
The First Chapters
Dividing the Text of Scripture in Codex Vaticanus and Its Predecessors
Charles E. Hill(Author)
Oxford University Press
Published on 25. January 2022
Book
Hardback
512 pages
978-0-19-883602-5 (ISBN)
Description
The First Chapters uncovers the origins of the first paragraph or chapter divisions in copies of the Christian Scriptures. Its focal point is the magnificent, fourth-century Codex Vaticanus (Vat.gr. 1209; B 03), perhaps the single most significant ancient manuscript of the Bible, and the oldest material witness to what may be the earliest set of numbered chapter divisions of the Bible. The First Chapters tells the history of textual division, starting from when copies of Greek literary works used virtually no spaces, marks, or other graphic techniques to assist the reader. It explores the origins of other numbering systems, like the better-known Eusebian Canons, but its theme is the first set of numbered chapters in Codex Vaticanus, what nineteenth-century textual critic Samuel P. Tregelles labelled the Capitulatio Vaticana. It demonstrates that these numbers were not, as most have claimed, late additions to the codex but belonged integrally to its original production. The First Chapters then breaks new ground by showing that the Capitulatio Vaticana has real precursors in some much earlier manuscripts. It thus casts light on a long, continuous tradition of scribally-placed, visual guides to the reading and interpreting of Scriptural books. Finally, The First Chapters exposes abundant new evidence that this early system for marking the sense-divisions of Scripture has played a much greater role in the history of exegesis than has previously been imaginable.
Reviews / Votes
This volume shows how, before the existence of chapter divisions and versification in Scripture, a vocabulary of textual division and reference developed alongside an increasing catalogue of graphic features for signifying divisions and reference points in material artifacts. * New Testament Abstracts *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Dimensions
Height: 231 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 33 mm
Weight
975 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-883602-5 (9780198836025)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Charles E. Hill
The First Chapters
Dividing the Text of Scripture in Codex Vaticanus and Its Predecessors
E-Book
01/2022
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€92.49
Available for download

Charles E. Hill
The First Chapters
Dividing the Text of Scripture in Codex Vaticanus and Its Predecessors
E-Book
01/2022
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€92.49
Available for download
Person
Charles E. Hill is Emeritus Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at the Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, US. He spent five years as an Assistant Professor of Religion at Northwestern College, Orange City, IA, (1989-94), and served as Associate Professor and then as John R. Richardson Professor of New Testamant and Early Christianity at Reformed Theological Seminary. He received a Lilly Research Grants Faculty Fellowship in 2000-2001 and was made a Henry Luce III Foundation Faculty Fellow in Theology for 2012.
Author
Emeritus Professor of New Testament and Early ChristianityEmeritus Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity, Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, US
Content
Prologue: 'In the book of Moses, at the Bush'
1: The First-Century Setting
2: A Chapter Vocabulary Emerges
3: Introducing Codex Vaticanus
4: The 'First Chapters' as Original to the Codex
5: Overview of Text Articulation and Numeration in Codex Vaticanus
6: The Capitulatio Vaticana and Its Predecessors in the Old Testament
7: The Capitulatio Vaticana and Its Predecessors in the New Testament
8: Conclusions and Conversation Starters
Epilogue: The Triumph, Retreat, and Revival of the Bible's First Chapters
1: The First-Century Setting
2: A Chapter Vocabulary Emerges
3: Introducing Codex Vaticanus
4: The 'First Chapters' as Original to the Codex
5: Overview of Text Articulation and Numeration in Codex Vaticanus
6: The Capitulatio Vaticana and Its Predecessors in the Old Testament
7: The Capitulatio Vaticana and Its Predecessors in the New Testament
8: Conclusions and Conversation Starters
Epilogue: The Triumph, Retreat, and Revival of the Bible's First Chapters