Chapters and verses of the Bible
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Chapter and verse divisions did not appear in the original texts of Jewish or Christian bibles; such divisions form part of the
The Jewish divisions of the
History
Chapters
Early manuscripts of the biblical texts did not contain the chapter and verse divisions in the numbered form familiar to modern readers. In antiquity Hebrew texts were divided into paragraphs (
The
Chapter divisions, with titles, are also found in the 9th-century Tours manuscript Paris Bibliothèque Nationale MS Lat. 3, the so-called Bible of Rorigo.[8]
Cardinal archbishop
While chapter divisions have become nearly universal, editions of the Bible have sometimes been published without them. Such editions, which typically use thematic or literary criteria to divide the biblical books instead, include
Verses
Since at least 916 the
The first person to divide New Testament chapters into verses was the Italian Dominican biblical scholar Santes Pagnino (1470–1541), but his system was never widely adopted.[19] His verse divisions in the New Testament were far longer than those known today.[20] The Parisian printer Robert Estienne created another numbering in his 1551 edition of the Greek New Testament,[21] which was also used in his 1553 publication of the Bible in French. Estienne's system of division was widely adopted, and it is this system which is found in almost all modern Bibles. Estienne produced a 1555 Vulgate that is the first Bible to include the verse numbers integrated into the text. Before this work, they were printed in the margins.[20]
The first English New Testament to use the verse divisions was a 1557 translation by William Whittingham (c. 1524–1579). The first Bible in English to use both chapters and verses was the Geneva Bible published shortly afterwards by Sir Rowland Hill[22] in 1560. These verse divisions soon gained acceptance as a standard way to notate verses, and have since been used in nearly all English Bibles and the vast majority of those in other languages.
Jewish tradition
The Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible notes several different kinds of subdivisions within the biblical books:
Passukim
Most important are the verses, or passukim (MH spelling; now pronounced pesukim by all speakers). According to Talmudic tradition, the division of the text into verses is of ancient origin.[23] In Masoretic versions of the Bible, the end of a verse, or sof passuk, is indicated by a small mark in its final word called a silluq (which means "stop"). Less formally, verse endings are usually also indicated by two vertical dots following the word with a silluq.
Parashot
The Masoretic Text also contains sections, or portions, called parashot or parashiyot. The end of a parashah is usually indicated by a space within a line (a "closed" section) or a new line beginning (an "open" section). The division of the text reflected in the parashot is usually thematic. Unlike chapters, the parashot are not numbered, but some of them have special titles.
In early manuscripts (most importantly in
Sedarim
Another division of the biblical books found in the Masoretic Text is the division into sedarim. This division is not thematic, but is almost entirely based upon the quantity of text.[citation needed] For the Torah, this division reflects the triennial cycle of reading that was practiced by the Jews of the Land of Israel.[citation needed]
Christian versions
During the
The titles usually referred to the first event or the first theological point of the section only, and some kephalaia are manifestly incomplete if one stops reading at the point where the next kephalaion begins (for example, the combined accounts of the miracles of the
Cardinal
The division of the Bible into chapters and verses has received criticism from some traditionalists and modern scholars. Critics state that the text is often divided in an incoherent way, or at inappropriate rhetorical points, and that it encourages citing passages out of context. Nevertheless, the chapter and verse numbers have become indispensable as technical references for Bible study.
Several modern publications of the Bible have eliminated numbering of chapters and verses.
also exist which strip chapter and verse numbers from existing translations.Bible statistics
The number of words can vary depending upon aspects such as whether the Hebrew alphabet in Psalm 119, the superscriptions listed in some of the Psalms, and the subscripts traditionally found at the end of the Pauline epistles, are included.
Except where stated, the following apply to the
Chapters
- There are 929 chapters in the Old Testament.
- 187 chapters in the Pentateuch
- 249 chapters in the historical books
- 243 chapters in the poetic books ("Wisdom")
- 183 chapters in the major prophets
- 67 chapters in the minor prophets
- 187 chapters in the
- There are 260 chapters in the New Testament.
- 89 chapters in the gospels
- 28 chapters in Acts
- 87 chapters in the Pauline epistles (excluding Hebrews)
- 34 chapters in the general epistles(including Hebrews)
- 22 chapters in Revelation
- This gives a total of 1,189 chapters (on average, 18 per book).
- Psalm 117, the shortest chapter, is also the middle chapter of the Bible, being the 595th chapter.[28]
- Psalm 119 is the longest chapter of the Bible.
