Overview
John Goldingay is one of the most prolific and creative Old Testament scholars working today. In this book he draws on the best of biblical scholarship as well as the Christian tradition to offer a substantive and useful commentary on Joshua. The commentary is both critically engaged and sensitive to the theological contributions of the text.
Goldingay treats Joshua as an ancient Israelite document that speaks to twenty-first-century Christians. He examines the text section by section--offering a fresh translation, textual notes, paragraph-level commentary, and theological reflection--and addresses important issues and problems that flow from the text and its discussion.
This volume, the first in a new series on the Historical Books, complements other Baker Commentary on the Old Testament series: Pentateuch, Wisdom and Psalms, and Prophets. Each series volume is grounded in rigorous scholarship but is useful for those who preach and teach. The series editors are David G. Firth (Trinity College, Bristol) and Lissa M. Wray Beal (Wycliffe College, University of Toronto).
Goldingay treats Joshua as an ancient Israelite document that speaks to twenty-first-century Christians. He examines the text section by section--offering a fresh translation, textual notes, paragraph-level commentary, and theological reflection--and addresses important issues and problems that flow from the text and its discussion.
This volume, the first in a new series on the Historical Books, complements other Baker Commentary on the Old Testament series: Pentateuch, Wisdom and Psalms, and Prophets. Each series volume is grounded in rigorous scholarship but is useful for those who preach and teach. The series editors are David G. Firth (Trinity College, Bristol) and Lissa M. Wray Beal (Wycliffe College, University of Toronto).
Media
Joshua reviewed in RBL
"[This book's] high level of scholarship and deep engagement with the text makes it useful for scholars and trained professional interpreters."
Endorsements
“Join John Goldingay for another winsome engagement with the biblical text, this time Joshua. Consider his creative insights into what is going on in this most difficult of books. Reflect on the questions he asks and his interaction with scholarship. In the end, you cannot help but benefit from this excellent commentary on Joshua.”
Richard S. Hess, Distinguished Professor of Old Testament and Semitic Languages, Denver Seminary
“As we have come to expect, John Goldingay, in his newest commentary, provides a vibrant and down-to-earth engagement with the book of Joshua, challenging interpreters at every turn to reconsider their assumptions and think about the text afresh. Readers can expect to find stimulating literary, theological, and canonical reflections as they engage anew one of the most consequential books of the Hebrew Bible.”
Michelle Knight, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
“John Goldingay has a special gift for theological insight, and this volume showcases that ability, especially as he adeptly addresses some of the thorniest theological issues in the book of Joshua—namely, the conquest of the land, colonialism, and the displacement of native people groups. This wonderful commentary is highly accessible and will be especially useful for clergy and lay readers with its plain-speaking manner of writing and useful contemporary analogies.”
Melissa Ramos, associate professor of Hebrew Bible, Portland Seminary at George Fox University
“John Goldingay is an interpreter of remarkable breadth, insight, and clarity. He is at the very top of his game in this volume. The introduction constitutes, hands down, the best orientation to the scholarship on Joshua to date, not only offering lucid discussions on the full range of issues and approaches associated with the book but also explaining what’s at stake in them. Goldingay’s exposition works through the text with cogency, levelheadedness, and a touch of humor. This volume, in short, constitutes the new beginning point for those drawn to the study of Joshua.”
L. Daniel Hawk, professor of Old Testament and Hebrew, Ashland Theological Seminary
“John Goldingay writes a lot of books, but I never tire of reading them. In this masterful commentary on the book of Joshua, Goldingay offers readers a fresh translation, fascinating textual insights, rich literary wisdom, and surprisingly relevant connections to current popular culture. While Joshua’s ethically troubling narrative has prompted many attempts to make sense of it, Goldingay manages to engage the problems without being consumed by them. And all along the way, he consistently challenges readers to reflect on how God might be speaking through this problematic book to us today.”
David T. Lamb, MacRae Professor of Old Testament, Missio Seminary; author of God Behaving Badly and The Emotions of God
“Another excellent commentary by John Goldingay, now on the book of Joshua. A thorough analysis of Joshua, skillfully unfolding the meaning of the text and uncovering its theological message. Moral concerns of the modern reader of Scripture are addressed, alongside awareness of the setting of the text within the world of ancient Israel. A fresh commentary for both the religious and the academic community.”
Elie Assis, Zalman Shamir Department of Bible, Bar-Ilan University