The Bible Answers Short Questions From Our Readers - Plain Truth Staff - February 1959

Plain Truth Staff

Question: When was the Bible divided into chapters and verses? Answer: The system of dividing the Bible into chapters and verses is man-made and of comparatively recent origin. The Bible, as inspired by God, had no such divisions. Chapters and verses are helpful in finding passages in the Bible, but the division into chapters and verses has often obscured the meaning of Scripture by breaking sentences in the middle or by separating thoughts that should be joined together. Too many people merely lift a verse out of its setting and read a false meaning into it because they don't read the context in surrounding verses. Perhaps the first attempted division of the Bible was undertaken by the early Jews. During the time following the Babylonian captivity, they marked off the scrolls into divisions and subdivisions. This system was quite different from the one that is in use today, however. - Information Supplied By: Herbert W Armstrong Library