Books in Brief

Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times

Donald B. Redford (Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Press, 1992) 511 pp., including 46 illustrations and maps, 7 tables, $39.95

This splendid volume surveys the relationships between ancient Egypt and the peoples of Canaan/Israel from long before 3000 B.C. down to the fall of the kingdom of Judah in 586 B.C. Redford, professor of Near Eastern studies at the University of Toronto, presents his theme in four main parts: before the Egyptian New Kingdom (16th century B.C.), the epoch of Egypt’s empire in Canaan, the coming of the Sea Peoples and beginnings of Israel, and the relations between Egypt and the Hebrew monarchies. Unfortunately, a strong first half of the book is followed by a less-than-scholarly second half.