About this Book

Grabbe offers an accessible and reliable account of the sources, history and interpretation of the age that gave form to Judaism and from which Christianity emerged. The subjects covered are: the Persian period; the Jews and Hellenization; Alexander, the Diadochi and the Ptolemies; Seleucid rule, the Maccabean revolt and the Hasmonean priest-kings; the Roman conquest and Herod the Great; the changing fortunes of Judaea and the war with Rome; religious pluralism from the Maccabees to Yavneh; the last period ending with Bar Kokhba, and a concluding survey of the Jewish 'theocracy'. In each historical segment there is an assessment of the primary extant sources; a survey of the major interpretative issues; a synthesis of the history; and a bibliography of modern works.