A Brief History of Ancient Israel

This is a short, concise and readable introduction to the history of Jews, from Genesis to Alexander. I want to emphasize that the organization directly considers Israelite history in relation to the content of the Bible. However, Matthews also makes extensive use of recent archaeology data and scholarly papers. This is meant to be an 'up-to-date' history, and in this aspect it succeeds. Reading is aided by several tables to simplify information. I dare say this is the perfect textbook for an impatient student.