Bible Popular Books
Bible Biography & Facts
The Bible (from Koine Greek τὰ βιβλία, tà biblía, 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures, some, all, or a variant of which are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, Islam, the Baha'i Faith, and other Abrahamic religions. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Koine Greek. These texts include instructions, stories, poetry, and prophecies, among other genres. The collection of materials that are accepted as part of the Bible by a particular religious tradition or community is called a biblical canon. Believers in the Bible generally consider it to be a product of divine inspiration, but the way they understand what that means and interpret the text varies. The religious texts were compiled by different religious communities into various official collections. The earliest contained the first five books of the Bible, called the Torah in Hebrew and the Pentateuch (meaning five books) in Greek. The second oldest part was a collection of narrative histories and prophecies (the Nevi'im). The third collection (the Ketuvim) contains psalms, proverbs, and narrative histories. "Tanakh" is an alternate term for the Hebrew Bible composed of the first letters of those three parts of the Hebrew scriptures: the Torah ("Teaching"), the Nevi'im ("Prophets"), and the Ketuvim ("Writings"). The Masoretic Text is the medieval version of the Tanakh, in Hebrew and Aramaic, that is considered the authoritative text of the Hebrew Bible by modern Rabbinic Judaism. The Septuagint is a Koine Greek translation of the Tanakh from the third and second centuries BC; it largely overlaps with the Hebrew Bible. Christianity began as an outgrowth of Second Temple Judaism, using the Septuagint as the basis of the Old Testament. The early Church continued the Jewish tradition of writing and incorporating what it saw as inspired, authoritative religious books. The gospels, Pauline epistles, and other texts quickly coalesced into the New Testament. With estimated total sales of over five billion copies, the Bible is the best-selling publication of all time. It has had a profound influence both on Western culture and history and on cultures around the globe. The study of it through biblical criticism has indirectly impacted culture and history as well. The Bible is currently translated or is being translated into about half of the world's languages. Etymology The term "Bible" can refer to the Hebrew Bible or the Christian Bible, which contains both the Old and New Testaments. The English word Bible is derived from Koinē Greek: τὰ βιβλία, romanized: ta biblia, meaning "the books" (singular βιβλίον, biblion). The word βιβλίον itself had the literal meaning of "scroll" and came to be used as the ordinary word for "book". It is the diminutive of βύβλος byblos, "Egyptian papyrus", possibly so called from the name of the Phoenician sea port Byblos (also known as Gebal) from whence Egyptian papyrus was exported to Greece. The Greek ta biblia ("the books") was "an expression Hellenistic Jews used to describe their sacred books". The biblical scholar F. F. Bruce notes that John Chrysostom appears to be the first writer (in his Homilies on Matthew, delivered between 386 and 388 CE) to use the Greek phrase ta biblia ("the books") to describe both the Old and New Testaments together. Latin biblia sacra "holy books" translates Greek τὰ βιβλία τὰ ἅγια (tà biblía tà hágia, "the holy books"). Medieval Latin biblia is short for biblia sacra "holy book". It gradually came to be regarded as a feminine singular noun (biblia, gen. bibliae) in medieval Latin, and so the word was loaned as singular into the vernaculars of Western Europe. Development and history The Bible is not a single book; it is a collection of books whose complex development is not completely understood. The oldest books began as songs and stories orally transmitted from generation to generation. Scholars of the twenty-first century are only in the beginning stages of exploring "the interface between writing, performance, memorization, and the aural dimension" of the texts. Current indications are that writing and orality were not separate so much as ancient writing was learned in a context of communal oral performance. The Bible was written and compiled by many people, whom many scholars say are mostly unknown, from a variety of disparate cultures and backgrounds. British biblical scholar John K. Riches wrote: [T]he biblical texts were produced over a period in which the living conditions of the writers – political, cultural, economic, and ecological – varied enormously. There are texts which reflect a nomadic existence, texts from people with an established monarchy and Temple cult, texts from exile, texts born out of fierce oppression by foreign rulers, courtly texts, texts from wandering charismatic preachers, texts from those who give themselves the airs of sophisticated Hellenistic writers. It is a time-span which encompasses the compositions of Homer, Plato, Aristotle, Thucydides, Sophocles, Caesar, Cicero, and Catullus. It is a period which sees the rise and fall of the Assyrian empire (twelfth to seventh century) and of the Persian empire (sixth to fourth century), Alexander's campaigns (336–326), the rise of Rome and its domination of the Mediterranean (fourth century to the founding of the Principate, 27 BCE), the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple (70 CE), and the extension of Roman rule to