> The first book of the Bible - Genesis - comes from a Greek word meaning, "beginning".
> Adam's eldest son, Cain, invented farming. He is also considered the first murderer [he killed his brother, Abel].
> Lamech (from the lineage of Cain) was considered the first polygamist having two wives: Adah and Zillah.
> Noah and his family was chosen to survive a catastrophic flood that would wipe out the entire inhabitants of the planet. Noah's flood was said to have occurred around 2348 B.C.
> Abraham is the common patriarch of Christianity, Islam and Judaism. In Christianity, he is the prototype of all believers, Jewish or Gentile; in Judaism, he is the founding father of the covenant of the pieces, the special relationship between the Hebrews and God; and, in Islam he is seen as a link in the chain of prophets that begins with Adam and culminates in Muhammad.
> Sarah (wife of Abraham) is the most mentioned woman in the Bible. She is mentioned 56 times.
> Jacob (grandson of Abraham) had twelve sons that would eventually be known as "The Twelve Tribes of Israel".
> There are 15 dreams recorded in the Old Testament, with the majority of dreams being witnessed by Joseph, son of Jacob.
> Moses is considered the "meekest man" in the Old Testament. (Numbers 12:3)
> The name "Moses" means "drawn from the water".
> Joshua (Israel’s new leader after Moses) leads Israel to conquer the Promised Land, then parcels out territories to the twelve tribes of Israel.
> The expression, "the skin of my teeth" is actually from the Book of Job. (Job 19:20)
> The Tribe of Benjamin were very adept at using the slingshot. The slingshot was what David [from the tribe of Judah] used to kill Goliath.
> A brief history of Israel from Adam to David, culminating with King David commissioning the temple of God in Jerusalem, occurs in I Chronicles.
> King David is the most mentioned man in the Old Testament. He is mentioned 1,090 times.
> The Book of Psalms is a collection of 150 songs that Israel sang to God (and to each other)—kind of like a hymnal for the ancient Israelites. It is believed the majority of Psalms was written by King David.
> There are two men in the Old Testament who never died but were "caught up to heaven": Enoch, who walked with God and was no more (Genesis 5:22-24) and, Elijah, who was caught up by a whirlwind into heaven (II Kings 2:11).
> A chariot imported from Egypt cost around 600 shekels of silver (1 Kings 10:29). That would be about $77,000. One shekel was 4 days wages.
> The first six chapters of Daniel are stories dating from the late Persian/early Hellenistic period, and Daniel's absence from the story of the Hebrew men in the fiery furnace suggests that it may originally have been an independent incident.
> In the Book of Hosea, this minor prophet is told to marry a prostitute who leaves him and he must bring her back; this represents a picture of the Creator’s relationship with Israel.
> A collection of dirges mourning the fall of Jerusalem after the Babylonian attacks can be found in the Book of Lamentations.
> There are 17 books of prophesy (including the Book of Lamentations) in the Old Testament and they are divided into two groups: the long books (the major prophets) and the short books (the minor prophets).
> The major prophets were: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel. The minor prophets were: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zachariah, Malachi
> There are only three angels named in the Old Testament: Michael, the archangel, in Daniel 12:1; Gabriel, in Daniel 8:16; and Lucifer, a fallen angel, in Isaiah 14:12.
Other Tidbits …
> The longest word in the Old Testament is “Mahershalalhashbaz". (Isaiah 8:3)
> Nearly all of the villains in the Old Testament have red hair.
> While it took over 1,000 years to write the Old Testament, in comparison, the New Testament was written within a period of 50-75 years.
> Muslims believe that the Old Testament is a revelation from Allah (God) that has been corrupted by men. They believe the Quran, transcribed by Mohammad, is its correction.
> There are a total of 130 women named in the Old Testament.
> The Book of Esther is the only book in the Old Testament that does not make reference to a Hebrew/Israelite "God".
> Many scholars agree that Job is the oldest book in the Old Testament, written by an unknown Israelite about 1500 B.C. Others hold that the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible) are the oldest books in the Bible, written between 1446 and 1406 B.C.
> Other theologians believe the Old Testament was written over a period of some 1,050 years, from around 1450 B.C. (the time of Moses) to about 400 B.C. (the time of Malachi).
> The Old Testament was written by over 40 different authors including farmers, shepherds, doctors, fishermen, ministers, priests, philosophers, and kings.
> The Old Testament was originally written in three languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Koine Greek.
> The first English translation of the Bible, which included the Old Testament, was made in 1382 A.D. by John Wycliffe.
> The Bible, which included the Old Testament, was printed in 1454 A.D. by Johannes Gutenberg who invented the “type mold” for the printing press. It was the first book ever printed.
> The longest chapter (119) and shortest chapter (117) in the Old Testament can be found in the Book of Psalms.
> The Holy Bible is the best-selling book in history, with total sales exceeding 5 billion copies. It is also the world’s most shoplifted book.
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