In seventeenth-century Britain every debate about loyalty oaths invoked the biblical Samson. Samson’s Cords argues that these loyalty tests became an unprecedentedly pervasive feature of life in Restoration England and that writers of satire and epic had no choice but to respond. Alex Garganigo examines the radically different responses of John Milton, Andrew Marvell, and Samuel Butler to the existential crises caused by this explosion of loyalty oaths. After early support, all three developed serious reservations, confronting the irony that while oaths often exclude and destroy, they also include and create. Tackling issues such as performance, ritual, religion, secularization, gender, swearing, republicanism, and citizenship, Garganigo offers original readings of Paradise Lost, Samson Agonistes, An Horatian Ode upon Cromwell’s Return from Ireland, The Rehearsal Transpros’d, and Hudibras.

You love God. You long to know Him more intimately, to see Him face to face. Now is the time to dig deeper into the Scriptures, to see the Bible come alive for you: chapter by chapter, sentence by sentence, word by word. Written by forty-eight leading Bible scholars, this powerful handbook walks you through the entire text of the Old and New Testaments (primarily in the KJV). From the majestic Genesis account of all the Creator brought into being to Christ's words at the end of Revelation ('Yea, I come quickly...'), you'll find insights to help you wrap your heart and mind around God's Word in the pages of The Wycliffe Bible Commentary. INCLUDES BONUS MATERIAL: Commentary on Romans from The Moody Bible Commentary. Michael Vanlaningham, professor of New Testament at Moody Bible Institute, introduces Romans and then takes you through it verse-by-verse. Known as Paul's most thorough treatment on Christian doctrine, Romans explores sin, faith, and God's redemptive purposes for the world in Jesus. Familiarity with this famous letter is indispensable for growth and maturity in your Christian faith.