Information Visual Chart of Bible Cross-references

[jtarleto]

I just completed a chart showing the Bible visually through the use of the cross-references. I thought that many might be interested in seeing a visual Bible so I am posting it here as a low-resolution image and a high-resolution PDF.

Go to one of the websites below and click on "Click Here to Start Download". Here are the links:

Low-Resolution JPEG:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/nz2ihwm2nmo/TheBible.jpg

High-Resolution PDF:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/m052rtwdmmd/TheBible.pdf

Also, as the description at the bottom of the chart is hard to read in low-resolution it is provided below.

I am considering offering printed versions, but would like to see if there is any demand. Also, I would appreciate any comments or feedback.

Thanks so much!

John Tarleton

Caption:
This rendering shows graphically the over 85,000 cross-references found throughout the Bible. The Old Testament is represented by the left gray column and the New Testament is represented by the right gray column. The books of the Old and New Testaments alternate between light and dark gray starting with the first book of the testament at the top of each column and ending with the last book of the testament at the bottom. The individual chapters of each book are not specifically depicted within each book, but their respective locations within each book are preserved for the connecting references. A single cross-reference connects two chapters through either an arc or a line. Arcs connect chapters found within the same testament and lines connect chapters referencing the other testament. Therefore, the left group of arcs contain references connecting Old Testament chapters to Old Testament chapters, the right group of arcs contain references connecting New Testament chapters to New Testament chapters, and the center group of lines contain references connecting chapters found within one testament with ones found within the other. The color of the cross-reference arcs and lines depicts the subject matter of each chapter of the reference. In the Old Testament, red lines depict "Law", yellow depict "History", cyan depict "Poetry", blue depict "Major Prophets", and magenta depict "Minor Prophets". In the New Testament, red lines depict "Gospels", yellow depict "History", cyan depict "Paul's Letters to Churches", blue depict "Paul's Letters to Friends", and magenta depict "General Letters". The color of the reference line changes from the color of the subject of the first chapter to the color of the subject of the second chapter of the reference, creating a rainbow-like effect.

[RevLogos]

There is a web site I discovered in 2007 that has a very similar cross reference image, here:

http://www.chrisharrison.net/project...viz/index.html

along with a few other graphical images visualizing people and places. These are so similar, did you do these too?

[HisLeast]

This makes my inner data geek very happy.

[jtarleto]

There is a web site I discovered in 2007 that has a very similar cross reference image, here:

http://www.chrisharrison.net/project...viz/index.html

along with a few other graphical images visualizing people and places. These are so similar, did you do these too?

So far, I have only done the cross-references. I have some other ideas I would like to try in the future though, some of which are somewhat similar to the ones you saw.

I actually stumbled upon the image you noted while I was creating my version. It looked good, but I really wanted to separate the cross-references between testaments, so that you could see that the Bible is connected within testaments as well as between testaments. Also, I color-coded the Bible subjects (Law, Gospels, etc.) to show how each section of the Bible relates with another. One example is the high number of references between the Minor and Major Prophets of the Old Testament. These are at the bottom of the image on the left column, and are the references that change from magenta to blue. There are so many references between these subjects that the references just become a blur.

[HisLeast]

How are the data connections being made?

[jtarleto]

How are the data connections being made?

Let me know if this is not what you are asking.

Each cross-reference connects a specific chapter of a specific book with another specific chapter of another specific book. As far as the colors go, each book of the Bible is part of a specific subject (Law, Gospels, etc.) and each subject is color coded on the chart. The color of the reference line is the color of the first subject of the reference, and gradually changes to the color of the second subject of the reference.

How did I make the data connections? I created a script that created a list of all of the 85,000+ cross-references between chapters in the American Standard version of the Bible, then I created a macro in Microsoft Publisher that could read from the list and draw the reference lines and arcs in their correct locations with the correct colors.

[BadDog]

Thx John,

That must have taken some time to finish. How about the extrabiblical CRef? The NT quotes dozens (I think it's over 100) times from the Apropha - the books of Enoch I think foremost. The OT quotes from some unclear sources in a few places too.

