Best Joshua Commentaries for Bible Study, Preaching, and Teaching

The best Joshua commentaries are listed below. There are exegetical commentaries, scholarly and technical commentaries, as well as commentaries that are easy to understand. The “Top 10” list is based on aggregate reviews.

This list of commentaries is intended to help the reader understand and apply the author’s message in the book of Joshua. They are not suggested as a replacement for prayer, the Holy Spirit, and the reader’s own diligent study of Scripture.

It is hoped that these books will aid the Christian pastor, preacher, teacher, student, as well as any Bible reader that wants to understand more about Joshua.

May each reader’s aim be to glorify God in Jesus Christ; to strengthen Christ’s bride, the Church; and to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to the lost.

After browsing the commentaries below, please see Best Bible Commentaries: Top 50. Based on aggregate reviews.

10 Best Joshua Commentaries

Please read: The “Top 10” list below is a starting point for learning about Joshua commentaries. It is not intended to be the “final word” because of its limitations.

Nevertheless, a list based on aggregate reviews is likely to point many people in the right direction to find the right resource for their purposes.

#1

The Book of Joshua
New International Commentary on the Old Testament
by Marten H. Woudstra

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Joshua commentary Woudstra

Reviews and Accolades:

• Desiring God: #1 recommended commentary on Joshua

• Tremper Longman: “very good exegetical analysis…excellent biblical-theological sense”

• John H. Walton and Andrew E. Hill: “A good commentary from an evangelical perspective emphasizing the book’s theology.”

• Keith Mathison: #3 ranked commentary on Joshua, “The body of the text is readable and insightful. Very helpful overall.”

Approach to Scripture: Evangelical

Best for: expository preachers, Bible college and seminary students, church elders and teachers, experienced Bible readers

Purpose: From the publisher: “All of the NICOT volumes combine superior scholarship, an evangelical view of Scripture as the Word of God, and concern for the life of faith today.

Each volume features an extensive introduction treating the biblical book’s authorship, date, purpose, structure, and theology.

The author’s own translation of the original Hebrew and verse-by-verse commentary follow.

The commentary itself carefully balances coverage of technical matters with exposition of the biblical text’s theology and implications.” 

See more about the New International Commentary on the Old Testament series.

Also see the best one-volume bible commentaries, based on aggregate reviews.

#2

Joshua
Word Biblical Commentary
by Trent C. Butler

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Joshua commentary Butler

Reviews and Accolades:

• Tremper Longman: 4 out of 5 stars, “well-researched and thought-out commentary”

• Keith Mathison: #5 ranked commentary on Joshua, “For those doing in-depth exegesis, however, it provides helpful information.”

Approach to Scripture: Evangelical

Best for: expository preachers, Bible college and seminary students, church elders and teachers, experienced Bible readers

Purpose: From the publisher: “WBC series delivers the best in biblical scholarship, from the leading scholars who share a commitment to Scripture as divine revelation.

It emphasizes a thorough analysis of textual, linguistic, structural, and theological evidence.

The result is judicious and balanced insight into the meanings of the text in the framework of biblical theology.” 

See more about the Word Biblical Commentary series.

#3

Joshua
Tyndale Old Testament Commentary
by Richard S. Hess

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Joshua commentary Hess

Reviews and Accolades:

• Tremper Longman: 5 out of 5 stars, “one of the best commentaries on the book of Joshua…an adept interpreter”

• Keith Mathison: #2 ranked commentary on Joshua, “The Tyndale commentary on Joshua is particularly good… written at an intermediate level and is accessible to all readers.”

Approach to Scripture: Evangelical

Best for: expository preachers, Bible college and seminary students, church elders and teachers, experienced Bible readers

Purpose: From the publisher: This series is “designed to help readers understand what the Bible actually says and what it means… [each commentary] examines the text section by section, drawing out its main themes.

It also comments on individual verses and deals with problems of interpretation.

The aim throughout is to get at the true meaning of the Bible and to make its message plain to readers today.”

See more about the Tyndale Old Testament Commentary series.

#4

Joshua
New American Commentary
by David M. Howard, Jr.

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Joshua commentary Howard

Reviews and Accolades:

• Tremper Longman: 4 out of 5 stars, “well written, well researched, and well thought-out… [Howard] is quite good at pointing out theological themes”

• Keith Mathison: #3 ranked commentary on Joshua, “a truly helpful commentary”

Approach to Scripture: Evangelical

Best for: expository preachers, Bible college and seminary students, church elders and teachers, experienced Bible readers

Purpose: From the publisher: “The New American Commentary is introduced to bridge the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.”

