Great Reading on Jewish Life in Bible Times

Alfred Edersheim wrote some of the best, most readable works on Jewish life in Bible times. They're available in the public domain (free) through Christian Classics Ethereal Library.

You can pick up a public domain copy of Edersheim's "Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah" here:
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/edersheim/lifetimes.html

Other books I recommend from Edersheim:
Sketches of Jewish Life
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/edersheim/sketches.html
The Temple Ministry
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/edersheim/temple.html