Two Testaments. A connected story.

01

Let each collection have its own shape

The Old Testament includes the stories of Israel’s beginnings, covenant life, worship, kings, exile, and hope. It also contains prayers, wisdom, and prophetic voices. The New Testament centres on Jesus and the witness, questions, and life of the communities that follow him.

These short descriptions do not make either collection uniform. In both, you will meet narrative, instruction, conflict, praise, and searching questions. Avoid reducing one Testament to a single mood and the other to its opposite. Look closely at what a particular book is actually doing.

02

Follow a connection without erasing the first setting

New Testament passages often refer to Israel’s Scriptures. When you notice a quotation or a familiar image, follow it back. Read the earlier passage on its own before considering how the later writer uses it. This gives you two settings to understand instead of replacing the first with the second.

For example, Matthew 22:34–40 brings love for God and love for a neighbour into a conversation about the law. Reading Deuteronomy 6 and Leviticus 19 alongside it helps you notice the earlier contexts of those commands.

03

Watch for recurring questions

Questions about trust, justice, worship, belonging, and care for vulnerable people recur across the Bible. Following a question can be a fruitful way to read, as long as you resist making every passage say the same thing. A psalm of lament and a practical instruction in a letter may address difficulty in different ways.

Keep a short record of the connection you notice: the reference, the shared word or idea, and one important difference. This simple practice protects you from gathering only the similarities that support your first impression.

04

Read across both, at a manageable pace

You do not have to master the Old Testament before opening a Gospel, or finish the New Testament before returning to a psalm. Start with a coherent passage and let the connections develop. A reading guide can orient you, but it cannot replace your own attention to the text.

Our book introductions name the broad movement of each book and offer a question to carry through it. Use them as a map. The point of a map is to help you notice where you are, then look up and attend to the place itself.

05

Read a connection in both directions

When a New Testament passage quotes or alludes to an earlier text, read the earlier passage in its own setting. Then return to the later one and ask what part of it is being brought into view.

This keeps the earlier writing from becoming only a supply of quotations. It also helps you see the later passage’s particular use of it. A comparison can preserve both the connection and the differences between the two situations.

06

Describe the connection before drawing a conclusion

Make two brief notes: what the earlier passage concerns and what the later passage is doing with it. Does the connection involve a person, a promise, an image, a command, or the wording of a prayer?

If you are unsure, mark the link as a question rather than claiming a complete explanation. Some connections are stated directly; others require more careful study. You can learn from a clear example before attempting to resolve every relationship across the whole Bible.

Questions along the way