This “series has been designed primarily to enable pastors, teachers, and students to read the Bible with clarity and proclaim it with power.”

See more about the New American Commentary series.

#5

Joshua
Focus on the Bible
by Dale Ralph Davis

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Joshua commentary Dale Ralph Davis

Reviews and Accolades:

• Keith Mathison: #1 ranked commentary on Joshua, “non-technical, beginner-intermediate level works, but they offer more insight into these biblical books than many commentaries two or three times their size”

Interview: See Best Bible Commentaries’ interview with Dale Ralph Davis on this volume

Approach to Scripture: Evangelical

Best for: individual study, devotional reading, Bible studies, adult Sunday school classes

Purpose: From the publisher: “These commentaries are popular level commentaries especially useful for pastors and small group leaders.

They are useful for personal devotions and spiritual growth.

Many of the authors of the commentaries are leading expositors of God’s Word on their speciality subjects.

The series holds to the inerrancy of scripture and the uniqueness of Christ in salvation.”

See more about the Focus on the Bible commentary series.

#6

Joshua
NIV Application Commentary
by Robert L. Hubbard Jr.

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Hubbard

Reviews and Accolades:

• Tremper Longman: 5 out of 5 stars, “opens up the theological teaching and contemporary significance of Joshua”

Approach to Scripture: Evangelical

Best for: expository preachers, Bible college and seminary students, church elders and teachers, experienced Bible readers

Purpose: From the General Editor: The primary goal of the NIV Application Commentary Series is to help you with the difficult but vital task of bringing an ancient message into a modern context.

The series not only focuses on application as a finished product but also helps you think through the process of moving from the original meaning of a passage to its contemporary significance.”

See more about the NIV Application Commentary series.

#7

Joshua
Understanding the Bible Commentary Series
by J. Gordon Harris

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Joshua commentary Understanding the Bible

Best for: expository preachers, Bible college and seminary students, church elders and teachers, experienced Bible readers

Purpose: From the publisher: “Each volume in the Understanding the Bible Commentary Series breaks down the barriers between the ancient and modern worlds so that the power and meaning of the biblical texts become transparent to contemporary readers.

They present a careful section-by-section exposition of the biblical books with key terms and phrases highlighted and all Hebrew transliterated.

Notes at the close of each chapter provide additional textual and technical comments for those who want to dig deeper.”

See more about the Understanding the Bible Commentary Series.

#8

The Message of Joshua
The Bible Speaks Today
by David G. Firth

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Joshua commentary Firth

Best for: expository preachers, Bible college and seminary students, church elders and teachers, experienced Bible readers

Purpose: From the publisher: The “the three distinctives of The Bible Speaks Today series are (1) “BST authors are committed to a serious study of the text in its own integrity,” (2) that “expositors should not be antiquarians, living only in the remote past” but suggest application for living, and (3) “each book is intended to be both readable in style and manageable in size.” 

See more about the Bible Speaks Today commentary series.

#9

Joshua
Apollos Old Testament Commentary
by Pekka Pitkänen

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Joshua commentary Apollos

Best for: expository preachers, Bible college and seminary students, church elders and teachers, experienced Bible readers

Purpose: From the publisher: “The Abingdon New Testament Commentaries series offers compact, critical commentaries on the writings of the New Testament.

These commentaries are written with special attention to the needs and interests of theology students, but they will also be useful for students in upper-level college or university settings, as well as for pastors and other church leaders.”

See more about the Apollos Old Testament Commentary series.

#10

Joshua
Expositor’s Bible Commentary Revised
by Helene Dallaire

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Joshua commentary Expositor's

Best for: expository preachers, Bible college and seminary students, church elders and teachers, experienced Bible readers

Purpose: From the publisher: “Written primarily by expositors for expositors… its stance is that of a scholarly evangelicalism committed to the divine inspiration, complete trustworthiness, and full authority of the Bible… the chief principle followed in this commentary is the grammatico-historical.”

See more about the Expositor’s Bible Commentary series.

More Book of Joshua Commentaries for Christian Ministry

Please read: Why are the Joshua commentaries below not in the “Top 10”? It’s not because they have received poor reviews or because people haven’t found them helpful. The reasons vary:

  • Some are relatively new and haven’t been widely reviewed, read, or used yet.
  • Others haven’t been widely distributed, so it is difficult to get enough information to aggregate.
  • Still others may be outdated in relation to biblical scholarship or out of print and difficult to acquire.

The “Top 10” list is reviewed annually. Readers are encouraged to consider the volumes in this section before making a purchase. These 10 are not in any particular order.


