Unsurpassed for nearly half a century, and now with a new introduction and appendix by William P. Brown, John Bright's A History of Israel will continue to be a standard for a new generation of students of the Old Testament. This book remains a classic in the literature of theological... Foreword to the Third Edition xv Foreword to the First Edition xvii Abbreviations xx Introduction 1(22) Prologue: The Ancient Orient Before ca. 2000 B.C. 23(1) Before History: The Foundations of Civilization in the Ancient Orient 24(9) The Earliest Stone Age Settlements 24(3) Cultural Developments in Mesopotamia 27(4) Egypt and Palestine in the Fourth Millennium 31(2) The Ancient Orient in The Third Millennium B.C. 33(12) Mesopotamia in the Earliest Historical Period 33(5) Egypt and Western Asia in the Third Millennium 38(3) The Ancient Orient on the Eve of the Patriarchal Age 41(4) Part One ANTECEDENTS AND BEGINNINGS: The Age of the Patriarchs 45(60) The World of Israel's Origins 47(20) The Ancient Orient CA. 2000-1750 B.C. 48(8) Mesopotamia CA. 2000-1750 48(3) Egypt and Palestine CA. 2000-1750 51(5) The Ancient Orient CA. 1750-1550 B.C. 56(11) The Power Struggle of the Eighteenth Century in Mesopotamia 56(3) A Period of Confusion in the Ancient Orient 59(8) The Patriarchs 67(38) The Patriarchal Narratives: The Problem and Method of Procedure 67(10) The Nature of the Material 67(7) The Evaluation of the Traditions as Sources of History 74(3) The Historical Setting of The Patriarchal Narratives 77(10) The Patriarchs in the Context of the Early Second Millennium 77(6) The Date of the Patriarchs 83(4) The Hebrew Ancestors and History 87(18) The Migration of the Patriarchs 87(5) The Patriarchs as Figures of History 92(4) The Religion of the Patriarchs 96(9) Part Two THE FORMATIVE PERIOD 105(78) Exodus and Conquest: The Formation Of The People Israel 107(37) Western Asia In The Late Bronze Age: The Egyptian Empire 108(12) The Eighteenth Dynasty and the Rise of the Empire 108(2) The Amarna Period and the End of the Eighteenth Dynasty 110(2) Western Asia in the Thirteenth Century: The Ninteenth Dynasty 112(3) Canaan in the Thirteenth Century B.C. 115(5) The Biblical Traditions In The Light of The Evidence 120(13) Egyptian Bondage and Exodus in the Light of the Evidence 120(4) The Wilderness Wandering in the Light of the Evidence 124(5) The Conquest of Palestine in the Light of the Evidence 129(4) The Formation of The People Israel 133(11) The Complexity of Israel's Origins 133(4) The Israelite Occupation of Canaan: Summary and Reconstruction 137(7) The Constitution and Faith of Early Israel: The Tribal League 144(39) The Problem And Method Of Procedure 144(4) How Should the Religion of Early Israel be Described? 145(1) Primary Sources of Knowledge 146(2) The Faith of Early Israel 148(14) Israel the People of Yahweh: The Covenant Society 148(9) The God of the Covenant 157(5) The Constitution of Early Israel: The Tribal League and Its Institutions 162(11) The Israelite Tribal League 162(6) The Institutions of the Tribal League 168(5) The History of the Tribal League: The Period of the Judges 173(10) The World Situation ca. 1200-1050 B.C. 173(3) Israel in Canaan: The First Two Centuries 176(7) Part Three ISRAEL UNDER THE MONARCHY: The Period of National Self-determination 183(84) From Tribal Confederacy to Dynastic State: The Rise And Development Of The Monarchy 184(45) First Steps Towards Monarchy: Saul 184(11) The Philistine Crisis and the Failure of the Tribal Organization 185(2) The First King: Saul 187(4) The Failure of Saul and the Rise of David 191(4) The United Monarchy of Israel: King David (ca. 1000-961) 195(16) David's Rise to Power 195(3) The Securing and Consolidating of the State 198(4) The Building of the Empire 202(2) The Davidic State 204(3) The Latter Years of David 207(4) The United Monarchy Of Israel: Solomon (ca. 961-922) 211(18) Solomon as Statesman: The National Policy 211(4) Solomon's Commercial Activity 215(2) Israel's Golden Age 217(3) The Burden of the Monarchy 220(4) The Theological Problem