Howdy CoffeeSwirls,
Greetings. One aspect of marking that is perhaps independant of other marking and notes, is to highlight where an OT passage is quoted in the NT. For instance Zechariah 9:9 has a reference in the margin of my KJV Bible that says under "m" "cited Matthew 21:5".
Zechariah 9:9 (KJV): "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass."
My method is to underline the extent of the approximate words quoted as above with a thin colour pen. The next time we read this chapter we are immediately reminded that this is speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ when he entered Jerusalem before his crucifixion. This reference helps us to understand Zechariah 9, and Matthew 21:5 is an inspired comment of how to interpret Zechariah 9.
A more obscure reference in the margin is at the end of Zechariah 9:10
Zechariah 9:10 (KJV): "And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth."
Under "t" it says "Psalm 72:8" and this helps us to appreciate that the one crucified will also reign over all the earth and is the king spoken of in Psalm 72. At first reading we could imagine that David is only speaking of the glories of Solomon's reign in Psalm 72, but with this reference, the true fulfilment of Psalm 72 is still future.
In our young people's class, we were given a list where some of the verses in Isaiah were quoted in the New Testament. We were encouraged to mark these references in a similar fashion as above, and this has helped over the years. This exercise also showed the limitations of the centre margin, because many of the references on the list were not in our KJV centre margin. The following is one example where no NT references are mentioned:
Isaiah 6:9-10 (KJV): "9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. 10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.
Now this is quoted by the Lord in Matthew 13:14-15, Mark 4:12, Luke 8:10 and these references help us to understand that Isaiah 6 is not only speaking of the preaching of Isaiah to his contemporaries, but it is really speaking of Jesus and his preaching, especially the parables. This is further spelt out by the citation of this passage in John 12:40, and then the additional comment on Isaiah 6 by John
John 12:41 (KJV): "These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him."
The same passage Isaiah 6:9-10 is quoted by Paul in Acts 28:26,27 when he was turning to the Gentiles who would hear v28, and this gives us further understanding of Isaiah 6 where it speaks of the desolation of the land because Israel refused to hear.
Gradually we build up our own treasure of references and allusions, and minor adjustments to the KJV including archaisms, that help us to appreciate the inspired word of God.
Kind regards
Trevor
