“Cross-Referencing”

Monday, April 09, 2018

Sometimes, in the margins of my Bible (King James), there will be another Scripture listed next to some of the verses in the text.  Are these cross-referenced verses supposed to be comparing verses from different books of the Bible?  Even if they reference New Testament verses with Old Testament verses?  Have there ever been cross-referenced verses to non-canon books?

Sincerely,
Footnote

Dear Footnote,

Cross-references identify commonalities between different parts of the Bible—chains of similar themes, words, events, or people.  Depending on the particular company that produces the Bible you are using, your copy may have a lot of cross-references; it may have very few.  Cross-references can be helpful study tools, but they aren’t part of the original Bible; they are just helpful tools put in by the printing companies to further your studies.  As far as referencing apocryphal books, some Catholic Bible printers do reference non-canon books because they are of use to those who practice Catholicism… but most Bible printing companies do not.

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