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.

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.

• 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