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Originally posted by Caretaker:

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Originally posted by MagdaTNM:
When did we (Christian Believers) start numbering chapters and verses? I’m pretty sure that Paul, Luke and the others didn’t write them that way. I also suspect that when the apostles quoted the Psalms and the prophets that they didn’t give chapter and verse references the way we do. So why do we?

WEIRD PERSPECTIVE ALERT: If someone quoted that, “government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth,” I probably wouldn’t think much of it if the speaker began or ended the quote citing “Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address.” If the speaker followed it up with the year of the address, I'd think he was a history teacher. If he followed it up with the full date, time of day and sentence number I’d think he was either deranged or showing off.

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The division was not original to the scrolls, but it does make it far more accurate to reference a particular passage of scripture. One might want to note that often for the true context of a particular passage of scripture one might want to read from one chapter into the next as originally written.

We still have the complete Word of God, it just has had divisions added for our benefit.


From Got Questions:

The chapter divisions commonly used today were developed by Stephen Langton, an Archbishop of Canterbury. Langton put the modern chapter divisions into place in around A.D. 1227. The Wycliffe English Bible of 1382 was the first Bible to use this chapter pattern. Since the Wycliffe Bible, nearly all Bible translations have followed Langton's chapter divisions.

The Hebrew Old Testament was divided into verses by a Jewish rabbi by the name of Nathan in A.D. 1448. Robert Estienne, who was also known as Stephanus, was the first to divide the New Testament into standard numbered verses, in 1555. Stephanus essentially used Nathan's verse divisions for the Old Testament. Since that time, beginning with the Geneva Bible, the chapter and verse divisions employed by Stephanus have been accepted into nearly all the Bible versions.

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http://www.biblegateway.com/blog/2010/10/bible-trivia-where-did-chapter-and-verse-numbers-come-from/

The chapter and verse numbers we know and love today are direct descendants of these systems mentioned by Caretaker. Different languages and versions of the Bible occasionally make use of alternate systems, but our current chapter/verse system is almost universally understood.

The history of Bible reference numbers may be interesting in its own right (at least to Bible scholars and history geeks), but it’s also had an important influence on the ways that each of us reads the Bible today. Not everyone is happy with the chapter/verse numbering system—and in fact, it’s worth taking a moment to consider some of the implications of this familiar system.

For one thing, our chapter/verse numbering occasionally creates quirky or confusing situations. In your own Bible reading, you’ve probably noticed places where a sentence or train of thought is oddly interrupted by chapter or verse numbers. (See Acts 8, which opens with the final sentence of the previous chapter’s story.) Chapters and verses vary widely in length, and don’t necessarily correspond to the beginnings and ends of stories or sentences.

These numbering quirks do not hinder our ability to read Scripture, but you can bet that plenty of Bible scholars and readers have dreamed up alternate reference schemes to make chapter and verse numbering more consistent. But even if you’ve come up with the perfect Bible reference system, don’t hold your breath waiting for the world’s Bibles to conform to it—people probably won’t want to “break” several hundred years’ worth of Bible scholarship and verse memorization just because you think “John 3:16″ would be more logically called “Gospel/John.14.25-a.”

But beyond this practical issue, our numbering system brings up a broader question about Bible reading and interpretation. How does the current chapter and verse breakdown influence the way you read the Bible? It helps us memorize verses, but does it also encourage us to “proof-text”—that is, to quote select phrases from Scripture out of context? Consider how you might organize the Bible text differently… and how your hypothetical system might influence your Bible reading, positively or negatively. Even something as simple as reading the books of the Bible in a different order can offer fresh insight; how would your reading experience change if the entire chapter/verse numbering system were different?

Our familiar chapters and verses aren’t going away anytime soon, so you’re still safe memorizing John 3:16. But as you explore the Bible, it’s worth considering how the organization of the text affects the way you engage with its contents. And give thanks that despite the quirks of our human numbering system, the Word of God speaks clearly and truthfully to all generations.

Heres some excellent AND SIMPLE Guidelines for the Understanding of the Scriptures

http://www.thruthebible.org/atf/cf/%7B91E2424C-636C-40C2-9C55-890588E90ECE%7D/Guidelines.pdf

NOTES & OUTLINES


These Notes and Outlines on each book of the Bible were prepared by Dr. McGee to assist listeners who wanted an even deeper and more thorough understanding of the Word as they followed along with his 5-year radio program. Please feel free to copy and distribute these Notes and Outlines to others who seek to broaden their understanding of God's Word.


http://www.thruthebible.org/site/c.irLMKXPGLsF/b.4120499/k.A501/Notes__Outlines.htm




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That is all.....

Posts: 8775 | From: USA, MICHIGAN | Registered: Mar 2004  |  IP: Logged | 

posted                      

quote:

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Originally posted by MagdaTNM:
When did we (Christian Believers) start numbering chapters and verses? I’m pretty sure that Paul, Luke and the others didn’t write them that way. I also suspect that when the apostles quoted the Psalms and the prophets that they didn’t give chapter and verse references the way we do. So why do we?

WEIRD PERSPECTIVE ALERT: If someone quoted that, “government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth,” I probably wouldn’t think much of it if the speaker began or ended the quote citing “Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address.” If the speaker followed it up with the year of the address, I'd think he was a history teacher. If he followed it up with the full date, time of day and sentence number I’d think he was either deranged or showing off.

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Posts: 3978 | From: Council Grove, KS USA | Registered: Jun 2002  |  IP: Logged |