FOOTNOTES IN THE BIBLE

Do you ever follow out the footnotes in your Bible? We don't read or write footnotes much in these days? We are conditioned to read as fast as possible. I need to be honest here. I am a slow reader, so I might have a tendency to justify my weakness. But taking the time to follow out a footnote broadens understanding and enjoyment.

Most English Bibles have three kinds of footnotes. They usually have different markings that you may have to read the introduction to your edition to discern.

First there are notes for Clarification.

These often explain the broader use of a word in the original language. They may point out differences in some early manuscripts.

Some are interpretive Comments. Your Bible may have only a few, if any of these. If you have a Study Bible, these will make up most of the comments. They may be explanations, or arguments for a certain point of view. These notes should not be taken as Scripture, but they can be very helpful. And as a writer of books on the Scriptures, I have to admit that you probably get better insights by reading notes right in your Bible. When you read something in a book, you may say, "I understand that." When you read a note in your Bible, you might say, "I understand that the Bible says this."

Most of your footnotes will be Cross References. Some Bibles have so many of these they need a center column. I think these may be the most valuable notes in your Bible, even though following them out takes time. For most of my adult life I tried to read the Bible through every year in my daily devotional time. That was good for me. But once you have done it several times, I think it is much more beneficial to read less, and go deeper. And following the cross references is a good way to do that.

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