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The Gifts of the Jews:
How a Tribe of Desert Nomads Changed the Way Everyone Thinks and Feels
Buy: The Gifts of the Jews: How a Tribe of Desert Nomads Changed the Way Everyone Thinks and Feels (Hinges of History, Vol. 2)
by Thomas Cahill
Hardcover: 304 pages;
Publisher: Doubleday; edition (March 16, 1998)
ISBN: 0385482485
 This is a non-scholarly sketch of the history of the Jewish people, set in its ancient near eastern background. You won't find a great deal of new and creative material in here if you're already acquainted with the history. On the other hand, if you're only acquainted with the "Sunday School" versions of the story, or if you have little Biblical background, this is an engaging way to gain an understanding of Biblical history.
Positive aspects of this book include an engaging style, well-chosen quotations from the ancient literature, clear tracing of the interactions of Biblical material with the surrounding world, a great sensitivity to the character development in Biblical stories, and a balanced approach to the use of the Bible as a historical source.
The author threads his way quite successfully between those who would claim absolute historicity for all of the Biblical material, and those who tend to minimize, or to assume that anything not demonstrably historical, must not be. In addition, he takes a positive view of the theological intentions of various stories and pronouncements. A good example of this is his treatment of the hardening of Pharaoh's heart (112-118). Some may even find his handling a bit optimistic!
One other excellent feature of this book is the "Notes and Sources" section (253-265). Many books for non-scholarly audiences either skip the bibliography entirely, or use a simple list. Neither of these is very helpful to the serious reader who wants to read more, but is not acquainted with various scholarly authors, editors and publishers. "Notes and Sources" lists useful works by chapter, and includes helpful comments on each source to help the reader choose where to look.
Though not a detailed history, as an overview, I recommend this book to any layperson who wishes to better understand the flow of history in the Hebrew scriptures.
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