Stephen Langton

Life

Born in England, Langton studied in Paris, France, where he taught theology for many years at the schools that later became the University of Paris. In 1206 Pope Innocent III made him a cardinal, and in 1207 the pope personally consecrated him Archbishop of Canterbury.

King John of England refused to accept the appointment. In the ensuing conflict, the pope placed all of England under an interdict restricting the administration of the Church's sacraments, and the king was excommunicated. Langton did not enter England until 1213, after the king had reconciled with the pope. He is known as one of those who mediated between the king and the barons during the negotiations that produced Magna Carta in 1215. He was later suspended from office for a time after refusing to obey the pope's order to excommunicate the rebel barons. He died in 1228.

Work and Contributions

Langton's best-known contribution is the chapter division of the Bible. Although various systems of chapter division existed before him, the divisions he applied to the Latin Vulgate in Paris in the early thirteenth century are understood to have become standard as they spread through Bible manuscripts produced in Paris. These chapter divisions were later adopted in printed editions of the Hebrew Bible as well.

The verse divisions are not Langton's work. The verse numbering of the New Testament still in use today was introduced in the mid-sixteenth century by the French printer Robert Estienne. For details, see Chapters and Verses of the Bible.

Langton also left many biblical commentaries and sermons, and he is often named as the author of the Latin Pentecost hymn Veni Sancte Spiritus ("Come, Holy Spirit").

Influence on the Korean Church

Although Langton was a pre-Reformation Catholic cleric, the chapter divisions he established were carried over unchanged into Protestant Bible translations. Korean Bibles, including the Revised New Korean Version, follow the same chapter divisions. Thus, in the Korean church, the practice of citing sermon texts in the form "John 3:16," plans for reading through the Bible at a set number of chapters per day, the assignment of quiet time passages, and the notation of verses for Scripture memorization can all be said to rest on his chapter divisions.

Assessment

Langton's chapter divisions are credited with making it easy to locate specific passages within the long text of the Bible and to provide a shared system of reference. At the same time, some have pointed out that certain divisions interrupt the flow of the text. Commonly cited examples include the account of the seventh day of rest, which appears in Genesis 2:1–3 and is thus separated from the creation account of chapter 1, and the "Suffering Servant" song of Isaiah 53, which actually begins at Isaiah 52:13. For this reason, Bible study materials and similar resources often remind readers that chapter divisions are not part of the original text but a later convenience designed to aid reading.