Joshua: An Introduction and Commentary (Volume 6)

Tyndale Old Testament Commentary #6

by Richard S. Hess

The book of Joshua memorializes a transitional episode in Israel's national history. The heroic figure Joshua, imbued with strength, courage and faith, leads the new generation of Israel across the Jordan and into the land of promise, conquering Canaanites and overseeing the allotment of the inheritance among the tribes. But the book of Joshua is foremost a story of God, who works powerfully on behalf of Israel and Joshua, fulfilling his covenant promises. It is God who leads Israel across the Jordan, God who defeats Israel's enemies and God who presides over the apportionment of the land. And so in the final chapter it is God who receives Israel's worshipful recommitment at Shechem. In this Tyndale Old Testament Commentary, Richard S. Hess explores these historical, theological and literary dimensions of the book of Joshua. An exceptional feature of his commentary is his careful consideration of the allocation of the Promised Land and the boundary lists the book of Joshua so prominently displays. And in a day when grave doubts have been raised over the historicity of the "conquest" story, Hess presents historical and archaeological evidence for placing the events of Joshua in the late second millennium B.C. The original, unrevised text of this volume has been completely retypeset and printed in a larger, more attractive format with the new cover design for the series.

Genres: Reference, Old Testament, Theology, Nonfiction, Biblical Studies, Faith, Christian

352 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1996

About the author

Richard S. Hess (PhD, Hebrew Union College) is Earl S. Kalland Professor of Old Testament and Semitic Languages at Denver Seminary in Littleton, Colorado, and editor of the Denver Journal. He is the author or editor of more than twenty-five books, including Israelite Religions, Song of Songs in the Baker Commentary on the Old Testament Wisdom and Psalms, and the commentary on Joshua in the Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries series.

Reviews

[Ryan Rench · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good, but I was not a fan. I read the entire book, a little bit each week in preparation for sermons, but the other commentaries far outshined this one. It said the same things... just not nearly as thoroughly or as well. It was brief but not original, and did not necessarily pack a lot into the shortened format.

I always started with NICOT and then moved to NAC. Either of these could have come first for all the pertinent exegetical/historical/grammatical/archaeological/theological info one might want, and I liked each of them equally. My favorite, though, was Dale Davis' FOCUS ON THE BIBLE. If you want one book on Joshua, go there.

[Joe Stevens · Rating 4 out of 5]

I suspect the book of Joshua is a difficult one to get right for the editor of an introductory level commentary series. Much of the first half has interesting events and Bible stories even a child can understand. The second half is often a jumble of completely unfamiliar and uninteresting names of cities, boundaries and deceased kings. It would require a writer with a high degree of technical expertise to make sense of this second half, but this might put the commentary beyond the reach of the layman.

This commentary went the second route and while it tries to cater to the lesser student, it is ultimately more of a well executed mid level treatise on archeology and the Hebrew text than a spiritual work. If this were a commentary on the Doomsday book it would have a similar feel. There are extensive notes and many charts that show both the immense level of work that went into the volume and the level of understanding and interest in Jewish geography, both present and 3,300 years past, that is required to understand it. For the pastor and seminarian, this should be a great commentary and is in fact graded very highly on the commentary review sites for this reason.

Even for the layman, this is worth working your way through especially if you already own the whole commentary series. The book isn't afraid to address questions of dating and the like though it does shy away from questions of morality that can trouble us in the wholesale slaughter of men, women and children in many cities. As you would expect the first half of the verse by verse commentary on events like the Jericho and Rahab or the sin at Ai is the best part of the book. Since this is likely to be what you are teaching a Sunday School class on, this commentary has value for the teacher.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

A welcome resource that helps the reader understand and apply the message of Joshua. The author repeatedly includes brief notes relating the passages in Joshua to the life of Christians (e.g., "For the Christian, this passage..."). Because many OT commentaries omit these references altogether, this makes this particular commentary unique - and attractive! These notes are often insightful, relevant, and challenging, but at times the contemporary application does, sadly, seem stretched. Because the author doesn't articulate the reasons for his applications (he just tends to state them), the reader is sometimes left wondering how he got from point A to point B. Overall, this is a great resource for Christians looking to dive deeper into the message of Joshua with an eye to how it relates to their everyday lives and to the message of the NT. Joshua tackles some subjects, such as land allotments and brutal warfare, but the author addresses these well.

[Jon Pentecost · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was helpful, but more often as a highflying overview. Helpful as summarizing the headlines, rather than working through the knots of a particular textual question.

Used in preparing to preach Joshua in 2020.

[Stephen Watkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Useful quite detailled commentary, which perhaps gets too caught up in the archaeology for the intended preacher/Bible study leader audience of the Tyndale commentaries. Useful short thoughts on links to the NT and thus for application to the Christian.

[Eric Gagnon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great commentary, giving historical, geographical commentary as well as practical application.

[Erik Koster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, concise commentary on Joshua. I like that it didn't try to say things just to make them fit. Commented on the text.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

In fact, I read the book of Joshua in the Old Testament, King James version. This is a commentary which I would like to read and stumbled upon in my Goodreads search. Anything that reflects the great man William Tyndale is worth pursuing. The approach to the scriptures by these commentaries seems very like how my husband studies the scriptures - the historical, language, and the main themes vs. individual verses out of context. As for the book of Joshua, he was a courageous soldier and man of God. With exactness and faith, he served the Lord - as he said, "Choose ye this day, whom ye will serve, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." It was actually worded a bit differently than you traditionally hear it quoted -but the statement is exactly who Joshua was.

[Joshua Reitano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best of the concise commentaries on Joshua.