NTBF: definitions of “text” and “paratext”

NTBF Index

Text is what the New Testament authors wrote in the 1st century. Paratext refers to anything later added to the text. Paratext includes, but is not limited to…

• Collection title (i.e. “New Testament”)
• Collection table of contents (i.e. the 27 books listed)
• Individual book titles (e.g. “The Gospel According to Matthew”)
• Chapter divisions (these were not added until the 13th century)
• Verse divisions (these were not added to the NT until the 16th century)
• Red letters (these were first added in the late 19th century)

The first three items listed above were the only paratext added to the NT texts when the New Testament was first published according to the form we know today in the 4th century. Its sole purpose was to identify the collection, the individuals books within it, and their respective authors.