A Concise History of Ancient Israel

The history of biblical Israel, as it is told in the Hebrew Bible, differs substantially from the history of ancient Israel as it can be reconstructed using ancient Near Eastern texts and archaeological evidence. In A Concise History of Ancient Israel, Bernd U. Schipper uses this evidence to present a critical revision of the history of Israel and Judah from the late second millennium BCE to the beginning of the Roman period.

Considering archaeological material as well as biblical and extrabiblical texts, Schipper argues that the history of “Israel” in the preexilic period took place mostly in the hinterland of the Levant and should be understood in the context of the Neo-Assyrian expansion. He demonstrates that events in the exilic and postexilic periods also played out differently than the biblical books of Ezra and Nehemiah recount. In contrast to previous scholarship, which focused heavily on Israel’s origins and the monarchic period, Schipper’s history gives equal attention to the Persian and early Hellenistic periods, providing confirmation that a wide variety of forms of YHWH religion existed in the Persian period and persisted into the Hellenistic age.

Now revised and updated with a new preface, this accessibly written and affordably priced edition provides a concise overview of the historical development of ancient Israel for students, scholars, and lay readers alike.

“It is an incredibly useful work that can function as a primer for more in-depth discussions of Israel and Judah’s history.”—David Schreiner, Review of Biblical Literature

Bernd U. Schipper is Professor of Hebrew Bible and Ancient Near Eastern Religion at the Humboldt University of Berlin.