The present volume, forming Vol. V of the Clarendon Bible (Old Testament), embraces a period in the history of Israel of many-sided importance. It coincides to a large extent, with the Hellenistic age, which was so fruitful and significant for the world at large, and not least for the little province of Judaean Palestine. The contact of Jew and Greek, indeed, marked one of the turning-points in the history of the world. It profoundly modified, without destroying, the essential character of Judaism itself, liberating religious energies which overflowed with momentous consequences into the world outside. [From the Author's Preface]