THE UNIQUENESS OF THE BIBLE by John Oakes
Unique in its continuity
Written over a span of 1,500 years
Written over 40 different generations
Written by over 40 authors:
These authors came from every walk of life such as kings, peasants, philosophers,
fishermen, poets, statesman and scholars. Some examples include:
Moses, a political leader, trained in the universities of Egypt
?Joshua , a military general
?Solomon, a King
?Daniel, a prime minister
?Nehemiah, a cup bearer
?Amos, a herdsman
?Matthew, a tax collector
?Luke, a doctor
?Peter, a fisherman
?Paul, a rabbinical student and Pharisee
Written in different places:
Moses – in the wilderness
?Jeremiah – in a dungeon
?Daniel – on a hillside and a palace
?Paul – inside different prisons
?Luke – while traveling
?John – on the island of Patmos
?Others in the field of battle during military campaigns
Written on three continents:
Africa, Asia, and Europe
Written in three languages:
Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek
Other facts . . .
The Bible has been read by more people and published in more languages than
any other book in history. There have been more copies produced of the Bible
than any other book. The first book ever printed was the Latin Vulgate version
of the Bible.
The Bible was one of the first major books translated (the Septuagint Greek
translation of the Old Testament, ca 250 BC)
The whole Bible has been published in 240 languages and dialects.? One or more
books of the Bible have been published in 739 additional languages and dialects.
If the Bible were completely destroyed it could be reconstructed in its entirety
from other writings that have quoted it.