Joshua
Two Horizons Commentary Series
by Gordon McConville and Stephen Williams

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Joshua commentary McConville

Best for: expository preachers, Bible college and seminary students, church elders and teachers, experienced Bible readers

Purpose: From the publisher: “Two features distinguish The Two Horizons Old Testament Commentary series: theological exegesis and theological reflection…

The result is a paragraph-by-paragraph engagement with the text that is deliberately theological in focus.”

See more about the Two Horizons Bible commentary series.


Joshua
Concordia Commentary Series
by Adolf L. Harstad

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Joshua commentary Concordia

Best for: expository preachers, Bible college and seminary students, church elders and teachers, experienced Bible readers

Purpose: From the publisher: “A Theological Exposition of Sacred Scripture is written to enable pastors and teachers of the Word to proclaim the Gospel with greater insight, clarity, and faithfulness to the divine intent of the biblical text.”

See more about the Concordia Commentary series.


Joshua
New Beacon Bible Commentary
by Stephen Lennox

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Joshua commentary New Beacon

Best for: expository preachers, Bible college and seminary students, church elders and teachers, experienced Bible readers

Purpose: From the publisher: “The New Beacon Bible Commentary provides 21st-century scholars, pastors, theological students, and laity an academically competent, readable commentary in the Wesleyan theological tradition.

Each volume features: Contemporary Scholarship from notable experts in the Wesleyan theological tradition.

Convenient introductory material for each book of the Bible, which includes information on authorship, date, history, audience, sociological / cultural issues, purpose, literary features, theological themes, hermeneutical issues, and more.”

See more about New Beacon Bible Commentaries.


Reading Joshua
Reading the Old Testament
by John C.H. Laughlin

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Joshua commentary Laughlin

Best for: expository preachers, Bible college and seminary students, church elders and teachers, experienced Bible readers

Purpose: From the publisher: “Edited by Mark E. Biddle, Russell T. Cherry Professor of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament at Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond, the Reading the Old Testament commentary series presents cutting-edge biblical research in accessible language.”


Joshua
College Press
by Mark Reise

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Joshua commentary College Press

Best for: expository preachers, Bible college and seminary students, church elders and teachers, experienced Bible readers

Purpose: From the publisher: “College Press NIV Commentary Series is formatted with a verse-by-verse explanation of the text.

It was developed for both the scholar and the average Bible student. The College Press NIV Commentary Series is the only full commentary set in print from the Restoration Movement.”

See more about College Press commentaries.


Joshua
Anchor Commentary Series
by Robert G. Boling

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Joshua commentary Anchor

Best for: students, pastors, teachers, professors, and scholars with training in Hebrew who can follow a technical commentary

Purpose: From the publisher: The series “vigorously pursues the goal of bringing to a wide audience the most important new ideas, the latest research findings, and the clearest possible analysis of the Bible.”

See more about the Anchor Bible Commentary series.


Joshua
The Old Testament Library
by Richard D. Nelson

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Joshua commentary Nelson

Best for: expository preachers, Bible college and seminary students, church elders and teachers, experienced Bible readers

Purpose: From the publisher: “The Old Testament Library provides fresh and authoritative treatments of important aspects of Old Testament study through commentaries and general surveys. The contributors are scholars of international standing.”

See more about the Old Testament Library commentary series.


Classic Joshua Commentaries

Joshua
Ironside Expository Commentaries
by H.A. Ironside

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Joshua commentary Ironside

Best for: individual study, devotional reading, Bible studies, adult Sunday school classes

Purpose: H.A. Ironside (1876-1951) was an internationally acclaimed Bible teacher and preacher, as well as the author of more than sixty books.

His writings include addresses or commentaries on the entire New Testament, all of the Old Testament prophetic books, and a great many volumes on other biblical topics.

For eighteen of his fifty years of ministry, Dr. Ironside was pastor of the historic Moody Memorial Church in Chicago, Ill.


Gleanings in Joshua
by A.W. Pink

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Gleanings in Joshua A.W. Pink

Best for: expository preachers, Bible college and seminary students, church elders and teachers, experienced Bible readers

Purpose: From the publisher: “Gleanings in Exodus contains exhaustive studies that bring out deep theological and spiritual truths from the Scriptures. This is an excellent resource book.”


Joshua
Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture
edited by John R. Franke

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Joshua commentary Ancient Christian

Best for: expository preachers, Bible college and seminary students, church elders and teachers, experienced Bible readers

Purpose: From the publisher: “The vast array of writings from the church fathers — including much that is available only in the ancient languages — have been combed for their comment on Scripture.”

See more about the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture series.


Also see:

Compare 75 different commentary series on the Bible Commentary Series Comparison Chart

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