- Five books are a single chapter: 3 John, Jude. In many printed editions, the chapter number is omitted for these books, and references just use the verse numbers.
Book / Division | Chapters | ||
---|---|---|---|
Pentateuch (or the Law) | 187 | ||
Genesis | 50 | ||
Exodus | 40 | ||
Leviticus |
27 | ||
Numbers | 36 | ||
Deuteronomy |
34 | ||
Historical Books | 249 | ||
Joshua | 24 | ||
Judges | 21 | ||
Ruth | 4 | ||
1 Samuel |
31 | ||
2 Samuel |
24 | ||
1 Kings |
22 | ||
2 Kings |
25 | ||
1 Chronicles |
29 | ||
2 Chronicles |
36 | ||
Ezra | 10 | ||
Nehemiah | 13 | ||
Esther | 10 | ||
Books of Wisdom (or "Poetry") | 243 | ||
Job | 42 | ||
Psalms |
150 | ||
Proverbs | 31 | ||
Ecclesiastes | 12 | ||
Song of Solomon |
8 | ||
Major Prophets | 183 | ||
Isaiah | 66 | ||
Jeremiah | 52 | ||
Lamentations | 5 | ||
Ezekiel | 48 | ||
Daniel | 12 | ||
Minor Prophets | 67 | ||
Hosea | 14 | ||
Joel | 3 | ||
Amos | 9 | ||
Obadiah | 1 | ||
Jonah | 4 | ||
Micah | 7 | ||
Nahum | 3 | ||
Habakkuk | 3 | ||
Zephaniah | 3 | ||
Haggai | 2 | ||
Zechariah | 14 | ||
Malachi | 4 |
Book / Division | Chapters | ||
---|---|---|---|
Gospels | 89 | ||
Matthew | 28 | ||
Mark | 16 | ||
Luke | 24 | ||
John |
21 | ||
History | 28 | ||
Acts |
28 | ||
Pauline Epistles | 87 | ||
Romans | 16 | ||
1 Corinthians |
16 | ||
2 Corinthians |
13 | ||
Galatians | 6 | ||
Ephesians |
6 | ||
Philippians |
4 | ||
Colossians |
4 | ||
1 Thessalonians |
5 | ||
2 Thessalonians |
3 | ||
1 Timothy |
6 | ||
2 Timothy |
4 | ||
Titus | 3 | ||
Philemon | 1 | ||
General Epistles | 34 | ||
Hebrews | 13 | ||
James | 5 | ||
1 Peter |
5 | ||
2 Peter |
3 | ||
1 John |
5 | ||
2 John |
1 | ||
3 John |
1 | ||
Jude | 1 | ||
Apocalyptic Writings
(Prophecy) |
22 | ||
Revelation | 22 |
Verses
- There are 23,145 verses in the Old Testament and 7,957 verses in the New Testament. This gives a total of 31,102 verses,[29] which is an average of a little more than 26 verses per chapter and 471 verses per book.
- Psalm 103:1–2 being the 15,551st and 15,552nd verses is in the middle of the 31,102 verses of the Bible.
- John 11:35[30] ("Jesus wept") is the shortest verse in most English translations. Some translations—including the New International Version, New Living Translation, New Life Version, Holman Christian Standard Bible and New International Reader's Version—render Job 3:2[31]as "He said". However, that is a translators' condensation of the Hebrew which literally translated is: "And Job answered and said."
- The shortest verse in the Westcott and Hort text, is Luke 20:30[32] ("και ο δευτερος", "And the second") with twelve letters. In the Textus Receptus, the shortest verse is 1 Thessalonians 5:16[33] ("παντοτε χαιρετε", "Rejoice always") with fourteen letters,[34] since Stephanus' rendering of Luke 20:30 includes some additional words.[35]
- 1 Chronicles 1:24[36][37] ("Σαλα", "Shelah") is the shortest verse in the Septuagint.[38]
- 1 Kings 12:24[39][40] is the longest verse in the Septuagint (1,017 words).[41]
- Isaiah 10:8[42] ("Dicet enim", "For he shall say") is the shortest verse in the Latin Vulgate.[43]
- Esther 8:9[44] is the longest verse in the Masoretic Text. The discovery of several manuscripts at Qumran (in the Dead Sea Scrolls) has reopened what is considered the most original text of 1 Samuel 11; if one believes that those manuscripts better preserve the text, several verses in 1 Samuel 11 surpass Esther 8:9 in length.
