Kids gravitate to facts. Here are fun facts about the Bible that your kids will love. They’ll want to know even more about God’s Word!
“Mom! Did you know that Pharaoh thought he wouldn’t live forever unless his name was remembered? That’s why we still know the names of the pharaohs!”
Well, most of the pharaohs, anyway.
The book of Exodus begins with a short list of the sons of Jacob (Israel), telling us the people of Israel multiplied in the land of Egypt.
Exodus 1:7, ESV, says, “Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.” The king, or pharaoh, felt threatened by the sheer number of the Israelites, and so enslaved them. He then hatched a plan to have the Israelite midwives kill the Israelite male babies. Exodus 1:15, ESV, begins this section, saying: “Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah…”
The Israelite midwives don’t kill the babies of their people, and God rewards them for this brave act by giving them families. It would seem they were also rewarded by having their names recorded for all generations to remember.
It is interesting, then, that the Holy Spirit-inspired authors of Scripture record so many names of historical kings and queens who interact with Israel–but they don’t record the name of the pharaoh overseeing the Exodus, a central event in Old Testament history.
Fun Facts about the Bible
Kids love facts. They gather up trivia and off-topic details, ready to whip them out and display them at the slightest provocation. That’s why your child knows more than they’ll ever need to about slugs or World War I era planes or Minecraft. Facts are fun. Facts about the Bible are fun, too.
More than fun, facts about the Bible can add to our understanding of God’s Word, making our understanding of it richer and more exciting.
The fact that the king of Egypt during the time of the Exodus isn’t named in Scripture is not a mistake–there are no mistakes in God’s Word. When we discover the pharaohs were obsessed with having their names remembered forever, and then we see the names of the sons of Israel–and even of two female midwives–we can recognize that God’s holy justice takes a number of forms.
Let’s take a look at some fun facts about the Bible your kids will love!
Grab your FREE Bible Study Tool Kit–over 130 pages of Bible resources for your family!
Bible Facts for Kids
Be sure to share these fun facts about the Bible with your kids!
- The Bible is a library of 66 books, written by at least 40 Holy Spirit-inspired authors. The English Bible has between 726,109 and 788,208 words–depending on which English translation you read (Help Your Kids Learn and Love the Bible, page 28).
- There are giants in the Bible! Goliath was 9’9″ (1 Samuel 17:4). King Og of Bashan’s bed was 13′ 6″ in length (Deuteronomy 3:11). In 2 Samuel 21, King David fights against the descendants of giants among the Philistines. Ishbi-benob had a bronze spear weighing over 7.5 pounds–that’s heavy! Other descendants of giants included Goliath the Gittite, Saph, and a man of great stature from Gath who had twelve fingers and twelve toes.
- Noah’s grandpa, Methuselah, lived for 969 years. That’s a really long time–the longest recorded life in the Bible, or in history! We don’t know if he died in the flood, but he may have. (Genesis 5:25-27)
- Noah’s great-grandfather, Enoch, didn’t die at all. The Bible says the days of Enoch were 365 years. Enoch walked with God–that means he loved God and obeyed him–and then God took him. (Genesis 5:23-24)
- Speaking of people who never died, there is one more special case recorded in the Bible. The prophet Elijah was taken to heaven in a whirlwind by chariots of horses and fire. (2 Kings 2:11)
- When Jonah goes to Nineveh and tells the people there to repent and follow God, the king of Nineveh was so alarmed that God was angry with him and his people, he made everyone fast from food and water, and everyone had to be covered in sackcloth. Even the cows of Nineveh had to fast and wear sackcloth! (Jonah 3:7-8)
- When Jesus is arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, Mark records the brief story of a young man who followed Jesus and the crowd with the chief priests, scribes, and elders. Because Jesus was arrested late in the night, the young man was only wrapped in a linen cloth. The people grabbed the young man, but he ran away naked–leaving the linen cloth. Many scholars believe that Mark, the author, was telling the story of his own presence at Jesus’ arrest. (Mark 14:51-52)
- Speaking of the book of Mark, many scholars believe the Gospel author Mark was the same John Mark who traveled with Barnabas and Paul (Acts 12:25) and abandoned them in Pamphylia (Acts 15:37-39), so Paul and Barnabas separated after arguing over whether to bring Mark with them. Mark went with Barnabas. Later, scholars believe Mark traveled with Peter. The book of Mark may be Peter’s account of the Gospel, told by his travel companion–Mark.
- In Acts 28:1-6, the people of the island of Malta were confused about who Paul was. After surviving a shipwreck and washing ashore on Malta, Paul was bitten by a poisonous snake. At first the people thought Paul was a murderer. They thought maybe the shipwreck and the snake bite were his divine punishment. Paul, though, shook off the snake and lived. The people then assumed Paul must be a god.
- That’s not the first time people thought Paul was a god. In Acts 14:8-18, Paul was preaching with Barnabas in Lystra. He prayed for a crippled man who had faith in Jesus. The man could instantly walk. The people of Lystra decided Barnabas was the Roman false god Zeus and Paul must be the false god Hermes. Barnabas and Paul were dismayed. They tore their clothes and urged the people to worship only the one true, living God.
The Bible is full of facts that are fun and amazing for kids to learn! In fact, your kids can spend a lifetime learning about God’s Word. There is no better time to start exploring Scripture with your kids than today.
Danika Cooley’s book Help Your Kids Learn and Love the Bible is your crash course on teaching the Bible to your kids. Danika is an award-winning children’s author and Bible curriculum developer. Her popular Bible Road Trip™ is used by tens of thousands of families.
Sonya says
Are there actual printable facts? or just what you’ve typed up.
Sarah says
Just these that are typed up; no printable.