Flavius Josephus' (37 to c. 100 A.D) works are one of the most important extra-biblical chronicles written in the first century. His Jewish Antiquities are particularly valuable for Christians as a fountain of knowledge about the intertestamental period, from the destruction of Solomon's temple by Antiochus Epiphanes in 167 B.C. to the Roman procurator Florus in 64 A.D. But Josephus' writings also take us back in Jewish history to God's creation of the world, providing interesting sidelights to the Hebrew Scripture narratives from oral testimonies and other ancient, non-biblical Jewish writings.

VOLUME 1: The first volume moves from God's creation of the world in 4,004 B.C. to the death of Israel's first king, Saul, in 1,055 B.C. Although Josephus follows the Bible's timeline of the Patriarchs, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, the Judges, and the prophet Samuel, all familiar to the Bible student, he adds interesting extra-biblical stories.

VOLUME 2: This second volume of Josephus' Antiquities takes us from King Saul's death in 1,055 B.C. to the death of Judea's Queen Alexandra in 67 B.C. Josephus' narrative carries us through David's rule, followed by Solomon and the kingdom's split under Jeroboam, the Samaritans, the captivity of the ten tribes, Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel, Cyrus, Alexander the Great, Xerxes, the Maccabeans, and Queen Alexandra.

VOLUME 3: The final volume of Josephus' Antiquities traces the history of the Jews from Queen Alexandra's death in 67 B.C. to the procuratorship of Rome's Florus in 64 A.D. These are years of inter-family squabbles as Aristobulus and Hyrcanus vie for the kingdom before Antipater's son, Herod the Great, kills Malchus, takes over as Tetrarch, and befriends Marc Antony. Herod then builds the second temple and many other works in Judea became king by Caesar's proclamation, destroys his sons, and dies just after Jesus Christ is born. Pontius Pilate becomes procurator, and Herod the Tetrarch rules. Caesar Caius Caligula is assassinated, and through several perils, Agrippa is crowned the Judean king. Caius Caligula is assassinated, Nero becomes Caesar in 54 A.D., and trouble begins to roil Israel as Florus becomes procurator.