Summary
This Joshua commentary is a serious academic treatment in the Old Testament Library series, engaging both the narrative itself and the wider scholarly questions that surround it. Joshua is a book that raises pastoral and ethical questions, as well as historical and literary ones, and this volume aims to address the text with analytical care.
The commentary is best suited to readers who want a detailed discussion of structure, themes, and interpretive options. It does not aim to supply sermon application, but it can assist advanced readers as they seek to handle Joshua responsibly, especially in passages that involve conquest, judgement, and the faithfulness of the Lord to covenant promises.
Strengths
The work helps readers pay attention to narrative flow and to the way the book is arranged. Joshua can feel like a set of episodes and lists, yet the commentary often highlights links, patterns, and emphases that bring coherence. That can help teachers present Joshua as a purposeful book rather than a collection of disconnected stories.
It also engages difficult questions rather than avoiding them. Issues of violence, land, and divine judgement are not brushed aside, and the commentary can help the preacher understand how academic discussions frame these matters. Even when you do not follow the conclusions, it can prepare you to speak with honesty and gravity.
There is also value in scholarly interaction. For advanced students, the commentary can serve as a guide to debates and to the kinds of evidence different positions appeal to.
Limitations
The interpretive framework reflects a critical academic setting and may not share confessional assumptions about the nature and unity of Scripture. At times, attention to sources and development can distract from the canonical message of the book. A pastor should keep the text itself central and treat reconstructions as hypotheses.
Christ centred connections are not a consistent aim. Joshua is not read primarily as part of a redemptive historical trajectory that leads to Christ and the church. Preachers will need to do that work through careful canonical reading, ensuring that land, rest, and covenant fulfilment are understood in the light of the whole Bible.
Finally, the commentary is written for advanced readers. It can be time consuming and may not be the first stop for weekly sermon preparation.
How We Would Use It
We would use this volume when preparing a series in Joshua, or when dealing with specific passages that raise ethical or theological questions. It can help with structure, historical context, and awareness of scholarly discussion that may surface in conversations.
For preaching, pair it with more confessionally aligned resources and with careful biblical theology. Use the commentary to sharpen observation and to anticipate objections, then preach Joshua as Scripture that displays the faithfulness and holiness of the Lord, exposes the seriousness of sin, and points beyond the land to the greater rest that comes only through Christ.
Closing Recommendation
A detailed academic Joshua commentary that can aid advanced study and honest engagement with hard texts, but it should be used with caution and complemented by more explicitly gospel shaped guides.
Richard D. Nelson
Richard D. Nelson is an American Old Testament scholar of the contemporary era, working within mainstream academic scholarship.
His work on Joshua brings careful attention to narrative development, themes of land and covenant, and the complex questions that arise from conquest texts. We can benefit from his clarity and literary sensitivity, while also reading with confessional commitments that keep God’s redemptive purposes and covenant faithfulness central.
He remains valued for steady exposition and careful engagement with difficult passages that preachers cannot avoid.
Recommended titles include Joshua in Word Biblical Commentary, commentaries on Deuteronomy and Joshua, and studies in Deuteronomistic history.
Theological Perspective: Broadly Evangelical