Why does Paul mention a chapter number if they came later?
Question:
Dear Brother in Christ,
I am puzzled to know how in Acts 13:33 the apostle Paul is able to quote precisely in the first century something as being written in Psalms 2! If the translators added this at a later time, what else could they have added as they wish?
Can you please explain?
Answer:
"that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, 'You are My Son; today I have begotten you'" (Acts 13:33).
The Book of Psalms has always been a collection of Psalms (songs or poems). The order of the psalms in the Book of Psalms was established many hundreds of years before Paul lived. That Paul referred to the second psalm in the Book of Psalms has nothing to do with the chapter numbers that were added to the rest of the biblical text. Stephen Langton developed the chapter system in A.D. 1227 and it was used in the Wycliffe Bible in A.D. 1382. It became the common practice for all translations since that time.
