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Vol I From the Beginning to the Exile and Vol II From the Exile to AD 135

By far the most readable history of the Old Testament ever written Abbott Giuseppe Ricciotti renders it comprehensible.

Volume One starts with the dawn of history, discusses the great empires which were to figure so largely in Israel’s destiny, and carries the history of the Chosen People from Abraham down to the Babylonian exile. Volume Two continues with the Exile and repatriation, and concludes with the final insurrection of Bar- Cochba in A.D. 135.

Most modern Biblical histories have a not-so-hidden agenda: to show how "real" history contradicts the Scriptural version of events. The trend actually dates back more than a century, which is why this two-volume work by the famous historian Giuseppe Ricciotti—an expert in Near Eastern languages, the Holy Land and archaeology—was so warmly embraced when it first appeared in 1940. It quickly went through many editions and was widely translated, achieving particular fame in America, where reviews like these were typical:
"Father Ricciotti is at home in Biblical scholarship, but he has written this work with the easy grace of a popularizer. It is not a Biblical encyclopedia. It is an elucidation in plain words of the history of the Chosen People from the beginning to the Exile, and from the Exile to the fall of Jerusalem in 135 A.D. It is an appropriate gift for a priest, but any educated layman will find his reading of the Bible a richer experience after paging through the background material in Ricciotti....The wealth of Biblical knowledge accumulated by European scholarship is here presented to a wider audience in handsome volumes, beautifully illustrated, and written in a clear and graceful style." —Catholic World (1955)

"This history of Israel is the best to appear in English up to the present, and will probably remain the standard work for a long time to come. It incorporates the latest findings of science and history in so far as that is possible, and yet...reads very well. We warmly recommend this set to all librarians at the high school level and over, to priests and religious, and to the educated laity."—Books on Trial (1955)

From the Preface by Fr. Richard Murphy, OP: "The importance and the timeliness of this History of Israel therefore, is easy to grasp. It was written by a Catholic priest well trained in oriental languages, familiar with the Holy Land, thoroughly acquainted with non-Catholic literature, and able to appreciate the complexities of the problems raised by the Bible and the new discoveries of historians and archaeologists. His work is somewhat unique in this latter respect, in that it so faithfully evaluates and assimilates what is good in the findings of modern archaeology. “Add to these qualifications the facts that the author writes easily and interestingly, tells the story simply, and keeps it moving. Disputed points are presented as disputed points and are discussed calmly and reasonably. A sense of proportion is one of the chief features of the book; the author avoids pet subjects and beloved theories, whether his own or another's, and provides the reader with the facts necessary for the formation of a personal judgment in disputed cases."

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