A History of the Jewish People

by H. H. Ben-Sasson

Overview

A History of the Jewish People presents a total vision of Jewish experiences and achievements—religious, political, social, and economic—in both the land of Israel and the diaspora throughout the ages. It has been acclaimed as the most comprehensive and penetrating work yet to have appeared in its field.

Six distinguished scholars at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, have set forth here for the first time the authentic story of the Jewish past that is relevant to the Jewish present. Special attention is paid to the significant historical sources that have come to light in the past decades, to the findings of archaeological research, and to source materials in Jewish studies such as Talmudic literature—sources that have too often been ignored by historians. Yet, while bringing immense scholarship to the task of writing this book, the authors do not lose sight of the essential drama of Jewish history. Their style is forceful and lucid, their narrative both lively and complete.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780674397316
Publisher:	Harvard University Press
Publication date:	10/15/1985
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	1232
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.00(h) x 2.20(d)

Table of Contents

PART I

Origins and the Formative Period

A. Malamat

1. Introduction

Editorial Reviews

Represents one of the finest compendia on the topic published to date.

Jewish Week

This ambitious history by six Hebrew University scholars seeks to encompass the full range of the Jewish experience in nationhood and exile. It is an impressive work…considering the necessary compression—5,000 years and a scattering of settings virtually worldwide covered in just over 1,100 pages—the work is an achievement of consequence.

Los Angeles Times - Robert Kirsch

Offering a full panorama of Jewish existence from the dim origins of the 2nd millennium B.C.E. to the hard politics of modern Israel, this work breaks new ground for a one-volume history, both in its range and in its authority… The book as a whole is a monument to scholarship and feeling, immersing the reader on every page in the rich texture of the Jewish heritage.

Commentary - Chaim Raphael

This work is marked throughout by sound judgment, judicious scholarship, disdain for irrelevant trivia, and avoidance of ideology… A remarkable achievement—all in one volume.

Worldview

Here is a work that triumphantly makes available the fruits of a wealth of learning and scholarship that will surely establish new standards for the presentation of research.

Times Literary Supplement

This huge collection of essays by ‘leading scholars at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem’ brings to ultimate expression the ‘peoplehood-and-history’ theory of Jewish historiography.

Jacob Neusern Historical Review

This huge collection of essays by ‘leading scholars at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem’ brings to ultimate expression the ‘peoplehood-and-history’ theory of Jewish historiography.

American Historical Review - Jacob Neuser

This huge collection of essays by "leading scholars at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem" brings to ultimate expression the "peoplehood-and-history" theory of Jewish historiography.
— Jacob Neuser

American Historical Review

Offering a full panorama of Jewish existence from the dim origins of the 2nd millennium B.C.E. to the hard politics of modern Israel, this work breaks new ground for a one-volume history, both in its range and in its authority...The book as a whole is a monument to scholarship and feeling, immersing the reader on every page in the rich texture of the Jewish heritage.
— Chaim Raphael

Commentary

This ambitious history by six Hebrew University scholars seeks to encompass the full range of the Jewish experience in nationhood and exile. It is an impressive work...considering the necessary compression—5,000 years and a scattering of settings virtually worldwide covered in just over 1,100 pages—the work is an achievement of consequence.
— Robert Kirsch

Los Angeles Times