Bradford.
For the purpose of expounding the law in the Jewish assemblies, the
Pentateuch was divided into fifty-four sections (on account of the
intercalary year), that the whole might be read over once annually. The
sections were distinguished, as they still continue to be, in the Hebrew
copies, by the letter _Pe_, or _Phe_, the initial of _Pharasha_, which
signifies separation or division. This probably was the original reason
for adopting the inverted black P [P] which is retained in our
translation of the Bible to mark paragraphs or transitions. The division
of the Old and New Testament into chapters is a modern practice, and the
subdivision of chapters into verses still more modern. See Shepherd on
the _Morning and Evening Prayer_.