President Bill Clinton and James Patterson’s thriller, "The President is Missing," is so far 2018’s number one best-selling work of fiction — at 150,000 copies. It sounds impressive, but when compared to this year’s — and every year’s — actual number one best-seller, that number is rather small.
So, what is the top-selling book?
The Bible, with more than 25 million Bibles sold annually in the United States.
Jews are traditional when it comes to our standard editions of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh. However, Christians have numerous versions and editions of the Bible. Zondervan, a leading Christian Bible publisher, has more than 350 different Bible versions in print.
The first time I encountered such a diverse variety of what are referred to as "niche Bibles" was at a Barnes and Noble in Ohio, where I lived before moving to Israel.
I stood amazed in front of row after row of colorful titles such as the "Woman’s Bible," the "Golfer’s Bible" (leather edition), and "The American Patriot’s Bible."
I asked a sales associate if they had a Bible about Israel. After checking the stacks and her computer, she replied that such a Bible did not exist. I was surprised, because Israel is among the most prominent themes in the Bible. I became more and more passionate about the need for a Bible all about Israel. If Christian support for Israel is a direct outcome of their reading of the Bible, why was there no Bible focused on Israel?
That visit to the bookstore a few years ago set me on a path to publish the world’s first Bible dedicated exclusively to the Land and the People of Israel. As I have written on these pages before, "The Israel Bible" was published recently by Israel365 and Menorah Books, an imprint of Koren Publishers Jerusalem.
In 2012, I started Israel365 and began collecting all the Bible’s verses about Israel and then gathered scholars to write a unique Israel focused commentary on each of the 929 chapters of Tanakh. After years of research, writing, editing and design, "The Israel Bible" was released in time for Israel’s 70th anniversary and has soared to the top of Amazon’s new releases and is now Amazon’s No. 1 Bible in several categories.
For many of our Christian readers, "The Israel Bible" is their first Bible that opens like a Hebrew book, from right to left. We have received much encouraging feedback from our crowdfunders, and some humorous ones.
One woman complained that while the Bible was beautiful, there was a mistake — the book opened backwards!
"The Israel Bible" is the first new Hebrew-English Bible published in more than 20 years, and it has rightfully assumed its position as top on Amazon.com, and on the shelves of Jews and Christians alike. "The Israel Bible" specifically fills a major void for non-Jewish readers who might be on the fence about support of Israel as a Jewish state by proving the biblical, historical, and eternal connection of the Jews to this land.
The Bible will likely always be the No. 1 best-selling book in America. Now, these Americans will bring God’s message about Israel into their homes, as well. That can only be good for the Jewish state.
Rabbi Tuly Weisz is the director of Israel365, which connects 2 million people to Israel every month. He founded the I365 newsletter, is publisher of Breaking Israel News, and editor of The Israel Bible. He lives with his family in Ramat Beit Shemesh. To read more of his reports, Click Here Now.