This book provides the history of Judaism, one of the oldest religions in the world, which has preserved its distinctive identity despite the very diverse forms and beliefs it has embodied over the course of more than three millennia. The book describes how this religion came to be, how it has evolved from one age to the next, and how its various strains, sects, and traditions have related to each other. It takes readers from Judaism's origins in the polytheistic world of the second and first millennia BCE to the temple cult at the time of Jesus. It tells the stories of the rabbis, mystics, and messiahs of the medieval and early modern periods, guides us through the many varieties of Judaism today, and spans the globe, from the Middle East, Europe, and America to North Africa, China, and India. It explains the institutions and ideas on which all forms of Judaism are based, and weaves together different threads of doctrinal and philosophical debate that run throughout its history.