Database Tutorials

Searching by Scripture Citation

If you want to find articles about a particular chapter, verse, or book of the Bible, you can absolutely use the tools in Old Testament Abstracts to do so. You can use either Advanced Search or the "Scriptures" menu to do this.

 

Using Advanced Search

The easiest way to search by scripture citation is to use Advanced Search.

1. In the dropdown menu next to the search term, select "SC Scripture Citation"
2. Type in the name of the book in full, then chapter and verse if you would like
3. Click the green Search button as normal.

 

 

 

Using the Scriptures Menu

If you're concerned that you are not typing/spelling/citing your passage in the way that Old Testament Abstracts recognizes, use the Scriptures menu at the top of the page:

 

Bible books, chapters, and verses are written out here the way that the database recognizes.

• Search for your book,
• then click the checkboxes next to the terms you'd like to search,
• then click the light gray "Search" button in the middle of the screen (see below, outlined in red).
• Note: Old Testament Abstracts will automatically insert the Boolean operator "OR" between multiple search terms from this screen. This means that you will get results that feature any of the items you've selected.

When you've clicked search, the results screen will appear, and you can continue as normal.

 

Note: For both tools, be careful how you type in the names of books that appear more than once (ex: Samuel, Kings, Corinthians, Peter). Old Testament will only recognize if you type the citation as "Book, Number Chapter:Verse".

For example: "Corinthians, 1st 13:4-8" or "Kings, 2nd".

 

If you're having trouble getting relevant results, come see a librarian! We'll help you find what you need.