Abstract
Having tackled Old Testament Wisdom literature and Psalms, Baker Academic begins its commentary series on the Historical Books with this contribution on the book of Joshua. Taking a Protestant Christian perspective, the series is not ashamed to read the Old Testament in light of the New, ‘developing the message of each book’ (p. ix) for today’s church. I felt, however, that the reader of John Goldingay’s commentary, certainly armed with well-researched material, was left rather to develop Joshua’s message herself.
The volume leads with issues that Joshua might raise for contemporary readers such as migration, colonialization and Joshua’s violent legacy, met with an emphasis on context, both of the story and its writers, and that of current readers. While a useful approach, I felt that Goldingay attempts to dissolve rather than address such concerns. Discussing theology, Goldingay considers Joshua’s portrayal of God’s identity in action, and the identity of Israel in response. While the discussion leads towards covenant as a major message, this is not made explicit. The introduction ends with a review of scholarship on Joshua, noting the contribution of archaeology, the variation in textual witnesses, and the many diachronic issues relating Torah and Prophets that have involved Joshua over the years. All these threads await weaving together, however, to propose a pattern for what Joshua is about.
Commentary on the text follows the common division of Joshua into two parts: the subjugation of Canaan (Josh 1-12) and the distribution of the land (13-24). Each part of the commentary has its own introduction, drawing out narrative features that highlight divine and human interaction, paving the way for developing the book’s message but again without firm conclusions at this point. For the detailed analysis, Goldingay divides the text into thematic sections each with an Overview, a Translation, an Interpretation and a Theological Reflection. Maybe it is the commentary style just to comment, but once more, much of the supporting discussion leads the reader towards a message that is not defined. Hence, I expected a concluding chapter to draw things together. But surprisingly there is no such section. The volume simply closes with its analysis of Josh 24, which, as the last word serves as a conclusion by default. This places an unwarranted emphasis on analysis of the specific text, and leaves the volume’s final paragraphs, some citations from Karl Barth offered without comment, a fairly cryptic guide for grasping Joshua’s message.
While the detailed material presented in this commentary gives the impression that covenant is the main message that Goldingay draws from Joshua—indeed, the default conclusion on Josh 24 has this theme—the message never clearly defined as such. The reader is left wondering if covenant is Goldingay’s intended conclusion. This is a well-researched commentary, but the lack of a clear path through the data to develop the meaning of Joshua makes the volume a little unsatisfying for a series intent on sharing the message of God’s Word.