What are Biblical Hyperlinks?

Tim Davis

Go on Wikipedia. You’ll see blue words that are underlined. Click one and it’ll take you to a new page.

Here’s what’s cool.

The Bible works similarly—it’s a very “hyperlinked” book. In other words, the authors frequently “link” their readers to other parts of Scripture. And they do this intentionally. Now this last point is key… 

The authors do this. As readers, we submit to following the connections they make.

So if you want to deepen your Bible reading skills, it’s worthwhile to learn how this works.

HYPERLINKS AS “LASSOS”

I’m no cowboy (though I won a barrel racing competition once upon a time… a story for another day).

But whether you ride horses or not, I think you’ll get this illustration. Imagine a cowboy riding his horse. He swings his rope above his head before “lassoing” the cattle in front of him. When he successfully lassos the cattle, he then pulls the cattle towards him. 

Biblical hyperlinks work similarly. The authors of Scripture will intentionally repeat a word, idea or phrase from another portion of Scripture. When they do this, they’re inviting the reader (you and me) to “lasso” that other passage and bring it near. Once we’ve done that, we then use that “lassoed” passage to interpret the passage at hand. 

Let me give an example.

ADAM WAS A PRIEST

In Genesis 2:15, Moses writes, “The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” The phrase, “work it and keep it” could also be translated as “keep guard” or “take care of it”. 

Ok. Now what?

Well wouldn’t you know it, Moses creates a hyperlink between Genesis 2:15 and another passage—namely, Numbers 3:5-10. In this passage, Moses speaks to the Levites—the tribe that the priests come from. He writes, “They [the Levites] shall keep guard over him and over the whole congregation…they shall guard all the furnishings of the tent of meeting.” (Num. 3:7-8). 

If these passages were written like a Wikipedia web entry, the words “work and keep it” in Genesis would be blue and underlined as would the words “keep guard” in Numbers 3. Click the hyperlink in Genesis 2:15, it takes you to Numbers 3. Click the hyperlink in Numbers 3 and it takes you to Genesis 2:15. In other words, Genesis 2 helps us interpret Numbers 3 and Numbers 3 helps us interpret Genesis 2.

Here's what we learn.

Adam was the first priest commissioned to keep guard over the garden of Eden. Of course, he failed in the very next chapter. He should’ve remembered the words of God and crushed the serpent’s head the moment he uttered a different story. Likewise, the priestly tribe—and especially Israel’s High Priest—functioned like a “new Adam.” They were commissioned to watch over the tabernacle which was God’s newly established sacred space. 

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

Hopefully you’re excited to read the Bible more so you can start noticing these “links” on your own. 

If so, that’s great! In fact, I think this is the best strategy to recognizing the Bible’s connections. If you want to pick up on the cross-references made throughout Scripture, you need to know the Bible’s story.

To illustrate, if you have a favorite Christmas movie, you probably watch it year after year. I wouldn’t be surprised if you can quote almost every line. 

Let’s approach the Bible in the same way.

Let’s make it the story we read over and over again. The more we know the story, the more we’ll notice these hyperlinks. And the more we notice the hyperlinks, the more we’ll deepen our knowledge of Scripture. And the more we deepen our knowledge of Scripture, the more we’ll learn to love the one it all points to.