The Apollos Old Testament Commentary series continues to develop into an important, major commentary series. This entry is a 450 page contribution on the sometimes controversial book of Joshua is another worthwhile contribution. Though it might not be as in-depth as the new 2-volume set in WBC, I imagine pastors will find it more useful. Don’t misunderstand, though, as it will still be in scholarly discussions.

The first 100 pages are an Introduction. I must confess that he has uniquely organized introductory matters. He is kind almost to a fault with liberal authors, but he well shows the plausibility of conservative conclusions on issues like the text and dating. I do not think this Introduction is as good as, say, Firth on Samuel or Petterson on the last three Minor Prophets in the same series, but it is still a valuable contribution.

I loved his explanation that the NT also discusses that unbelievers are punished, and so Joshua is not out of sympathy with the rest of the Bible. After sharing that fine observation, though, he runs amok in the next 15 or so pages. He gets completely sidetracked on current political issues. I will not as a reviewer penalize him for having a different political persuasion than me, but I do highly question why he would bring it in at all.

After that diversion, he settles back in to delivering a fine commentary in the Apollos style. I recommend it as a real help in the study of Joshua.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.