2 stars for the first half, 4 stars for the second half. After reading "Mesopotamia" by Bottéro, I had hoped for a similarly great book detailing the evolution of the ideas inside the Old Testament. In the first half Bottéro accepts the bible as fact, forgetting that there is no real evidence for many things, including the existence of Moses. Some progression of ideas is shown, but it lacks serious depth in discussing the influences of other communities on Hebrew thought, and treats them as quasi-isolated entities. No mention of Zoroastrian influences on redemption is discussed. The second half is much better and consists of 4 essays on 4 topics which are of similar quality to those in "Mesopotamia", and discuss the problems of original sin, death and creation and the evolution-adaptation of ideas inside the books of Job and Ecclesiastes.