When Were Chapters and Verses Added to the Bible?
The chapter and verse format of the Bible is relatively new.
As we begin studying Romans 9:30-33, I thought it would be good to consider when the chapters and verse divisions were added to the Bible.
The reason for this is that where Romans 10 begins is rather unfortunate since the thought really begins in Romans 9:30.
Has the Bible always included the division into chapters and verses? And if not, where did they come from?
Chapters in the Bible.
Ancient Hebrew texts were divided into paragraphs (called parashot) that were identified by two different letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
The Torah (first five books of Moses) was divided into 154 sections so it could be read out loud in weekly assemblies over the course of three years. However, these divisions do not line up with our modern chapter divisions.
Cardinal archbishop Stephen Langton is believed to have developed a way of dividing the Bible into chapters during the early thirteenth century, and it’s his approach that our modern chapter divisions follow.
Verses in the Bible.
Santes Pagnino (1470-1541) was the first to divide the New Testament into verses, but his system was never widely used - probably for the best since his verses were far longer than our modern-day verses.
The verse divisions that we use today are based on the work of Robert Estienne - who produced a 1555 Vulgate that was the first Bible to include the verse numbers integrated into the text.
The first English Bible to use the verses was a translation by William Whittingham in 1557. The first English Bible to use both the chapter and verse divisions was the Geneva Bible, published in 1560 by Sir Rowland Hill.
So What’s the Verdict on Chapters and Verses?
It’s important to remember that the chapter and verse divisions in the Bible are entirely man-made. While the faithfully translated text is God’s word (2 Timothy 3:16-17), the chapters and verse divisions are not inspired.
While I believe them to be incredibly helpful in most cases, sometimes they are rather unfortunate - such as the chapter break where Romans 10 begins.
