Many of our religious beliefs are based upon faith alone, but archaeology gives us the opportunity to find evidence about what really happened in the past-evidence that can have a dramatic impact on what we believe and how we understand the Bible today. Archaeologist and rabbi Richard Freund takes readers through many of his own excavations in the Holy Land, searching for information about key biblical characters and events.

"Freund has put together a masterful and eminently readable study of these differences, not to resolve them, but rather to explore the rich traditions that produced these writings. In an invaluable introductory chapter, he leads the reader through the world of biblical archaeology, examining the methods of textual criticism and historical research. . . . He masterfully studies the rise and centrality of the synagogue system within the Hebrew community. . . . His commitment to objective research and sound exegesis will surely inspire and inform every reader." - Publishers Weekly, (Starred Review)

"Well written and researched. . . . Recommended." - Library Journal, December 2008

"For those who enjoy the study of biblical archaeology but don't claim to be experts, this will be a rewarding read. Freund is an informed and interesting narrator." - The Bible Today, July/August 2009

"In fairly simple terms, [Freund] explains the different sides of each question and presents the available evidence. He describes the methodologies of biblical literary criticism and of biblical archaeology. . . . It is a good introduction to the problems of 'believing' the Bible in a post-modern, scientificized world." - Jewish Book World, November 2009

"Freund offers an erdutite, clearly written study of the biblical Old and New Testaments, as well as inscriptional and literary evidence that relates to them. . . . Recommended." - CHOICE, October 2009

"After providing a 46-page 'crash course' in biblical archaeology, Freund, professor of Jewish history at the University of Hartford and author of Secrets of the Cave of Letters: A Dead Sea Mystery (2004), uses archaeological finding to draw conclusions about key biblical characters and events." - New Testament Abstracts