Could you elaborate on your thought here?
Ok....
I'm Back from shopping. I did manage to get a side trip to a book store and got a copy of a book about Sepphoris in Galilee. (Where Jesus commuted to work everyday when grown but younger) I am so giddy about finding it....but you want to know about the Chapter and Verse numbering system.
This numbering system came about shortly AFTER the printing press was invented. And it became clear that the scriptures were going to become available to the common man eventually due to the ongoing rapid advancements in science and technology.
The Catholic Church still ruled most of the World (through its Emperor) but it's hold was being eroded.
Now there are certain concepts that are very clear or are made clear by any serious student of scriptures. And the Catholic (General) Church was in direct violation of these basic concepts.
Side note example: When Jesus walked on the sea of Galilee he was demonstrating his contempt for the created traditions and many rules the leaders had made from His Laws. And then went around deliberately violating some of the rules/traditions He found most egregious. Such as ethnicity, social class, handwashing, and etc. The chapter numbers and verse numbers obfuscate this basic principle being acted out. The Catholic Church was ALL about its traditions and prejudices between the ethnic groups even though it governed them.
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Now before this anytime numbering was considered, the scriptures concerning "measuring God" were brought up and the matter instantly dropped. No one before this time had enough hubris to consider such a notion of measuring God's word...much less publishing it measured. However, the leadership thought so little of the common man learning to read (only nobility was taught the skill in the 1400's-1500's) that they decided to include the numbers to make the common man be an affront to God and still not understand the scriptures (and their own violation of them) all at the same time.
The numbering system was wildly popular for the printers and people alike. (Very addictive as predicted) They could reference selections of scriptures and someone else could look and see for themselves in their own copy quite readily.
Before this time, paper and ink were so expensive that the small print of natural chapter divisions was always missed due to never being indented or any space/line allowed to make the distinction.
But the chapter and verse numbering divisions were done as a rushed hatchet Job on an existing Bible. It was very difficult to insert these chapter and verse numbers due to the uneven handwritten text....too closely written to understand a more natural place to put the numbers and still accomplish the goals.
But once established...it became exceedingly popular. There are only a few Bibles in existence today that are without this numbering system.