- John 11:25[49] is the most read verse in funerals.[50]
See also
- Bible – Collection of religious texts
- Bible citation – Book name and chapter and verse of the Bible
- List of New Testament verses not included in modern English translations
- Parashah – Section of a biblical book in the Masoretic Text
- Surah – Chapter of the Quran
References
- ^ a b "What is the longest verse in the Bible? :: Got Questions Ministries". www.compellingtruth.org.
- ^ 1 Chronicles 5:27–41
- ^ 1 Chronicles 6:1–15
- ^ Footnote to 1 Chronicles 6:1
- ^ Ernst Würthwein, The Text of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998), p. 20.
- ^ a b Würthwein, The Text of the Old Testament, n. 28.
- ^ Kurt and Barbara Aland, The Text of the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans and Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1989), pp. 252 ff.
- ^ Consortium, Europeana Regia. "Europeana Regia - Paris Bibliothèque nationale de France MSS Latin 3".
- ^ "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Hebrew Bible". www.newadvent.org. Retrieved 2023-05-09.
- ^ a b Moore, G.F. The Vulgate Chapters and Numbered Verses in the Hebrew Bible, pages 73–78 at JSTOR. page 75
- ^ Metzger, Bruce M. (1977). The Early Versions of the New Testament: Their Origin, Transmission and Limitations. Oxford University Press. p. 347. Cited in Stephen Langton and the modern chapter divisions of the bible. Translated by Pearse, Roger. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
- ^ London: Awnsham and John Churchill, 1707
- ^ 1826; repr. Nashville: Gospel Advocate Restoration Reprints, 2001
- ^ New York: Macmillan, 1907
- ^ New York: Simon and Schuster, 1936
- ^ "Bibliotheca Multivolume Readers' Bible Homepage". BIBLIOTHECA. Retrieved 2017-10-22.
- ^ "The Bible's a mess, but a designer is fixing it". The Verge. Retrieved 2017-10-22.
- ISBN 9781433544125.
- ISBN 1-56148-414-8.
- ^ a b "Pitts Theology Library Exhibit on the Verses of the New Testament".
- ^ "Bible Study Magazine". Word by Word. pp. 46–47. Retrieved 2023-05-09.
- ^ The Holy Bible ... With a General Introduction and Short Explanatory Notes, by B. Boothroyd. James Duncan. 1836.
- ^ Babylonian Talmud, Nedarim 37b
- ^ Snapp, James (15 April 2016). "Kephalaia: The Ancient Chapters of the Gospels". Retrieved 31 March 2018.
- ^ "Oxford Reference".
- ^ Zylstra, Sarah Eekhof (25 July 2014). "Introducing the Bible! Now with Less!". Christianity Today. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
- ^ "Icthus". Icthus.
- ^ The Center of the Bible Archived August 28, 2005, at the Wayback Machine at Break The Chain.
- ^ a b c "The 66 Books of the Bible - Study Resources". Blue Letter Bible. Retrieved 2023-05-09.
- ^ John 11:35
- ^ Job 3:2
- ^ Luke 20:30
- ^ 1 Thessalonians 5:16
- ^ Walvoord, John. "First Thessalonians 5:12–28". Bible.org.
- Westcott-HortNew Testament.
- ^ 1 Chronicles 1:24
- ^ "1 Chronicles" (PDF). A New English Translation of the Septuagint.
- ^ "Read the Bible text :: academic-bible.com". www.academic-bible.com.
- ^ 1 Kings 12:24
- ^ "3 Kings" (PDF). A New English Translation of the Septuagint.
- ^ "Read the Bible text :: academic-bible.com". www.academic-bible.com.
- ^ Isaiah 10:8
- ^ "Isaias 10". LatinVulgate.com.
- ^ Esther 8:9
- ^ Exodus 20
- ^ Deuteronomy 5:17
- ^ "Read the Bible text :: academic-bible.com". www.academic-bible.com. Retrieved 2023-05-09.
- ^ "Read the Bible text: academic-bible.com". www.academic-bible.com. Retrieved 2023-05-09.
- ^ John 11:25
- ^ "Funeral Quotes from the Bible".
External links
- How Many Words In Each Book of the Bible Sortable table of data about chapters, verses, words, and other info on each Bible book
- STEP Documentation
- OSIS Documentation Archived 2012-10-14 at the Wayback Machine