How to Use the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

How to Use the (Cross-Refs or K-Button)

1. The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (henceforth, TSK) is a helpful tool that correlates every passage of Scripture to other passages that relate in one way or another. In order to make use of this tool, we must first enter into the Bible—where the bulk of the Blue Letter Bible's study tools are made available.

So first we enter a verse reference in the search tool on our home page (we will be using John 1 for our example here) and then we simply click our mouse cursor on the Search button as shown below.

2. Now that we have arrived at the Bible page for the first chapter of the Gospel of John, we take note of the button or the six square buttons to the immediate left of each verse (generally , , , , , and/or ). These link to our study tools and each is keyed with tools specific to the needs of its adjacent verse.

The Tab under Tools or the -button is where our particular interest lies for this tutorial. This button will bring up the TSK information related to the verse in question (in this case, John 1:1). So hover over Tools and click on the button and we shall take a look at just what kind of information this tool will provide us.

3. The content of this page is divided in three pieces: first, the summary of correlations, followed by the full list of related verses, and then the list of the full verses.

4. The manner by which the TSK correlates passages is unique (and not always the most obvious or intuitive of methods), but it does supply some fantastic information and may serve to offer us a fresh perspective on a familiar text. The TSK links a word or phrase, kernelizing an idea, and by so doing hopes to shed new light on the Word by allowing other portions of Scripture to aid in the interpretation of the present selection.

This is no lexical concordance; the editors of the TSK are not concerned with tying words to their exact matches in other portions of Scripture (as others have accomplished such tasks admirably—a la Strong's concordance work) but instead, the editors offer a concordance of ideas, an index of thoughts. And so, each of these underlined words are the phrases around which the TSK builds its correlative framework.

Some examples that might help to demonstrate this concept are found right here in this passage. The TSK takes the phrase the beginning and provide us links to Genesis 1:1 and that most famous of beginnings. It also keys on the with from "the Word was with God" and ties this to John 1:18, which speaks of Christ being in the bosom of the Father and so being the only one to have ever seen the Father. Hopefully these examples will help to illuminate the mind of the TSK editors.

5. Below the display of the verse, which outlines which phrases from the verse will be keyed, we see a display of each selected phrase and the passages to which the TSK correlate them. The phrases are hot-linked and, if clicked upon, will take us further below on the page to a full outline of the phrase's particularly tied passages.

6. Now then, let's click on the phrase the Word—either from John 1:1 verse or from the summary below it.

This will take us below to the presentation of all the passages of Scripture that TSK correlates to the Word. This makes it convenient for us to get a quick glimpse of just what else Scripture might have to say on the matter at hand. As well, the Blue Letter Bible allows us the use of all their individual study tools for the passages it displays here—so we can really take our studies in any direction that suits us in the moment.

We hope you have enjoyed this tutorial and have found it helpful in understanding the ins and outs of our correlative tool, the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.