Handel's Messiah cannot be fully appreciated until the scripture behind the music is understood. This work looks at each of the passages of the Bible used in the oratorio.

This revised edition continues to walk both experienced Bible readers and those seeking it out for the first time through a chronological, story-by-story and person-by-person experience. Complete with maps of journeys and explanations of the acts and epistles, this book includes: The journeys of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses, and the law from Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Samuel and Kings, including David and Goliath, Gideon and Samson, and King Solomon. The captives, the women, the poets, the prophets and more through the Old Testament. The story of Jesus as told in the four Gospels. The acts of the Apostles as they spread the word of the new church; the letters from Peter, Paul, James, John and Jude on a variety of topics, and John's apocalyptic Revelation; The Apocrypha including Maccabees 1 and 2 along with other books included for other practices. An all-new reference glossary featuring names and places with descriptions and cross-references to their discussion in the Bible.

A TEACHER IN YOUR HAND UNDERSTAND THE OLD TESTAMENT AS NEVER BEFORE! In this third edition, now with even more notes and insights not previously published, noted teacher and gospel scholar David J. Ridges brings the Old Testament to life with his well-known teaching skills. With the full text of most of the books in the Old Testament, along with selected verses of many others, these invaluable publications include in-the-verse commentary and informative notes between the verses that provide additional insights and teach principles and doctrines. This set is the ultimate study companion! Join the tens of thousands of readers who have experienced spiritual growth from reading and pondering the books in this series. A POWERFUL STUDY GUIDE Quickly gain a basic understanding of this portion of the Old Testament with the help of brief notes within and between the verses, accompanied by bolding for teaching emphasis. Example: Genesis 15:5 5 And he [Jehovah] brought him [Abraham] forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven and tell the stars [try counting the stars], if thou be able to number them [if you can count them]: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be [you will get an idea of how much posterity you will have]. Transfer these brief notes into your own scriptures to increase your understanding now and in the future. A QUICK REFERENCE • Quickly get help for specific verses or chapters. • Use with your Come, Follow Me study. • Review for a lesson, talk, or family night discussion.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1845.

This is the first in this series of specialised reference works, each addressing a specific subfield within biblical studies. Books of the Bible is in depth, with articles on all of the canonical books, major apocryphal books of the New and Old Testaments, important noncanonical texts and some thematic essays.

This new guide to Handel's most celebrated work traces the course of Messiah from Handel's initial musical response to the libretto, through the oratorio's turbulent first years to its eventual popularity with the Foundling Hospital performances. Different chapters consider the varying reception the work received in Dublin and London, the uneasy relationship between the composer and his librettist Charles Jennens and the many changes Messiah underwent through the varying needs and capacities of Handel's performers. As well as tracing the history of the work's development, the book addresses musical and technical issues such as Messiah's place in the oratorio genre, Handel's treatment of structural design, tonal relationships and English word-setting. An edited libretto elucidates the variants between the text that Handel set and the texts of the early printed word-books. Donald Burrows brings many new insights to this fascinating account of one of the favourite works of the concert hall.