Combining recent archeological findings with what scholars have learned about the motives of the authors of the Bible, this book reconstructs the history behind the Bible, from the patriarchs to the Babylonian exile. What it finds will surprise you. The stories of the patriarchs are based on one core legend of four different tribes about their patriarch, and this core legend shows, along with other evidence, that Ephraim and Manasseh are the tribes that went to Egypt. Moses was probably a follower of the monotheism of the Pharaoh Akhenaten, who had to flee from Egypt when the followers of Akhenaten were persecuted and who developed a deeper form of monotheism. The Bible distorts the history of Israel to show that leaders who are dedicated to God will have military success. For example, Joshua did not conquer Canaan; the Israelites settled unoccupied land there. The kingdoms of David and Solomon were much smaller than the Bible says. One of the texts of the Bible was written in the royal court of Judah and combined Israelite and pagan religion. This syncretistic text helped to shape the text of the Bible. The authors of the history texts wanted desperately to save Judah from being exiled, as the northern kingdom of Israel had already been exiled, and so they carried out a harsh and cruel religious reform. Their cruelty helped to shape the text of the Bible. But despite all the later distortions, we can still see that the religion of Moses—passed down by the Levites who believed they were descended from Moses and by the prophets—was a form of ethical monotheism that has inspired world religion for thousands of years. "Writing with crisp precision and a welcome lack of dogmatism, Siegel both illuminates and challenges contemporary scholarship about biblical history, the development of monotheism, the deep histories of the twelve tribes of Israel, the life of Moses, and more." -BookLife