The Source of the Christian Tradition: A Critical History of Ancient Judaism

This book offers a comprehensive history of the origins of Judaism, which emerged from a confederation of tribes that came to be known as Israel. Located in the strategically important region between Egypt and Mesopotamia, the tribes came under the domination of various empires before their kingdoms of Israel and Judah were destroyed by the Assyrians and Babylonians. Drawing on ancient texts and archaeological evidence, the author challenges traditional conceptions of Jewish history, especially regarding the dating of sacred texts. The book argues that the Mosaic books, and even the earlier prophetic writings, date to the period after the Babylonian exile in the 6th century BCE. This work provides valuable insights into the development of Jewish religious thought and the role of the Babylonian captivity in the emergence of Jewish nationalism.Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books.This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.This text has been digitally restored from a historical edition. Some aesthetic errors may persist, however it has been deemed that any such will not detract from the work's significant historical value.The digital edition of all books may be viewed on our website before purchase.