Are there any good and reliable books covering the history of Judea during classical antiquity? specifically, from around the days of the biblical kings to the end of the second Jewish war.
I'm looking for something like Mommsen's "History of Rome" in scope and style, but given that Google didn't bring anything in my searches I understand that I can't be too picky and might have to mix many different books to cover such a long and eventful time period.
Thanks!
EDIT:
Might worth mentioning that I can read Hebrew, so books in Hebrew work too
As far as I know, there isn't a solitary book that focuses exclusively on ancient Judea. There are some that focus on the history of the Levant, but that's much broader in scope from what you are asking.
I also just answered a similar question on a different thread a little bit ago on a similar topic, ironically. If it's cool, I'll just copy and paste part of my answer from there.
The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts By: Neil Asher Silberman. This one is a little dry, but offers tons of info for anyone looking to find out more info on the history of Ancient Egypt.
Maybe start with some primary sources?
The Wars of the Jews is biased, a little tedious, but Josephus is also kind of catty and charming. His personal story is also interesting.