A chapter is a traditional division of a biblical book for reading and reference. The present chapter system developed gradually and became widely established in medieval Bible editions.
Definition
A chapter is a traditional division of a biblical book used for reading and reference. Biblical books had earlier divisions of various kinds, including sections, orders, passages, titles, and heads, before the present chapter system gradually became established.
Biblical Usage
The Pentateuch was divided into sections read in the synagogue, and the Prophets were similarly arranged into passages. The New Testament books also had divisions under several names. These divisions assist reading and reference but belong to the organization of the biblical books rather than to their original message.
Historical Background
The ancient Hebrews divided the Pentateuch into fifty-four sections and later into smaller orders. Similar divisions appeared in early Latin and Greek versions. The Latin Bible associated with Cardinal Hugo of St. Cher, published about A.D. 1240, is generally regarded as the first Bible with the present chapters, though some chapters may have been fixed earlier.
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
The several books of the Old and New Testaments were from an early time divided into chapters. The Pentateuch was divided by the ancient Hebrews into 54 parshioth or sections, one of which was read in the synagogue every Sabbath day (Acts. 13:15). These sections were afterwards divided into 669 sidrim or orders of unequal length. The Prophets were divided in somewhat the same manner into haphtaroth or passages. In the early Latin and Greek versions of the Bible, similar divisions of the several books were made. The New Testament books were also divided into portions of various lengths under different names, such as titles and heads or chapters. In modern times this ancient example was imitated, and many attempts of the kind were made before the existing division into chapters was fixed. The Latin Bible published by Cardinal Hugo of St. Cher in A.D. 1240 is generally regarded as the first Bible that was divided into our present chapters, although it appears that some of the chapters were fixed as early as A.D. 1059. This division into chapters came gradually to be adopted in the published editions of the Hebrew, with some few variations, and of the Greek Scriptures, and hence of other versions.
