The half millennium between Ezra and the birth of Jesus is often overlooked, but it shaped our ideas about God, life after death and the end of the world. Daniel Kohanski clarifies these developments in Judaism and their impact on Christianity, taking us on an overview of this culturally chaotic era—from Alexander the Great to the Maccabees and the Romans, from Plato to the Dead Sea Scrolls. In particular, we'll look at the Book of Daniel, one of the most influential texts of that time.