This is a list of Bible passages that are interesting for reasons that do not bear on religion or theology. All quotations from the Authorized Version (King James Version) of the Bible unless otherwise noted. This page is about the version of the Bible; for the Harvey Danger album, see King James Version (album). ... The Bible (Hebrew: תנ״ך tanakh, Greek: η Βίβλος hē biblos) (sometimes The Holy Bible, The Book, Word of God, The Word Scripture, Scripture), from Greek (τα) βίβλια, (ta) biblia, (the) books, is the name used by Jews and Christians for their (differing but overlapping) canons of sacred texts. ...

Old Testament

Leviticus 16:8 Leviticus is the third book of the Hebrew Bible, also the third book in the Torah (five books of Moses). ...

...place lots upon the 2 goats, one marked for the Lord and the other marked for Azazel

This verse is the origin of the phrase scapegoat. Azazel's identity is a curiosity in itself.

2 Samuel 8:1 A modern interpretation of Azazel, from Collin de Plancys Dictionnaire Infernal (Paris,1825) for the DC Comics character, see Azazel (comics). ... The Books of Samuel, also referred to as [The Book of] Samuel (Hebrew: שְׁמוּאֵל), are (two) books in the Hebrew Bible (Judaisms Tanakh and originally writtten in Hebrew) and the Old Testament of Christianity. ...

After this David attacked the Philistines and conquered them, wresting the [methegammah] from the Philistines

Part of the problem with translating ancient texts is the presence of idioms that were understood at the time but are not now. Consequently some translations just guess a suitable phrase. In the example above, the Hebrew word methegammah literally translates as bridle of the cubit, the alternative translations being bridle of Ammah, and Metheg and her mother. Most English versions, however, render methegammah as chief cities.

2 Samuel 23:24

Asahel, brother of Joab. Among the Thirty were: Elhanan, son of Dodo, from Bethlehem

The previous verse is unconnected to this one, leading to suspicions that there is a chunk of text missing between the words Joab and Among.

2 Samuel 23:24-39

...Among the Thirty were...[37 names]...Thirty seven in all.

Presumably the writer is able to count, though the reason for listing 37 names as "the Thirty" is obscure.

1 Kings 7:23 (Redirected from 1 Kings) The Books of Kings (also known as [The Book of] Kings in Hebrew: Sefer Melachim מלכים) is a part of Judaisms Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible. ...

And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: it was round all about, and his height was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about.

This is the famous passage that implies that pi = 3, if taken literally, and if round is taken to mean circular, and if the measurements are taken to be precise, and if the diameter was measured across the outside of the brim.

1 Kings 13:27 Cubit is the name for any one of many units of measure used by various ancient peoples. ... Lower-case π (the lower case letter is usually used for the constant) The mathematical constant π ≈ 3. ... A circular may be: the adjective form of circle an advertisement which is circulated a Pastoral letter, Encyclic, or Papal bull that is circulated between churches a circular argument is a term for a type of logical fallacy where the very thing that is trying to be proved is assumed... For the geometric term, see diameter. ...

And he spake to his sons, saying, Saddle me the ass. And they saddled him.

The King James translators highlighted words added by the translators which did not correspond literally to any specific words in the original texts. Occasionally this produced an unintentionally comic effect, as with the word him in this example.

2 Kings 19 and Isaiah 37: these entire chapters are almost but not quite word-for-word identical. Ass has several meanings: In zoology, an ass was the original word for donkey. ... Translation is an activity comprising the interpretation of the meaning of a text in one language—the source text—and the production of a new, equivalent text in another language—the target text, also called the translation. ...

1 Chronicles 1:25 (Redirected from 1 Chronicles) The Book of Chronicles is a book in the Hebrew Bible (also see Old Testament). ...

Eber, Peleg, Reu,

Shortest verse in the Old Testament. (The numbering of verses is a Medieval innovation, and thus there is nothing intrinsically notable about these three words.)

