Center of Bible

[Hans_A]

I’ve seen an email that goes around stating that Psalms 118 is the chapter at the center of the Bible and Psalms 118:8 is the verse at the center.

Has anyone looked into if this is true for a Protestant or Catholic Bible. If Protestant, does anyone know the same answers for a Catholic Bible?

Thanks,
Hans

 

[Manfred]

I’ve seen an email that goes around stating that Psalms 118 is the chapter at the center of the Bible and Psalms 118:8 is the verse at the center.

Has anyone looked into if this is true for a Protestant or Catholic Bible. If Protestant, does anyone know the same answers for a Catholic Bible?

Thanks,
Hans

Even if it WERE true for a Protestant bible, and I’m not sure whether it is or isn’t, it would NOT necessarily be true for a Catholic bible. The deuterocanonical works are included both before and after this supposed center. Specifically, Tobias, Judith, and parts of Esther come before the book of Psalms, while Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch, parts of Daniel, I and II Machabees come after Psalms in a traditional Catholic bible.

 

[Gottle_of_Geer]

I’ve seen an email that goes around stating that Psalms 118 is the chapter at the center of the Bible and Psalms 118:8 is the verse at the center.

Has anyone looked into if this is true for a Protestant or Catholic Bible. If Protestant, does anyone know the same answers for a Catholic Bible?

Thanks,
Hans

It’s true for the Authorised Version (aka the KJV). It won’t be true of all others, because textual criticism suggests that some of what was thought to be part of the text in the AV does not properly belong to the text at all. Which is why the 1881-85 Revised Version has several verses shorter. (It is for the UK what its slightly younger cousin the American Standard Version was for the USA).​

The Challoner Bible - commonly but wrongly called the Douai-Reims - has 145 extra chapters; which moves the centre of the Bible 72 & a half chapters later than in the AV. To find the true centre, one would have to count from the very beginning. There are about 35,000 verses in the Challoner revision of the DR, and slightly under 32,000 in the AV. To confuse matters further, some of the extra books in RC Bibles exist in more than one version, and may vary in length and order of parts; so sometimes RC Bibles translated today take as the basis of their translation a different version of a book from that which was used for the Vulgate version of it; and the Vulgate is the basic text of the DR & Challoner Bibles.

There is not really an absolute centre - it depends on which version or translation you pick. To make matters even worse, the order of the books is fairly flexible - Maccabees is at the end of the OT in the Vulgate, but Malachi is at the end in versions made since 1943. There have been similar variations in order in the NT.

So matters can get complicated

Hope that helps ##

 

[petra]

I’ve seen an email that goes around stating that Psalms 118 is the chapter at the center of the Bible and Psalms 118:8 is the verse at the center.

Has anyone looked into if this is true for a Protestant or Catholic Bible. If Protestant, does anyone know the same answers for a Catholic Bible?

Thanks,
Hans

I’ve seen that email…this should help:
breakthechain.org/exclusives/midbible.html

As this points out, the verse numbering was not added until the Middle Ages, and cannot be considered “inspired.”

 

[Liberian]

Hans,

There was a thread on that subject in this forum several months ago–I’m pretty sure it dates from before the Great Crash.

• Liberian

 

[asteroid]

It was quite a while ago. I debunked the claim that time round. The claim can be found across the internet, another example of nobody bothering to (or having the time to) check things if they sound appealing.

Here’s a question though.

As a Protestant I heard that the Bible says “fear not” or words to that effect 366 times - once a day for a leap year.

I’ve heard that claim again as a Catholic.

So here’s the question, since as a Catholic of course I have a larger Bible.

Is the claim right at all, and if so which Bible is it right for? Or does the deutero-canon not tell us to fear not?

 

[mercygate]

I’ve seen an email that goes around stating that Psalms 118 is the chapter at the center of the Bible and Psalms 118:8 is the verse at the center.

Has anyone looked into if this is true for a Protestant or Catholic Bible. If Protestant, does anyone know the same answers for a Catholic Bible?

Thanks,
Hans

It’s for the Protestant Bible. You could spend a couple of hours counting verses and figure it out for the Catholic Bible. Hmm. Might be fun. Let us know when you get the answer!

 

[Liberian]

As a Protestant I heard that the Bible says “fear not” or words to that effect 366 times - once a day for a leap year.

I’ve heard that claim again as a Catholic.

So here’s the question, since as a Catholic of course I have a larger Bible.

Is the claim right at all, and if so which Bible is it right for? Or does the deutero-canon not tell us to fear not?

Asteroid,

There are also some methodological questions about that. Does “Be not afraid” count? Do we count exhortations addressed to individuals or small groups (Jesus to the apostles as He was walking on the water, for example)? Do we count those addressed to large groups of which we are not formally members? The whole thing sounds a little too “cut and dried” for me.

• Liberian

 

[TobyLue]

Ps 118:8 I would rather take refuge in Yahweh than rely on men.
Cross ref to
Ps 62:5 Rest in God alone, my Soul! He is the source of my hope
Cross ref to
Mi 7:7 For my part, I look, to Yahweh, my hope is in the God who will save me; my God will hear me.

I’ve seen an email that goes around stating that Psalms 118 is the chapter at the center of the Bible and Psalms 118:8 is the verse at the center.

And what would that have to do with anything? Is this some kind of Revelation that theirs is the true bible? And the center of the bible as to what? Number of chapters, number of verses, number of words, number of letters/characters? I personally think that this is some type of numerology thig-a-ma-jig and some are awed by it. WOW!!! Shazam!!!:whacky:

 

[demerzel85]

In the Greek Numbering of the Psalms, Psalm 118:8 reads “I will keep thy justifications: O! do not thou utterly forsake me.”

In the Hebrew Numbering of the Psalms, Psalm 118:8 reads “It is good to confide in the Lord, rather than to have confidence in man.”

 

[asteroid]

Asteroid,

There are also some methodological questions about that. Does “Be not afraid” count? Do we count exhortations addressed to individuals or small groups (Jesus to the apostles as He was walking on the water, for example)? Do we count those addressed to large groups of which we are not formally members? The whole thing sounds a little too “cut and dried” for me.

• Liberian

Yes, I’ve always been very suspicious of the claim. But actually checking it out for myself would be far more work than it’s worth! I just hoped someone else had done the work for me.

 

[Ruthie]

Check it out on the Urban Legends website. If they don’t crunch the numbers themselves, they know where to look!

Visiting them before I “forward” has saved me much embarassment!