Headings are added to the Bible by translators, they are then printed in such a way that they look and feel like part of the biblical text. They are not and never have been part of the Bible text. (Except the mysterious and often incomprehensible headings to Psalms, those these same Bible publishers often put in small print - they are merely part of the Bible text and not therefore as "important" as the clever ideas of the inspired translation team. Warning: the previous sentence may contain irony and sarcasm.)
Section headings are therefore systematic and institutionalised lies, that are presented as Scripture. (Chapter and verse divisions are too, but they are at least a convenient way of identifying the passage one is talking about.) This practice is a travesty and institutions like Bible Societies ought to have more respect for Scripture than to amend it in this way.
Please note as David's examples suggest these "titles" are not neutral, they often direct us as readers to understand the text in a particular way. While those directions may often be good, they are never scriptural.
Labels: bible, translation
¶ 9:56 AM
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An alternative option used in some books including the Bible is to have a header on each page with the major event or idea in it.
Headings really, really cause a lot of trouble in translation as well.
By 
David Ker, at
February 21, 2009 2:29 AM
"they are then printed in such a way that they look and feel like part of the biblical text"
Not necessarily. In some Bibles section headings are deliberately printed in smaller print than the main text and/or in italics. At least some readers recognise the convention that what is in italics is not an original part of the biblical text. I have also seen Bibles where the headings are presented in square brackets, suggesting the same connotations.
Personally I find these headings invaluable for finding my place in the text. I'm sure most Bible readers, especially less experienced ones, feel the same as me. So I do support the principle of using such headings. But they do need to be chosen well and presented appropriately.
David, I'm glad you have found a way to comment on a Blogger blog with word verification. But I don't think page headers solve the problem. They are much harder work as they can only be added after typesetting, and page boundaries don't line up with major events or ideas.
