Jesus came with his disciples to Gethsemane. The second edition erroneously states it was Judas. This misprint, and others which occurred in the books of Leviticus, Ezra, Micah and Ezekiel, were later corrected.

What are the shortest and longest books in the Bible? The shortest book is 3John, which contains only 299 words in the King James Version. The longest is the Psalms, which contains 43,743 words. Out of the Old Testament's thirty-nine books, the New Testament quotes all but five - Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon.

Our Bible Study Series! Meaning of Numbers in the Bible
Biblical Meaning of Colors	Gemstones in Scripture
Definition of Bible Terms
Mythical Animals in Scripture	The Major Prophets
Proverbs by Topic
Bible Timeline Made Easy!	New Testament Churches
Mass Murder in the Bible
First Century Religious Groups	New Testament Roman Provinces
Life of Jesus Timelines!