"Every life hath its chapter of sorrow. No matter how rich the gilding or fair the pages of the volume, Trouble will stamp it with his sable signet."So begins the novel Treading the Winepress; or, A Mountain of Misfortune by Clarissa Minnie Thompson Allen, which, had it appeared in book form in 1885-1886 instead of serialized in The Boston Advocate, would have been the second novel published by a black woman in the United States. Instead, Allen has been mostly forgotten by literary history. Now, thanks to the painstaking efforts of editors Gabrielle Brown, Eric Willey, and Jean MacDonald, an edition of Allen's Treading the Winepress; or, A Mountain of Misfortune is available to readers for the first time as an open access, hybrid book from Downstate Legacies, part of its ongoing translation and lost books series, Undiscovered Americas. In this novel of manners set in Capitolia (a thinly veiled stand-in for Columbia, South Carolina, the author's hometown), Allen recounts the entangled lives of the De Vernes and the Tremaines, two well-to-do black families. The novel unfurls the stories of multiple tragedies endured by each family through episodes of romance, mystery, and murder. Chief among these is the love triangle involving protagonist Gertie Tremaine, esteemed doctor Will De Verne, and Gertie's sister Lenore "Gypsy" Tremaine. The intrigue that follows leads Gertie to lament the "mountains of misfortune" she and her family endure. Even though Allen regarded the novel as "a girlish protest against what seemed to be serious dangers threatening our race," she insists her "object was not to gain 'name and fame' but to call the attention of thinking people to these blots in our social firmament." It is with great excitement that we reintroduce this overlooked classic to contemporary readers.

Did Jesus claim to be the "bridegroom"? If so, what did he mean by this claim? When Jesus says that the wedding guests should not fast "while the bridegroom is with them" (Mark 2:19), he is claiming to be a bridegroom by intentionally alluding to a rich tradition from the Hebrew Bible. By eating and drinking with "tax collectors and other sinners," Jesus was inviting people to join him in celebrating the eschatological banquet. While there is no single text in the Hebrew Bible or the literature of the Second Temple Period which states the "messiah is like a bridegroom," the elements for such a claim are present in several texts in Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Hosea. By claiming that his ministry was an ongoing wedding celebration he signaled the end of the Exile and the restoration of Israel to her position as the Lord's beloved wife. This book argues that Jesus combined the tradition of an eschatological banquet with a marriage metaphor in order to describe the end of the Exile as a wedding banquet.

A Holy People investigates the various ways in which Jews and Christians define their religious identity, people or community, as being holy. Keeping in mind that historical studies can offer food for thought regarding contemporary issues, the study offers a large collection of essays, relating to the biblical, patristic and medieval period and especially to the modern period. The obvious question of many in the modern world as to whether the attribute of the ‘holiness’ allows for acknowledgement of authentic religion outside the own religious community, deserves an honest answer and well-documented study: too easily the claim of holiness intertwines with claims of power, whether by rivalling groups within the religious community, by groups divided along gender lines, or on the level of territorial claims. It will be of special importance to scholars and general readers interested in an interdisciplinary approach to theology, rabbinics, history, political science, and much more.

Galatians is one of the earliest of the Pauline letters and is therefore among the first documents written by Christians in the first century. Paul’s letter to the Galatians deals with the first real controversy in the early church: the status of Jews and gentiles in this present age and the application of the Law of Moses to gentiles. Paul argues passionately that gentiles are not “converting” to Judaism and therefore should not be expected to keep the Law. Gentiles who accept Jesus as Savior are “free in Christ,” not under the bondage of the Law. Galatians also deals with an important pastoral issue in the early church as well. If gentiles are not “under the Law,” are they free to behave any way they like? Does Paul’s gospel mean that gentiles can continue to live like pagans and still be right with God? For Paul, the believer’s status as an adopted child of God enables them to serve God freely as dearly loved children. Galatians: Freedom through God's Grace is commentary for laypeople, Bible teachers, and pastors who want to grasp how the original readers of Galatians would have understood Paul’s letter and how this important ancient letter speaks to Christians living in similar situations in the twenty-first century.

A Bible dictionary is an essential resource for anyone who studies the Bible?

The final book of the Bible, Revelation prophesies the ultimate judgement of mankind in a series of allegorical visions, grisly images and numerological predictions. According to these, empires will fall, the "Beast" will be destroyed and Christ will rule a new Jerusalem. With an introduction by Will Self.

The most comprehensive, up-to-date, accurate information on life in Bible times available in one volume for the general reader.