The fallacies concerning the "CENTER OF THE BIBLE".

This reproof is an adaptation concerning the web sites and widely circulated e-mails purporting Psalm 118.8 as the center of the Bible.  It had been the author's intent for well over a year to investigate this claim, and he owes this long overdue research to the individual who October 28, 2002, forwarded to him the "CENTER OF THE BIBLE" with the "Subject:" line reading "Any truth to this???" By comparing the results of the author's investigation to the results of an advanced search of the web for the exact phrase "center of the Bible" it will become clear that a shameful number of professing Christians foolishly and thoughtlessly accept information without verifying its validity.  This negligence of the professing Christian community is not only disgraceful but evinces precisely how false doctrine and traditions can begin.  Consider Matthew 15.1-9 and Mark 7.1-13. The author's calculations have been at least double-checked for accuracy.  He is wholly responsible for any miscalculation(s).

The claim begins:

WHAT IS THE SHORTEST CHAPTER IN THE BIBLE? (ANSWER – PSALMS 117)

That statement is true.  Psalm 117 contains two verses. The claim continues:

WHAT IS THE LONGEST CHAPTER IN THE BIBLE? (ANSWER – PSALMS 119)

That statement is true. Psalm 119 contains 176 verses. The claim continues:

WHICH CHAPTER IS IN THE CENTER OF THE BIBLE? (ANSWER – PSALMS 118)

That statement is false.  The Protestant Canon (as opposed to the longer Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox Canons) contains 1,189 chapters.  The middle chapter of the Protestant Canon is Psalm 117. The claim continues:

FACT: THERE ARE 594 CHAPTERS BEFORE PSALMS 118

That statement is false.  Five hundred ninety-five chapters precede Psalm 118 in the Protestant Canon. The claim continues:

FACT: THERE ARE 594 CHAPTERS AFTER PSALMS 118

That statement is false.  Five hundred ninety-three chapters follow Psalm 118 in the Protestant Canon. The claim continues:

ADD THESE NUMBERS UP AND YOU GET 1188

That statement is true. The claim ends:

WHAT IS THE CENTER VERSE IN THE BIBLE? (ANSWER - PSALMS 118:8)

That statement is false.  The majority of modern Protestant Bibles contain 31,102 verses.1  In the strictest sense, then, there is no middle verse.  Genesis 1.1 through Psalm 103.1 completes the first 15,551 verses.  Psalm 103.2 through Revelation 22.21 completes the latter. Most modern Protestant Old Testament Canons contain 23,145 verses.  The middle verse is 2Chronicles 18.30. Most modern Protestant New Testament Canons contain 7,957 verses.  The middle verse is Acts 7.7. But one should know that most English translations of the Hebrew and Chaldee Old Testament follow neither the original book order nor verse order and that verses for the text of the Greek New Testament were not introduced until well after a millennium of the original autographs.  Therefore the above calculated midpoints are trifle. Notes: 1  This assertion is based on the author's manual count of the King James Version and can be verified with BibleWorks 7. Of the exceptions are the New English Translation and the God's Word to the Nations Version (each containing 31,084 verses), The Complete Jewish Bible (31,097 verses), the English Revised Version and the English Standard Version (each containing 31,086 verses), the New American Standard Bible (31,103 verses), and the New Living Translation (31,104 verses).  Textual criticism is the primary cause for the variable number of verses.

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Copyright © 2002-2007 by Thomas John Dexter.  All rights reserved.  The matter of this work may be reproduced for distribution, but it is not to be sold.  The author's commentary is subject to change as he grows in knowledge and wisdom concerning the Word of God.