KJV ENGLISH
LECTURE 7
TOPICAL: CHAPTERS & VERSES
Chapters separate the Bible into blocks of text suitable for public reading, study or teaching. The Bible was first divided
into chapters about 1250 by Cardinal Hugo for the purpose of reference in a Latin concordance. For this reason, many
have questioned the validity of the chapter divisions.
Yet, the concept of chapter divisions is based on Biblical practice. The Psalms are individual songs and were separate
from the beginning. In a sermon, Paul quotes from the “second psalm” (Ac.13:33). Lamentations was divided into five
separate poems. Four of these five poems are 22 verses each (the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet). Of all the
chapters in the Bible, the most common length is 22 verses. It seems clear that this size of text was providentially chosen
for reading, study, etc..
The Bible has a total of 1,189 chapters. The Old Testament has 929 chapters and the New Testament has 260 chapters.
The middle chapter of the Bible is Ps 117. There are 594 chapters before it, and 594 chapters after it. It reads: “O Praise
the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people. For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the
LORD endureth for ever. Praise ye the LORD.”
It's longest chapter is Psalm 119, which consists of 176 verses. The number "176" just happens to be 16x11.
Verses
In approximately 1448 A.D., the Old Testament was divided into verses by R. Nathan.
In approximately 1551 A.D., the New Testament was divided into verses by Robert Stephanus.
There are 31,174 verses in the Bible. The middle verses in the Bible (# 15,587 and 8) are Ps 118:8,9, which read: “It is
better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in
princes.”
Statistics
Words: 783,137
Letters: 3,566,480
Number of promises given in the Bible: 1,260
Commands: 6,468
Predictions: over 8,000
Fulfilled prophecy: 3,268 verses
Unfulfilled prophecy: 3,140
Number of questions: 3,294
Longest name: Mahershalalhashbaz (Isaiah 8:1)
Longest verse: Esther 8:9 (78 words)
Shortest verse: John 11:35 (2 words: "Jesus wept").
Longest book: Psalms (150 chapters)
Shortest book (by number of words): 3 John
Longest chapter: Psalm 119 (176 verses)
Number of different authors: 40
Number of languages the Bible has been translated into: over 1,200
A Bible in the University of Gottingen is written on 2,470 palm leaves.
According to statistics from Wycliffe International, the Society of Gideons, and the International Bible Society, the
number of new Bibles that are sold, given away, or otherwise distributed in the United States is about 168,000 per day.
The Bible can be read aloud in 70 hours.
There are 8,674 different Hebrew words in the Bible, 5,624 different Greek words, and 12,143 different English words in
the King James Version.
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