A very active member of the Ecole Biblique et ArchEologique Francaise de JErusalem that has done so much to introduce historical criticism into the believer's reading of the Scriptures, Etienne Nodet proposes here a beautiful history book. Certainly, in putting forward to the general public an accessible synthesis of scholarly and dense works carried out successfully in these recent years, he spares the reader the ponderousness of a critical apparatus and consigns to Appendix I the citation of his principal ancient sources. He invites the reader to a fascinating...