of the Monarchy 224(5) The Independent Kingdoms of Israel and Judah: From The Death Of Solomon To The Mid-Eighth Century 229(38) The Divided Monarchy: The First Fifty Years (922-876) 230(10) The Schism and Its Consequences 230(2) The Rival States: Sectional Warfare 232(4) The Rival States: Internal Affairs 236(4) Israel And Judah From The Accession Of Omri To The Purge Of Jehu (876-843/2) 240(13) The House of Omri: Israel's Recovery 240(3) The House of Omri: The Internal Situation 243(4) The Fall of the House of Omri 247(4) Internal Affairs in Judah ca. 873-837 251(2) Israel And Judah From The Mid-Ninth To The Mid-Eighth Century 253(14) A Half Century of Weakness 253(2) The Resurgence of Israel and Judah in the Eighth Century 255(4) The Internal Sickness of Israel: The First of the Classical Prophets 259(8) Part Four THE MONARCHY (Continued): Crisis and Downfall 267(74) The Period of Assyrian Conquest: From The Mid-Eighth Century To The Death Of Hezekiah 269(41) The Assyrian Advance: The Fall of Israel and the Subjugation of Judah 269(9) The Beginning of Israel's Downfall 269(4) The Last Days of the Kingdom of Israel 273(3) Judah a Satellite of Assyria: Ahaz (735-715) 276(2) The Struggle For Independence: Hezekiah (715-687/6) 278(10) Hezekiah's Policy and its Significance 278(6) Hezekiah and Sennacherib 284(4) Prophets Of The Late Eighth Century In Judah 288(22) The National Emergency and the Prophetic Message 288(6) The Effects of the Prophetic Preaching 294(4) Excursus 1. The Problem of Sennacherib's Campaigns in Palestine 298(12) The Kingdom of Judah: The Last Century 310(31) The End of Assyrian Domination: Judah Regains Independence 310(14) Judah in the Mid-Seventh Century 310(3) The Last Days of the Assyrian Empire 313(3) The Reign of Josiah (640-609) 316(8) The Neo-Babylonian Empire And The Last Days Of Judah 324(7) From the Death of Josiah to the First Deportation (609-597) 324(3) The End of the Kingdom of Judah 327(4) Prophets of The Last Days of Judah 331(10) The Developing Theological Emergency 331(2) The Prophets and the Survival of Israel's Faith 333(8) Part Five TRAGEDY AND BEYOND: The Exilic and Postexilic Periods 341(62) Exile and Restoration 343(30) The Period of Exile (587-539) 343(17) The Plight of the Jews After 587 343(4) The Exile and Israel's Faith 347(4) The Last Days of the Babylonian Empire 351(3) On the Eve of Release: Prophetic Reinterpretation of Israel's Faith 354(6) The Restoration of the Jewish Community in Palestine 360(13) The Beginning of the New Day 360(4) The Early Years of the Restoration community 364(4) The Completion of the Temple 368(5) The Jewish Community of the Fifth Century: The Reforms of Nehemiah And Ezra 373(30) From the Completion of the Temple To the Mid-Fifth Century 373(6) The Persian Empire to ca. 450 373(2) The Fortunes of the Jews ca. 515-450 375(4) The Reorganization of the Jewish Community Under Nehemiah and Ezra 379(24) Nehemiah and His Work 379(6) Ezra ``the Scribe'' 385(6) Excursus II. The Date of Ezra's Mission to Jerusalem 391(12) Part Six THE FORMATIVE PERIOD OF JUDAISM 403(55) The End of the Old Testament Period: From Ezra's Reform To The Outbreak Of The Maccabean Revolt 405(23) The Jews Through The Fourth And Third Centuries 405(12) The Last Century of Perisian Rule 405(7) The Beginning of the Hellenistic Period 412(5) The Jews Under The Seleucids: Religious Crisis and Rebellion 417(11) The Persecutions of Antiochus Epiphanes 417(5) The Outbreak of the Maccabean Rebellion 422(6) Judaism at the End of the Old Testament Period 428(30) The Nature And Development of Early Judaism 428(14) The Jewish Community in the Postexilic Period: A Resume 428(5) The Religion of the Law 433(9) Features in the Theology of Early Judaism 442(16) The Jewish Community and the World 442(4) Theological Reflection in Early Judaism 446(6) The Future Hope of Early Judaism 452(6) Epilogue: Toward The Fullness of Time 458(7) Appendix: An Update in the Search of Israel's History 465(22) Chronological Charts 487(10) Indexes to Text 497(28) Historical Maps 525