In the year 586 B.C., the kingdom of Judah, which at that time represented what was left of the people of Israel in Canaan, experienced a devastating ordeal.

The Temple lay in ruins, its rituals ceased, the best part of the nation was taken captive to Babylon, and 'Of the poorest of the land the chief bodyguard left, for vine-dressers and farmers' (2 Kings 25:12) (...)

The crisis, from a national perspective, was becoming more acute since a century and a half earlier, in 722, the Northern Kingdom, which included the ten tribes, was conquered by the army of Assyria and the inhabitants were led into exile, where, for the most part, they were assimilated.

If the destruction in Judah were to have a similar outcome, the entire nation would be annihilated and the name of Israel would vanish.

(...) [Excerpt from the introduction text of the edition]