Alfred Edersheim (1825-1889) was a Jewish convert to Christianity and a Biblical scholar, best known for his 1883 The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah. Edersheim believed that some knowledge of the intellectual and religious perspectives of people during Jesus' lifetime was necessary to fully understand His works. Volume II begins after the baptism of Jesus through his ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection.

One of the best known and most important references on the life of Christ ever written, Alfred Edersheim's "The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah" is a storehouse of information on the background of the New Testament. This classic work successfully portrays the streets, the marketplaces, the religious conflicts, the people, and the places of Jesus' earthly ministry.

Edersheim divides his work into five sections, or books:
- Book 1--"The Preparation for the Gospel"
Introductory historical, religious, political, and cultural material based on the author's extensive knowledge of Jewish lore and customs.
- Book 2--"From Bethlehem to Jordan"
The background of Herod and his reign, St. John the Baptist and his message, and the birth and baptism of Jesus.
- Book 3--"From Jordan to the Mount of Transfiguration"
Thirty-seven chapters explore the miracles and teachings of Jesus' early ministry.
- Book 4--"The Descent into the Valley of Humiliation"
A history of the latter part of Jesus' ministry from the Transfiguration to the journey to Jerusalem.
- Book 5--"The Cross and the Crown"
A chronicle of each day of Passion Week, from Palm Sunday to the Resurrection.
- Appendices
Valuable background material on Jewish history, tradition, and law

El proposito de este libro es de describir el periodo y las circunstancias en que Cristo vivio, para que el lector pueda ver mas claramente lo que sucedia en aquel tiempo, entrar en sus ideas, familiarizarse con sus habitos, modos de pensamiento, su ensenanza y culto. Este libro transporta al lector a los pueblos de Palestina durante la epoca de Cristo, como si viviera entre aquellas familias."

Prophecy and History examines the complex relationship between events prophesied in the Old Testament, and the coming of Jesus Christ as described in the New Testament Gospels. This book is a collection of twelve lectures which the author delivered over the course of several years. Each establishes a scholarly basis for the relationship Christ has with elements of the Old Testament, the Pentateuch, and the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha. The Messianic concept is demonstrated to flow deep within many holy texts, and Jesus is shown to have been anticipated by several prophets who lived centuries before His birth. Authoritative and meticulous in his scholarship, Alfred Edersheim presents his arguments with a multitudinous annotations and frequent references to Biblical Scripture as well as the Talmud. Although his vocabulary tends toward the scholarly, Edersheim weaves a compelling narrative which is both challenging and rewarding for readers.