This book demonstrates to students that there is a religious and historical development throughout the Old Testament. Dane Gordon traces the historical development of Israel, giving attention to the societies among which development occurred. The author also places ancient Israel into an historical and cultural context, showing that it was not an isolated phenomenon in a mythical past. Contents: Preface; THE ORIGINS OF ISRAEL; Abraham and the Patriarchal Period; The Land of Caanan; The Influence of Mesopotamia; EGYPT AND THE EXODUS; Israel in Egypt; Stages Toward Freedom; The Composition of the Pentateuch: The Old Testament Canon and Text; CLAIMING THE PROMISED LAND; The Conquest; Judges; The Philistines and the Beginning of the Monarchy; A GREAT NATION; David; Solomon; THE DIVIDED KINGDOM: Religious and Political Struggles; The Division of the Kingdom of Omri; Omri and Ahab: A Religious Crisis; From Ahab to Jeroboam; THE AGE OF JEROBOAM II; The Prophet Amos; The Prophet Hosea; UZZIAH TO THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM; Isaiah of Jerusalem; From Hezekiah to Josiah; The Prophet Jeremiah; EXILE; The Prophet Ezekiel; The Fall of Babylon; Second Isaiah; RETURN; The Return: Haggai and Zechariah; Third Isaiah and Malachi; The Prophets Ezra and Nehemiah; THE END OF THE OLD TESTAMENT PERIOD; The Book of Daniel and the Hellenistic Age; Chronological Charts; Bibliography; Index. - from Amzon