BIBLE VERSE CROSS-REFERENCING: A PRIMER

I am posting these instructions to help one know how to use the cross-references in one's Bible. The Evangelists used a lot of Old Testament verses and terms in their Gospels. A good Bible will include cross-references to these sources in addition to useful information found in the footnotes.

The links given for our Lenten readings are based on the Revised Standard Version (RSV), the one which prefers “young woman” rather than “virgin” in Isaiah 7:14. This is unfortunate because a number of books in the Bible are missing.

The official biblical text is the New American Bible (NAB). Our Byzantine Catholic Church uses this text for its readings even though we imply the LXX in our Vespers. Their website with an on-line text with footnotes can be found at:

http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/bible/

One of the neatest features of the hard-copy NAB is its cross-referencing system, which was not included on the on-line edition.

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To give some examples of what these cross-references are, I will use the New American Standard Bible (NASB) as found on http://bible.gospelcom.net/ , which does include the bible cross-references, but not all the books in the Bible. To see what I mean, type in TOBIT 1 in the PASSAGE LOOKUP menu and press the LOOKUP button. You will get the following message:

“We didn't quite understand the passage you were trying to view …”

But for the sake of learning (and this can then be applied to the hard-copy of any NAB text), here are some instructions for your use:

1: Check box for the NASB translation.

2: Type in our reading for the day ISAIAH 8:13-9:7 and press the LOOKUP button. The text will then appear. Notice the footnotes.

3: Scroll down the text and notice where footnote #41 is in the text. The passage should read:

“There will be (41) no end to the increase of His government or of peace, …”

Click on the number 41. It should drop you down to the footnote section for this text.

Footnote #41 has two cross-references (Dan 2:44 and Lk 1:32, 33) where this particular Isaiah passage is alluded to other than Isa 9:7a.

4: Click on footnote 41 with the two references. A new page should appear with both passages given. For each passage there are more footnotes with further cross-references.

5: Both Daniel 2:44 and Luke 1:32, 33 discuss a divine kingdom. Compare how this is used in each.

6: Let's take a look at Luke's use of the title “Son of the Most High” as found in Lk 1:32a. You will notice it has its own footnote #1. This footnote for the “Son of the Most High” has five cross-references: (1) Mk 5:7, (2) Lk 1:35, (3) Lk 1:76, (4) Lk 6:35, and (5) Acts 7:48. Click on footnote #1. All five references with the biblical text will be displayed on a new screen.

Each passage has another set of footnotes …


Bible.gospelcom.net is a useful tool for bible study, but as I mentioned earlier, not all biblical texts are included. Oh, well.

You can do this manually by looking at the cross-references given in your NAB. Though clicking on the footnotes is faster and more convenient, the manual page-flipping is just as good. Note that if more than one cross-reference is given, the cross-references will be given in order of the TOC (Table of Contents). Therefore, the OT books will always be given in order before the NT books are listed.

What does this do for you? Actually, it only helps raise one's conscience regarding biblical tradition and how one author will use terms or phrases from another sacred text. Don't get frustrated when the references never end for 'cross-reference' study can become a bottomless pit because the biblical text is an intricate latticework of cross-references!

For those doing papers on a particular passage, title, or term, these footnotes can help lay out the biblical terrain for study, research or preparing a sermon. Type on the title “Son of the Most High” in the WORD SEARCH menu and click the SEARCH button to see what I mean.

I hope this helps.

[ 02-26-2002: Message edited by: J Thur ]

[ 02-26-2002: Message edited by: J Thur ]