Just curious.

Thx,

BD

[CommanderRobey]

Looks like a spyrograph image to me. The only words on it are at the very bottom saying different colors show this or that. With no actual books, verses, etc, the picture really does not say a thing. On PDF zoom to 6400x it still is nothing but lines of color and meaningless.

[HisLeast]

Let me know if this is not what you are asking.

Each cross-reference connects a specific chapter of a specific book with another specific chapter of another specific book. As far as the colors go, each book of the Bible is part of a specific subject (Law, Gospels, etc.) and each subject is color coded on the chart. The color of the reference line is the color of the first subject of the reference, and gradually changes to the color of the second subject of the reference.

How did I make the data connections? I created a script that created a list of all of the 85,000+ cross-references between chapters in the American Standard version of the Bible, then I created a macro in Microsoft Publisher that could read from the list and draw the reference lines and arcs in their correct locations with the correct colors.

That's kind of what I'm asking. And I only ask because I mine data with Crystal Reports most of my day.

What's a cross reference and how is it determined I guess is what I'm asking.

[jtarleto]

Looks like a spyrograph image to me. The only words on it are at the very bottom saying different colors show this or that. With no actual books, verses, etc, the picture really does not say a thing. On PDF zoom to 6400x it still is nothing but lines of color and meaningless.

Thanks for your input, this is the kind of feedback I need to know.

The chart was designed to show general relationships throughout the different parts of the Bible, not specific ones. Specific cross-references are listed in the margins of most Bible, and so this is not the primary effect I was going for.

For example, looking at the lines in the center of the chart, we find several cross references between Genesis (The first gray block on the left column) and Acts (The fifth gray rectangle on the right column). This is the story of Stephen in front of the high priest defending the works that God has done for his people in the past. In this passage, he references many stories found in Genesis as well as Exodus. These general trends are what the chart was designed to show.

Notice also the high number of references of the major prophets by the minor prophets, the references to Exodus in Hebrews 9 where the first covenant is described. Each group of lines show general relationships within the Bible.

Also, all of the other lines that do not show a specific trend point to a general authenticity of the Bible in that it is so interconnected. This chart serves to help me, as well as I hope others, appreciate that the Bible is not 66 random books, but 66 God-inspired books that frequently reference one another to send a consistent message of the love of God.

As far as zooming in to 6400x, the posted high-resolution PDF consists of a raster image, meaning that it does not contain individual lines, but a picture of the lines. I posted this file because it is MUCH easier for your computer to load. The original PDF that I created is a vector image, meaning that the image consists of lines that you can see individually when zoomed in close. This is nice, it is takes a great deal of time for a computer to load 85,000+ lines individually.

Again, thanks everyone for your input. Keep posting as you see fit!

[jtarleto]

That's kind of what I'm asking. And I only ask because I mine data with Crystal Reports most of my day.

What's a cross reference and how is it determined I guess is what I'm asking.

I think I gotcha now. A "cross-reference" is where a writer quotes or references another chapter in the Bible. For example, in the desert, when Jesus is tempted by the devil, he quotes scripture, "MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD". Jesus speaks this in Matthew 4, and he is quoting Deuteronomy 8, so there would be a line drawn between this two chapters in the chart.

How is it determined? For my chart, the people who wrote the New American Standard Version of the Bible determined the references. I simply read the references found in that version of the Bible posted at BibleGateway.com for every chapter of the Bible, wrote them to a text file, had MS Publisher read the text file, and finally had it draw the chart.

[jtarleto]

Thx John,

That must have taken some time to finish. How about the extrabiblical CRef? The NT quotes dozens (I think it's over 100) times from the Apropha - the books of Enoch I think foremost. The OT quotes from some unclear sources in a few places too.

Just curious.

Thx,

BD

I hadn't thought of that before your post, and it seems certainly interesting. I did a little research, and many of the quotes seem to be more like parallels or similarities rather than outright quotes. Thanks for the insight!