Lester L. Grabbe provides a magnificent overview of the ancient history of this turbulent region in this comprehensive but readable study of Israel's origins. Grabbe engages in this fascinating history, which includes the first references to Israelites in an early Egyptian inscription, the kings of Israel, the Persian province of Yehud, the Greek and Roman rule of Judah, the kingdom of the Maccabees, and the Jewish diaspora in Babylonia and the Greco-Roman world.

Grabbe brings together all the historical information and synthesizes it in an understandable way for those with an interest in the early history, culture, and religion of the Jews. Grabbe also explains what has been discovered by archaeologists, Egyptologists, and Assyriologists that is important for understanding the history of ancient Israel. This is not a brief survey, rather an in-depth overview of the history of Israel from one of the most significant scholars of his generation. Serious readers and history and students alike will find this a helpful pathfinder through the history of one of the most fascinating and influential regions in the world.