Groundbreaking research that utilizes archaeological discoveries and ancient texts to revolutionize our understanding of the beginnings of Judaism. Throughout much of history, the Jewish way of life has been characterized by strict adherence to the...

Ian Buruma explores the life and death of Baruch Spinoza, the Enlightenment thinker whose belief in freedom of thought and speech resonates in our own time. Baruch (Benedictus) Spinoza (1632-1677) was a radical free thinker who led a life guided by...

The second installment of Thomas B. Dozeman's authoritative commentary on the book of Joshua. Following the Pentateuch in the traditional canon, the book of Joshua chronicles the conquest of the Canaanite nations, the distribution of the newly acqu...

A new translation and commentary on the biblical book of Ezra by the renowned author of two award-winning biblical commentaries. The book of Ezra is a remarkable testament to a nation's ability to survive and develop a distinctive identity under im...

A fresh look at how Christianity and Judaism became two distinct religions through the parting of their intellectual traditions. How, when, and why did Christianity and Judaism become separate religions? This book reinterprets the parting of the wa...

A new translation and commentary on the biblical book of Micah that proposes a convincing new theory of its composition history. While the biblical book of Micah is most famous for its images of peace – swords forged into to plowshares, spears turn...

A history of modern Jewish literature that explores our enduring attachment to the book as an object. With the rise of digital media, the "death of the book" has been widely discussed. But the physical object of the book persists. Here, through the...

A new translation and commentary on I Maccabees that offers a fresh interpretation of the author's values and purpose. First Maccabees, composed in the second century BCE, chronicles four decades of clashes between Hellenistic Syria and Judea, from...

This indispensable monograph synthesizes current debates and offers a new historical and literary analysis of the book of Deuteronomy. The book of Deuteronomy introduces and develops many of the essential ideas, events, and texts of both Judaism an...

In this long-awaited follow-up to his 2003 book on Genesis, humanist scholar Leon Kass explores how Exodus raises and then answers the central political questions of what defines a nation and how a nation should govern itself. Considered by some the...