Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: mike@unmvax.cs.unm.edu (Michael I. Bushnell) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: Biblical checksums: (was Re: inconsistencies in the Bible) Message-ID: Date: 21 Dec 89 07:21:44 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: University of No Money, Albuquerque, New Mexico Lines: 40 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu In article joefritz@pawl.rpi.edu (Jochen M. Fritz) writes: A bunch of gunk about how the Bible has mystical numeric properties relating to the verse/chapter designations. Many inerrantists are a bit hazy about just what in their Bible *is* the "Bible" per se, and what is the addition of humans. The titles of the books of the Old Testament in English Bibles are derivations of the titles in the septuagint, with a few exceptions (such as Ezra/Nehemiah). The title of the New Testament books were established by the time of Augustine, but they were not part of the original letters. What about chapter/verse designations? In the Old Testament, they are found in the Masoretic Text, passed down by the Jews, but they are not found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, suggesting that they were added sometime near the first century A.D. The New Testament chapte/verse designations were added near the time of Martin Luther, after the Reformation. The best guess I've ever seen is that they were originally notations in the margin of a printer's copy which were present in proofs to enable the translator to make corrections. They inadvertently were retained in the published version, and remain today. They are certainly *not* found in older Bibles. The "Book of Kells" is an ancient copy of the Gospels from Britain, and has no such designations. Reformation writers made reference occasionally to the Old Testament by chapter/verse, but never the New Testament, suggesting that the designations were not in common use. Chapter/verse designations in the Apocrypha didn't appear until the Authorized Version, where they were added. I have even met people convinced that the little introductory blurbs at the top of each book were inspiried scripture. Sigh. -- Michael I. Bushnell \ This above all; to thine own self be true LIBERTE, EGALITE, FRATERNITE \ And it must follow, as the night the day, mike@unmvax.cs.unm.edu /\ Thou canst not be false to any man. Telephone: +1 505 292 0001 / \ Farewell: my blessing season this in thee!