Isaiah 34:14 To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild beasts of the island, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow; Lilith / the Screech Owl] also shall rest there, and find for herself a place of rest

This verse is notable both for its mention of creatures of Greek mythology - the satyr, but also of Jewish mysticism - Lilith (which the King James Version translates as Screech Owl).

Ezekiel 23:20 In Greek mythology, Satyrs (Σάτυροι - Satyri) are mythological half-man and half-goat nature entities that roamed the woods and mountains, and were the companions of Pan and Dionysus. ... Lilith is a female Mesopotamian night demon believed to harm male children. ... This article is about the Book of Ezekiel. ...

For she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses

This reference to penis size, and semen, is perhaps one of the crudest parts of the entire bible.

Job 9:9 Penis size is of great concern to many men. ... This article is about male ejaculatory fluid. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south.

Job 38:31-32

Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?

Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?

Only places in the Bible where a star (Arcturus), constellation (Orion), or asterism (the Pleiades) are mentioned by name.

Job 39:9 Arcturus (α Boo / α Boötis / Alpha Boötis) is the brightest star in the constellation Boötes, and the third brightest star in the night sky, with a visual magnitude of −0. ... Orion, a constellation often referred to as The Hunter, is a prominent constellation, perhaps the best-known in the sky. ... The Pleiades, also called Open cluster M45, visible from both the northern and southern hemispheres, consists of many bright, hot stars that were all formed at the same time within a large cloud of interstellar dust and gas. ...

Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib?...

A mistranslation of the Hebrew word ראמ "wild ox".

Psalm 46:3 The gentle and pensive virgin has the power to tame the unicorn, in this fresco in Palazzo Farnese, Rome, probably by Domenichino, ca 1602 The unicorn is a legendary creature embodied like a horse, but slender and with a single — usually spiral — horn growing out of its forehead (whence its... Psalms (Tehilim תהילים, in Hebrew) is a book of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, and of the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. ...

Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.

Psalm 46:9 Selah (Hebrew: סלה) meaning pause, reflection, within the context of a prayer or psalms, is similar in purpose to Amen in that it stresses the importance of the preceding passage. ...

He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.

As sometimes presented: the forty-sixth word in the psalm is "shake" (in verse 3 above). If we decide, for some reason, not to count the "selah" at the end, the forty-sixth word from the end (in verse 9 above) is "spear." William Shakespeare was baptized in 1564, and could arguably have been 46 years old when the King James version was published in 1611, or when the translation was completed. Therefore: William Shakespeare was secretly one of the King James translators.

Psalm 119 Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Events March 27 — Naples bans kissing in public under the penalty of death June 22 — Fort Caroline, the first French attempt at colonizing the New World September 10 — The Battle of Kawanakajima Ottoman Turks invade Malta Modern pencil becomes common in England Conquistadors crossed the Pacific Spanish founded a colony... Events June 23 - Henry Hudsons crew maroons him, his son and 7 others in a boat November 1 - At Whitehall Palace in London, William Shakespeares romantic comedy The Tempest is presented for the first time. ...

Psalm 119 is an acrostic poem in the Hebrew alphabet; each section begins with a new letter.

Proverbs 16:18 Wikipedians Instill Knowledge about Interesting and Pertinent topics, waxing Eloquent Developing Information Abundance Acrostic poems are related to crossword puzzles in that they can be read in multiple directions. ...

Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.

Correct wording of the verse very frequently misquoted as "Pride goeth before a fall."

Song of Songs 5:4

My beloved put in his hand by the hole [of the door], and my bowels were moved for him

Apart from being one of the most explicit verses in the bible, the phrase my bowels were moved makes it one of the most filled with bathos.

If something is explicit, it generally leaves nothing to the imagination. ... Bathos is Greek for depth. ...

New Testament

John 11:35

Jesus wept.

Shortest verse in the New Testament and shortest verse in the Bible. (The numbering of verses is a Medieval innovation, and thus there is nothing intrinsically notable about these two words; however, see Dominus Flevit Church.)