Portal:Bible
The Bible Portal

The Bible (from Koine Greek τὰ βιβλία, tà biblía, 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other 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 can vary.
The religious texts were compiled by different religious communities into various official collections. The earliest contained the first five books of the Bible. It is 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 (meaning the Translation of the Seventy) is a Koine Greek translation of the Tanakh from the third and second centuries BCE (Before Common Era); it largely overlaps with the Hebrew Bible.
Christianity began as an outgrowth of 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 being translated into about half of the world's languages. (Full article...)
Selected article -

Delilah (/dɪˈlaɪlə/ dil-EYE-lə; Hebrew: דְּלִילָה, romanized: Dəlīlā, meaning "delicate"; Arabic: دليلة, romanized: Dalīlah; Greek: Δαλιδά, romanized: Dalidá) is a woman mentioned in the sixteenth chapter of the Book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible. She is loved by Samson, a Nazirite who possesses great strength and serves as the final Judge of Israel. Delilah is bribed by the lords of the Philistines to discover the source of his strength. After three failed attempts at doing so, she finally goads Samson into telling her that his vigor is derived from his hair. As he sleeps, Delilah orders a servant to cut Samson's hair, thereby enabling her to turn him over to the Philistines.
Delilah has been the subject of both rabbinic and Christian commentary; rabbinic literature identifies her with Micah's mother in the biblical narrative of Micah's Idol, while some Christians have compared her to Judas Iscariot, the man who betrayed Jesus. Scholars have noted similarities between Delilah and other women in the Bible, such as Jael and Judith, and have discussed the question of whether the story of Samson's relationship with Delilah displays a negative attitude towards foreigners. Notable depictions of Delilah include John Milton's closet drama Samson Agonistes and Cecil B. DeMille's 1949 Hollywood film Samson and Delilah. Her name has become associated with treacherous and voluptuous women. (Full article...)Did you know (auto-generated) -
- ... that Giovanni Garbini's studies helped scholars interpret the biblical narrative in the larger context of the history of the ancient Near East?
- ... that Chinese biblical scholar Zhu Weizhi believed that Jesus was a proletarian?
- ... that there is some uncertainty as to which figures in Bramantino's Adoration of the Kings represent the Three Kings?
- ... that the verse "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" was left out of the slave bible due to fears that it could incite rebellion?
- ... that Bible translations into Geʽez date back to at least the 6th century, making them among the oldest in the world?
- ... that based on the biblical principle of omnia sunt communia, Thomas Aquinas argued that theft is not a sin if the thief genuinely needs what they are stealing?
List articles
- List of animals in the Bible
- Biblical canon
- List of capital crimes in the Torah
- Prophets of Christianity
- List of English Bible translations
- List of films based on the Bible
- List of minor Old Testament figures, A–K
- List of minor Old Testament figures, L–Z
- List of minor biblical tribes
- List of biblical names
- List of New Testament pericopes
- List of New Testament papyri
- List of New Testament uncials
- Lists of New Testament minuscules
- List of New Testament lectionaries
- List of New Testament verses not included in modern English translations
- List of Hebrew Bible events
- List of Jewish biblical figures
- List of biblical places
- List of plants in the Bible
Related portals
Selected quote -
"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." – 1 John 4:18
Categories
WikiProjects
Web resources
- Audio Bible Online
- Bible Hub
- Bible Portal
- BibleGateway.com
- BibleStudyTools.com
- Biblia.com
- Blue Letter Bible
- Free Bible Images
- Multilingual Online Bible
- The Holy Bible ,a Standard works of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
- New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures A jw.org Jehovah Witnesses portal of New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures.
Topics
More did you know -
- ...that the word hilasterion, which is translated as mercy seat in Hebrews (9:5), is also used to describe Jesus? Romans 3:25
- ...that Christians believe the Second Coming of Jesus is predicted in biblical messianic prophecies?
- ...that Finding Faith in Christ is a Bible film produced by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?
- ...that there are 190+ Bible films that have been made, 32 about Jesus?
Selected chapters
Genesis - Exodus - Leviticus - Numbers - Deuteronomy - Joshua - Judges - Ruth - 1 Samuel - 2 Samuel - 1 Kings - 2 Kings - 1 Chronicles - 2 Chronicles - Ezra - Nehemiah - Esther - Job - Psalms - Proverbs - Ecclesiastes - Song of Solomon - Isaiah
Associated Wikimedia
![]() |
Bible on Wikiquote Quotes |
![]() |
Bible on Commons Images |
![]() |
Bible on Wikisource Texts |