parts of Scotland (84 CE). The books of the Bible were initially written and copied by hand on papyrus scrolls. No originals have survived. The age of the original composition of the texts is therefore difficult to determine and heavily debated. Using a combined linguistic and historiographical approach, Hendel and Joosten date the oldest parts of the Hebrew Bible (the Song of Deborah in Judges 5 and the Samson story of Judges 16 and 1 Samuel) to having been composed in the premonarchial early Iron Age (c. 1200 BCE). The Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered in the caves of Qumran in 1947, are copies that can be dated to between 250 BCE and 100 CE. They are the oldest existing copies of the books of the Hebrew Bible of any length that are not fragments. The earliest manuscripts were probably written in paleo-Hebrew, a kind of cuneiform pictograph similar to other pictographs of the same period. The exile to Babylon most likely prompted the shift to square script (Aramaic) in the fifth to third centuries BCE. From the time of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Hebrew Bible was written with spaces between words to aid in reading. By the eighth century CE, the Masoretes added vowel signs. Levites or scribes maintained the texts, and some texts were always treated as more authoritative than others. Scribes preserved and changed the texts by changing the script and updating archaic forms while also making corrections. These Hebrew texts were copied with.... Discover the Bible popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Bible books.
Best Seller Bible Books of 2024
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The Holy Bible
The World English Bible (WEB)The Holy Bible was inspired by God, who had His servants speak, write, and preserve His word. The Bible is the bestselling book in history in the World. The Holy Bibl...
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The Holy Bible
King JamesThe Holy Bible, Red Letter Edition consists of the entire Old Testament and the New Testament with the words of Jesus Christ highlighted in red. This makes it the ideal Bible for f...
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The Sermon on the Mount
Emmet FoxWhat did Jesus teach? Distilled from years of study and lecture, affirmed by nearly a million readers over the last fifty years, Emmet Fox's answer in The Sermon on the Mount is si...
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The Bible, Old and New Testaments, King James Version
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Fervent
Priscilla ShirerYou have an enemy . . . and he’s dead set on destroying all you hold dear and keeping you from experiencing abundant life in Christ. What’s more, his approach to disrupting your li...
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Catholic Bible
Catholic ChurchThis Red Letter edition of the Catholic Bible consists of the Old Testament and the New Testament with the words of Jesus Christ highlighted in red. This DouayRheims version of the...
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Jesus Is
Judah SmithA New York Times Bestseller!This is a book for new believers,lifelong followers, andthe merely curious.Jesus is . How would you finish that sentence?The subject is there, and ...
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The Book of Revelations A Personal Study
Rick SonesThe Book of Revelations is filled with many messages that may be hard to understand. This study was done over a seven day period with the Holy Spirit guiding my pen. The story it t...
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Men of the Bible
Dwight Lyman MoodyThe Bible is full of men and women who shapped our world. In Men of the Bible D. L. Moody tells the story of nine men. Some you know, Abraham, Moses, John the Baptist some you may ...
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Written on Our Hearts Third Edition
Mary Reed NewlandThis indepth course brings to life the books of the Old Testament, with a fullcolor student text that covers the most important stories and passages of the Old Testament and guides...
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The Story Bible
Ritchie PruehsHave you ever set out to read your Bible only to get stuck in Leviticus, the prophecies of Ezekiel, the seemingly endless lists of First and Second Chronicles, or the genealogy of ...
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Erasing Hell
Francis Chan & Preston M. SprinkleHow could a loving God send people to hell? Will people have a chance after they die to believe in Jesus and go to heaven?With a humble respect for God's Word, Francis Chan and Pre...
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The Holy Bible - King James Version
King JamesHoly Bible King James Version Few Sample Paragraphs from The Holy Bible eBook, Genesis (OT) 1 Gen. 1 IN the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was with...
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ESV Study Bible
T. Desmond Alexander & Crossway BiblesThe ESV Study Bible was created to help people understand the Bible in a deeper way. Combining the best and most recent evangelical Christian scholarship with the highly regarded E...
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The King James Bible, Complete
UnknownThis volume is the complete King James version of the Christian Bible, an English translation authorized by the Church of England and completed in 1611.
