ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of the book. The book explores the novice to the various genres of literature contained within the Hebrew Bible while at the same time covering its major historic periods. It includes a discussion of literature up to the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in the year 70 of the common era. Among the literature of this latter part of the Hellenistic period are the Dead Sea Scrolls. The book sketches the history of the Jews under Greek and Roman rule. It focuses on the Jewish wars against Rome and the consequences of the losses of those wars. The book focuses on the literature of the rabbinic movement in both the Land of Israel and Babylonia. It considers the broad expanse of medieval Jewish history. The book explores the history of Russian Jewry, which is so important to the broader history of the Jews.
