by Ashley Reign
Whether you believe it to be the word of God or merely an interesting piece of ancient literature, chances are that you’re familiar with the collection of books known as The Holy Bible. Both the best-selling and most shoplifted book in the world, the Bible has sparked the imaginations and spirits of people around the globe for thousands of years. As familiar as the sight of a Bible may seem, whether it be on your bedside table or in the drawer of every hotel room you’ve ever visited, we’re willing to bet that there are some surprising things in the Bible that can still blow you away.
Here we’ve gathered a collection of everything from controversial bible verses to little-known facts about Biblical figures that are sure to give you a killer conversation starter or two. We’ve attempted to assemble a non-biased collection of fun Bible facts that will spark your interest, whether you’re a hardcore believer or the most resolute skeptic on the block.
So whether you’re out to gain a better knowledge and understanding of your faith or are just looking for new ways to relate to your scripture-packing pals, you'll be fascinated by this list. These crazy bible verses and fun facts will hopefully give you interesting new ways to look at old stereotypes, scripture based ammo that will shut down haters in their tracks, and a new understanding of one of the worl1. The Magi May Have Had a Much Longer Journey Than You'd Think
Despite what nativity scenes around the world would have you believe, the Magi or "Wise Men" who gifted Baby Jesus with gold, frankincense, and myrrh didn't actually find Him on the night of His birth.
Matthew 2:11 specifies that the Magi visited Jesus and His mother in a house, rather than the manger He was born in.
Though there's a lot of debate among scholars about when the visit actually took place, the consensus is that it was anywhere from about 40 days after Jesus was born until around the time He was a little over two years old.
2. Many Biblical Heroes Weren't Exactly Upstanding Citizens
If you think the Bible's full of nothing but pious holy-rollers, think again. The truth is, many of the Bible's most famous heroes were anything but flawless.
For example, Exodus 2:12 recounts the tale of a young Moses murdering a guy and trying to hide his body in the sands of Egypt, while the 9th Chapter of Acts reveals that the Apostle Paul murdered hundreds of Christians before becoming one himself.
Even King David is busted in 2 Samuel 11: 14-17 for making sure one of his soldiers was killed in battle, rather than face him to confess he'd knocked up his wife while he was away - oops!
3. None of the Ways We Imagine the Devil Are Biblical
Though most of us tend to picture the devil as a combination of horns, hooves, and a pitchforks, the Bible never really describes him other than as the angel of light he was before he fell from Heaven. Much of his popular imagery is borrowed from pagan dieties such as:
Pan - the horned, half goat god of the ancient Greco-Roman period.
Satyrs - lusty Greco-Roman tempters who also sported hooves, horns, and pointy beards.
Pluto/Hades - the Greek god of the underworld who traditionally carried a pronged scepter, which may have evolved into a pitchfork.
Bats - these little guys are pretty creepy and sometime around the Middle Ages, artists started to lend their wings to the devil as a way to contrast the magestic wings of angels.
4. Christ Probably Couldn't Have Even Pronounced the Name "Jesus"
Though Christians around the world know the Christ of the Bible as "Jesus," this not only was not His actual name, but it was a name He probably wouldn't even have been able to pronounce. You see, the letter "J" didn't even exist in any language until about the 14th century and is absent to this day from the Hebrew alphabet.
Jesus would have most likely spoken either Aramaic, in which His name would've been pronounced "Eashoa," or Hebrew, in which His name would've been "Yeshua."
5. Many of the Names in Gensis Incorporate the Ancient Hebrew Name for 'God'
In Exodus 6:3, God tells Moses that He appeared to Abraham, Issac, and Jacob using the name El Shaddai (which means 'God Almighty'). He did not reveal Himself to them by the name "Yahweh."
Evidence of this can be seen in the fact that many of the names of the characters in Genesis incorporate the term d’s most interesting ancient texts.
'El."
For instance: Ishma-EL, Ab-EL, and Isra-EL. It was also incorporated into the names of all the archangels, such as Gabri-EL, Micha-EL, and Rapha-EL.
6. The Bible May Not Be as Sexist as It Seems
While 1 Timothy 2:12 may appear about as sexist as it gets, it's one of those Bible verses that prove how important it is never to take a single verse out of context.
While Paul advises that the women of a particular church not be allowed to teach, many scholars believe that 1 Timothy 2:9 hints tht he was addressing this specific church, not necessarily all churches for all time.
Having just learned that they were "children of God," many of the women in this particular congregation were actually showing up at church dressed as literal goddesses and may or may not have been ready to gear up to teach Sunday school.
The following verses, however, reveal that many Biblical women were revered as teachers and leaders: Galatians 3:28, Acts 2:18, Acts 18:26, Acts 2:17, Judges 4:4.
7. God Never Actually Promised Not to Give Us More Than We Can Handle
Though it's a favorite quote of many believers, it not only never appears in the Bible, but is actually contradicted a couple of times.
2 Corinthians 1:8, Psalm 38:4, 1 Kings 19:7 all present situations in which believers appear to be completely overwhelmed. Rather than never putting His followers in situations they can't handle, God occasionally does overwhelm them so that they can grow into people who can handle anything.
8. Noah Was Old. Like Really Old.
As if building an ark big enough for every creature on earth wasn't impressive enough, Genesis 7:6 specifies that Noah was about 600 years old by the time he set sail on the flood waters.
9. God Had to Re-Do the Ten Commandments After Moses Broke the First Drafts
Moses had to go back up and have God make a second draft of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 34:1 because he destroyed the first draft while chewing out the Israelites in Exodus 32:19.
Though he may appear to be dramatically revealing the first drafts in the picture above, he's actually winding up to send them spiraling into the crowd below, in the hopes that they'll nail some wayward Israelite on their way down.
10. The Bible Hates Judgey People Just as Much as You Do
Though a common negative stereotype about Christians is that they're sort of the hall monitors of the world, believers who do behave this way do so in opposition to the Bible.
Christ couldn't have been any clearer in Matthew 7: 1-3 when He warned, "Judge not, lest you be judged."
Even Paul weighs in, in 1 Corinthians 5:12 when he asks, "What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church?"
11. Your Mental Image of God May Actually Be of an Ancient Canaanite Storm Deity
Much of our modern day imagery of God as an old man with a long beard was originally borrowed from an ancient Canaanite storm god who was also known as El (God), Il, or sometimes Latipan.
He was known as the Father God of a pantheon of smaller Canaanite gods, and was often depicted as a wise old man with a long flowing beard whose throne sat on top of a mountain surrounded by clouds. Sound familiar? -Ranker
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