The (Literal) Never Ending Story

A Tale of Parallel Passages in the Bible

I sat, my legs crossed so lady-like, under the long 8-foot table in our church’s basement, listening to my best friend’s dad, Doug, teach about parallel passages in the Bible. He was my 6th-grade Sunday school teacher, an established farmer, and a man who could have taught in any Bible college he wanted. But he stayed in the plains, raised a family, took on the family’s farming business, and taught Sunday school to unruly 6th graders. That Sunday, as we took turns reading verses, one of the students pointed out that their Bible had a notation after a particular verse. He proceeded to give a talk that could have fit inside of a Hermeneutics class at seminary while at the same time making it understandable to 6th graders. I didn’t realize at the time what a treasure of Biblical knowledge I had been raised within that church that loved Jesus.

The Importance of Parallel Passages

Why are parallel passages so important? Because they help us interpret verses that are harder to understand. We can USE the Bible to interpret ITSELF. A parallel passage is another verse/passage in Scripture that is similar to another passage. We can use these correlating verses for comparison or to add deeper meaning to the text we’re studying. The most straightforward parallel passages we can find are in the Gospels. Although the authors didn’t write the Gospels to read in tandem, you can find a parallelization of the Gospels here.

When we find parallel passages, it can help us develop our theology. If we find one verse but nothing else in Scripture to back it as a facet of our theology and Christendom, then it may be a standalone verse related to the cultural time. But if we find several similar passages or verses, we can begin to develop an interpretation and even Biblical theology based on them.

Where to Start with Parallel Passages:

1-    Find a Bible that has parallel passages clearly marked. You can usually find one with notations in the margins or the footnotes.

2-    If you don’t have a Bible with notations, check out www.blueletterbible.com and search for your passage. Then, next to the verse you’re studying, click on the link for tools and select Cross-Ref. (Parallel passages are also called cross references or correlating verses).

3-    Determine if comparing the two verses adds to your interpretation or takes it in a different direction.

4-    What else do you learn when comparing them?

5—Are there any parallel passages from the Old Testament that help interpret the New Testament, or vice versa?

On top of this, God was highly intentional when He inspired all the writers of the Scriptures. There are recurring themes throughout the Bible – and when we see them, we need to tie them back to the first time that theme appeared. For example, the theme of trees begins right away in the first chapter of Genesis when God provides fruit trees for food for the humans. This theme runs to the second chapter when God planted a garden with two trees in the center, the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Bad. Then, He warns them not to eat from the second tree. And then, in the third chapter, Eve sees that the fruit on that second tree is good; she desires it, takes and eats it, and then gives some to her husband. Anytime you see mention of a tree (the Hebrew word etz for tree also can be translated as bush, stick, branch, or wood) from those first moments in Genesis throughout the REST of the Bible, pay attention. God is trying to remind you of the Garden scenes. He wants us all to return to the Garden – and, in a sense, has written a LITERAL Never-Ending Story. He brings us back to a particular theme by reminding us of the original occurrence.

Here’s a list of parallel passages throughout the Bible.

 And here’s a list of recurring themes throughout the Bible.

 When we connect these verses and passages, the Bible comes together and looks SO UNIFIED. Everything seems to be connected. Nothing is unintentionally added, so it just seems to look less and less like something manufactured – almost as if the God of the universe designed it.

Funny… huh.