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All About Jesus
Roger Quy & BiblicaWho was Jesus? What did he say? What did he do? This book puts together the story of Jesus’ life and message told by the people who knew him best as recorded in the four Gospels of...
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My Utmost for His Highest
Oswald ChambersMy Utmost for His Highest has been a proven, bestselling devotional for many years. Over the past century, Oswald Chambers’s writings have inspired countless people to drink deeply...
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NRSV Bible with the Apocrypha
ZondervanAccurate. Beautiful. Trusted.Renowned for its beautiful balance of scholarship and readability, the NRSV faithfully serves the church in personal spiritual formation, in the liturg...
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The Proverbs 31 Woman and Other Biblical Women
Sheila Graham & Michael D. MorrisonWho can find a woman of such worth? The description given in Proverbs 31 is a composite no one person has all these abilities but all people can have the greatest virtue. This eb...
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ESV Classic Reference Bible
CrosswayThe ESV Classic Reference Bible combines the ESV Bible text with an extensive system of more than 80,000 crossreferences in the center column on each page. With its readable type, ...
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The Divine Conspiracy
Dallas WillardThe Divine Conspiracy has revolutionized how we think about the true meaning of discipleship. In this classic, one of the most brilliant Christian thinkers of our times and author ...
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Psalms of Grace
Justin CapdevilaThis volume is a resounding of the first 50 Psalms of the Old Testament from a New Covenant perspective. It is not a new translation or paraphrase, but partners with the passion of...
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Jesus Calling, Pink, with Scripture References
Sarah YoungExperience a deeper relationship with Jesus as you savor the presence of the One who understands you perfectly and loves you forever. With Scripture and personal reflections, New Y...
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The Case for Christ
Lee StrobelIs there credible evidence that Jesus of Nazareth really is the Son of God? Retracing his own spiritual journey from atheism to faith, Lee Strobel, former legal editor of the Chica...
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Anxious for Nothing
Max LucadoDoes the uncertainty and chaos of life keep you up at night? Is irrational anxiety your constant companion? Let God help you win the war on worry and receive the lasting peace of C...
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The Bible Period-by-period
Josiah Blake TidwellThough we have made best efforts the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to b...
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Daniel Unlocks Revelation
Gerald Flurry & Philadelphia Church of GodThe book of Revelation is a mystery to most people. However, few understand that the Old Testament book of Daniel is the key to comprehending the mysterious book of Revelation. Dan...
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Holy Bible
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day SaintsThe 2013 edition of the Holy Bible contains all of the study aids contained in the 1979 edition and includes revisions to the study aids, several new photos, updated maps, and adju...
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The Story
Zondervan"The greatest story ever told" is more than just a cliché.God goes to great lengths to rescue lost and hurting people. That is what The Story is all about: the story of t...
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The Bible Book by Book
Josiah Blake TidwellWhile it is intended especially for students in academies, preparatory schools and colleges, the needs of classes conducted by Women's Societies, Young People's Organizations, Sund...
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The Prodigal God
Timothy KellerThe New York Times bestselling author of The Prodigal Prophet uncovers the essential message of Jesus, locked inside his most familiar parable. Newsweek called renowned minister ...
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Bible Verses for Prayer, Meditation and Memory
Alex Cameron1. What does the Bible say about Jesus?2. Who is God and what is he like?3. What does the Bible say about itself?4. Prayer5. Meditation6. MemorizationThis book contains over 100 pa...
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The Bible Plainly Explained
Wan M. WongMany people want to read the Bible but they find the Bible hard to understand. It is thick and speaks to topics relating to a foreign culture from a distant past. For Bible reading...
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HCSB Holman Christian Standard Bible
Holman Bible PublishersThis updated text edition of the HCSB is optimized for easy reading on digital devices. Free from the visual clutter of footnotes, cross references, and other links, this edition i...
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Bible
Various AuthorsThe Bible is a collection of sacred texts and scriptures that hold significant religious and cultural importance for billions of people around the world. It is known for its divers...
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How to Study the Bible
Dwight L. MoodyI will never forget thy precepts; for with them thou hast caused me to live. (Psalm 119:93) There is no situation in life for which you cannot find some word of consolation in Scri...
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NIV Study Bible, eBook
ZondervanDive into a deeper study of God’s Word with the comprehensive NIV Study BibleThe beloved NIV Study Bible features a stunning fourcolor interior with fullcolor photographs...