Nelson's Cross-Reference Guide to the Bible: Illuminating God's Word Verse-By-Verse

By: Smith, Jerome

Book Overview

Discover how words, phrases, and concepts in one passage of the Bible are reflected and reinforced in the whole of Scripture. "Nelson's Cross-Reference Guide" is organized in biblical sequence, making it easy for you to study a particular passage deeper than ever before. You'll find multiple cross-references to related passages in the Old and New Testaments. Gain a richer understanding of God's Word by studying a theme through the whole counsel of Scripture. Building on the Bible Study classic, "The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge" (with its well-known introduction by R.A. Torrey), and his own expansive "The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, " Jerome Smith has fashioned a user-friendly tool in a much improved, altogether new format to make personal Bible study and Bible lesson preparation easier than ever before. Thanks to Smith's diligent work over many years, this volume contains a more complete collection of cross-references than any Bible reference ever published.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1418504599
• ISBN13: 9781418504595
• Release Date: January 2007
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson Publishers
• Length: 1521 Pages
• Weight: 2.23 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.7" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

An Easy to Use, Practical Tool for Bible Study!

This guide is a concise cross reference to words in the Bible. It is based on the Authorized Version, also known as the King James Version of the Bible, but will work with other translations as well. It is laid out using the same order of books as found in the protestant Bible, meaning the Apocryphal books are omitted. There is no table of contents or index so the user must find their way as they would using the Bible. For those with some familiarity with the Bible that should not be a problem. For others there is a page called "Bible Book Abbreviations" which lists the books of the Bible in order of their appearance. The writer includes some commentary on selected verses; for example in Genesis 6:2, the writer comments - "Sons of God" denotes wondrous, mighty, supernatural beings, frequently (but as here, perhaps not always: see Mt 22:30) used of angels in the O.T. This is an effort on the writer's part at balancing the sons of God as fallen angels versus the sons of God as the "godly line of Seth" interpretation. The paper is thin, as some reviewers have pointed out, but very similar to the type of paper used in many editions of the Bible. The binding seems to be first class and should give many years of service. As is so often the case, this book was published in China. If you are interested in serious Bible study, then this book can be a valuable work tool.

I simply can't think of a single volume resource better than this one!

Jerome Smith's latest reference tool is called "Nelson's Cross-Reference Guide to the Bible: Illuminating God's Word Verse-by-Verse". It's virtually half the thickness of the massive New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge which he released in 1992 and in my estimation, this volume is easier to use. The conventions used in this Cross Reference Guide are few and simple compared to the NTSK. As stated in the Guide, they are as follows: 1) A "+" (plus) symbol marks where more verses on the theme are found, 2) References in Italic type show where the Bible quotes itself, 3) References in Italic bold mark prophecies and their fulfillment. There are several lesser conventions explained by the Guide that are easily understood and learned. Is the Nelson Cross-Reference Guide to the Bible an improvement over the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge by R.A. Torrey? I think so and most everybody commenting here might agree with me. If you're forced to downsize your group of study helps due to economics and/or shelf space, this tool alone could replace a variety of tools by itself. I'd never find myself without a copy.

Handmaiden of the Bible

First some acronyms TSK = Treasury of Scripture Knowledge NTSK = New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge CRGB = Nelson's Cross-Reference Guide to the Bible I cannot praise this book enough. It is truly a rare jewel surpassed in its value only by the Bile itself. In its simplicity, scope and completeness it is breath-taking. If the Bible is the Queen of books, then NTSK/CRGB is her only fit handmaiden. And for this precious gem we have Jerome H. Smith to thank. Of course, he built upon the work of others. But his was no quick slam-bam-thank-you-ma'am edit job. 30 years of Bible study went into NTSK. He compared verse with verse until he was satisfied that every reference was both relevant and significant. To the 500,000 refs of TSK he added 100,000 refs of his own. For CRGB he added still more refs mostly based on the alternative renderings provided by the KJV translators in the margins of their work. What's more, for NTSK he compiled no less than 7 indices: Subject, Topic Number, Prayer, Proverbs, Name, Figure of Speech and Strong's Numbers. He also provided an extensive bibliography. Leaving most of the notes he found in TSK unmodified, he added his own personal notes to about 275 vss. But the indices, bibliography and most of the notes were removed for CRGB. What a pity! For my part, the ultimate proof that God was pleased with the holy work of Jerome Smith is the fact that Satan tried to cut him down before he could finish his book. In Smith's own words from the preface of NTSK: "I almost did not live to finish my editorial work on the New Treasury, for I was shot in the head by an unknown assailant on March 13, 1986, when I had typed the text only as far as 1 Samuel 3. The Lord miraculously spared my life. During my recovery I kept working on the book, often without income." Smith has truly shown us what it means to live "a long obedience in the same direction."

Wow!!!! Outstanding Product

WARNING: The Nelson's Cross Reference Guide to the Bible is an outstanding resource for those who (1) prefer to let the Bible interpret itself; (2) do not mind a little work -- putting in some time and digging for the answers in connection with their Bible study; and (3) not overly thrilled bout study Bibles and commentaries out of concern for "opinions" of the editors/contributors. I purchased it about a year ago and I'm constantly amazed at its quality. There is so much good I can say but in the interest of space I want to focus only on how Nelson's Cross Reference will assist you in letting the Bible interpret itself. I have no problem with study Bibles. But using a product like the Nelson's Cross Reference will help you sharpen your own study skills, provides you wiht comfort in what the Bible says on a subject, verse or paragraph, and the Bible itself will either support or disprove comments in study notes or a commentary. My assumption is that most reference Bibles skip on the cross references because of formatting and attempting to keep the "reference" edition thin. The Nelson's Cross Reference is a outstanding primary or supplement to letting the Bible interpret itself. I study with the ESV Single Column Reference Edition, NASB Reference Updated Edition (1995), and HCSB Large Print Reference. To illustrate the value of the Nelson's Cross Reference, for John 11:11, where Jesus states Lazarus has "fallen asleep," on this verse the ESV has only 1 reference, the NASB has 5, and the HCSB has 2. The Nelson's Cross Reference has an astounding 25 references including a definition of "Lazarus," citation to the Strong's number (2976g). For John 1:1, the ESV has 12 references, NASB has 8 and HCSB has 6. Nelson's Cross Reference has an astounding 61!!! Including very helpful references from Isaiah, Psalms, Job, Jeremiah, Micah. Each set of words in John 1:1 is divided and references are provided for "the beginning," "the Word," "with," "and he Word," and "was God." One last example, for John 10:9 where Jesus says he's the door, ESV has 3 references, NASB has 1, and HCSB has no references. Nelson's Cross Reference has 18, providing reference supports for key words in the verse such as "the door," "if," "be saved," and "go in and out." The fact that the Nelson's Cross Reference is tied to the KJV is not a problem at all. Again, there are many benefits to this product but to my knowledge there is no other product providing you with the tools to let the Bible interpret itself. Could it be improved -- of course. However, a little work to navigate around this valuable resource will not kill you.