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The New International Commentary on the Old Testament
The Book of Judges (New International Commentary on the Old Testament
Eminently readable, exegetically thorough, and written in an emotionally warm style that flows from his keen sensitivity to the text, Barry Webb’s commentary on Judges is just what is needed to properly engage a dynamic, narrative work like the book of Judges. It discusses not only unique features of the stories themselves but also such issues as the violent nature of Judges, how women are portrayed in it, and how it relates to the Christian gospel of the New Testament.
Webb concentrates throughout on what the biblical text itself throws into prominence, giving space to background issues only when they cast significant light on the foreground. For those who want more, the footnotes and bibliography provide helpful guidance. The end result is a welcome resource for interpreting one of the most challenging books in the Old Testament.
Webb concentrates throughout on what the biblical text itself throws into prominence, giving space to background issues only when they cast significant light on the foreground. For those who want more, the footnotes and bibliography provide helpful guidance. The end result is a welcome resource for interpreting one of the most challenging books in the Old Testament.
575 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 1, 2025
Overall a really helpful approach to the book of Judges. Webb utilizes a mostly literary-theological approach to his interpretation, incorporating historical background when relevant. His insights to many of the passages were enlightening, and I appreciated his appeal to female scholars at times when writing on those passages where their work has been crucial and groundbreaking.
March 7, 2016
A top-shelf commentary--a worthy addition to the NICOT and, in my opinion, the best commentary out there on Judges.
Webb wrestles faithfully with the text and with remarkable amounts of relevant literature. He devotes nearly 20 pages in his Introduction to summarizing and evaluating "Recent Scholarly Study of Judges," which was helpful. He's never afraid to appropriate insights of liberal or feminist scholars, even when he disagrees with their overall approach. He covers all the standard introductory questions--date, composition, literary issues, coherence, theological contribution, the problem of large numbers, textual criticism, Judges in relation to the Deuteronomistic History, Judges as Christian Scripture, etc. These questions of course are addressed in the commentary itself, but he never gets bogged down. I always felt the flow of the text and was pushed continually by Webb to consider how particular passages speak of God. In other words, I never felt as though Webb missed the forest for the trees.
Highly recommended for pastors, scholars, and (with reservations) the educated layperson.
Webb wrestles faithfully with the text and with remarkable amounts of relevant literature. He devotes nearly 20 pages in his Introduction to summarizing and evaluating "Recent Scholarly Study of Judges," which was helpful. He's never afraid to appropriate insights of liberal or feminist scholars, even when he disagrees with their overall approach. He covers all the standard introductory questions--date, composition, literary issues, coherence, theological contribution, the problem of large numbers, textual criticism, Judges in relation to the Deuteronomistic History, Judges as Christian Scripture, etc. These questions of course are addressed in the commentary itself, but he never gets bogged down. I always felt the flow of the text and was pushed continually by Webb to consider how particular passages speak of God. In other words, I never felt as though Webb missed the forest for the trees.
Highly recommended for pastors, scholars, and (with reservations) the educated layperson.
June 4, 2019
The best of the best commentaries on Judges. Just a phenomenal work: thorough, rooted in the original language, exegetical and canonical. It is only one volume though, so follow his footnotes to really dive deep. The strength of the book is in his ability to interpret each passage in its larger context and tie it in with the book as a whole.
If there's one criticism I have, it would be that he's sparse on explicitly tying in Christological and Eschatological themes from the New Testament. That and perhaps an under-emphasis on the covenants and specifically the prominent role that the Mosaic Covenant has in the narrative. Nevertheless, that's probably a little beyond the bounds of the commentary's purpose, so it's hard to fault him for that. Ultimately, tying in those realities is the preacher's job.
This commentary helped me more than any other in preaching through Judges.
If there's one criticism I have, it would be that he's sparse on explicitly tying in Christological and Eschatological themes from the New Testament. That and perhaps an under-emphasis on the covenants and specifically the prominent role that the Mosaic Covenant has in the narrative. Nevertheless, that's probably a little beyond the bounds of the commentary's purpose, so it's hard to fault him for that. Ultimately, tying in those realities is the preacher's job.
This commentary helped me more than any other in preaching through Judges.
October 4, 2017
Judges is an Old Testament commentary, written by Barry G. Webb and published by Eerdmands. Commentaries on Judges can be either highly critical or devotional in nature. I therefore was pleasantly surprised when I read Webb’s work and found it to be more on the conservative side while still engaging with high criticism scholarship. It has been a long time since a scholarly mostly conservative work has been published on the Book of Judges and Webb did not disappoint, weighing in at almost just over 550 pages.
This commentary is the a newer edition of the famous New International Commentary on the Old Testament Series, a series which is synonymous with excellent exegesis and superior application, this volume not only continues this legacy, but truly propels it to new heights. This volume is one of the most articulate and practical commentaries on the one of the books of history which is usually bogged down by from criticism and or long discussions on genocide. Yet while Webb does answer these critical issues, something he does flawlessly by the way, he interacts with critical scholarship in a way most conservative commentators don’t. From this it is easy to see why Webb is a highly regarded scholar and superior exegete.
Judges has two main sections the typical general introduction, and then followed by a insightful exegetical commentaries on the book of Judges. With regard to the general introduction it is the typical study into the introductory matters of the book and how they relate to the Bible as a whole. This is a serious scholarly work which dives into contextual as well as the as the different methodical approaches to study of this book Hawk takes great care in carefully showing the original context of passage while applying it directly to the modern day reader. He does not use his own translation of the Hebrew text, yet this is not common in the NICOT series as a whole. I do wish though that there was more application to some of the more difficult passages.
While I disagree with Web on a few minor issues with regard to Old Testament date of writing, the arguments he makes are sound I just adhere to a earlier date of composition. One are I did greatly enjoy is Webb’s argument against Deborah’s judgeship and for Barrack’s. This is an position that many today do not hold, yet it was refreshing to see it in a scholarly commentary.
Webb is innovate in his interpretation and application while staying stalwart in his commitment to orthodoxy. In the vein of recommending, Judges , to others I would recommend this commentary to pastors and scholars, yet I would highly recommend pastors, such as myself, to pair this scholarly commentary with one that is one that has more of a pastoral tone. There are many commentaries about the book of Judges available at this moment but Judges of the New International Commentary on the Old Testament series is a very scholarly works worthy of your time.
This book was provided to me free of charge from Eerdmans in exchange for an unbiased, honest review.
Judges: New International Commentary on the Old Testament
© 2012 by Barry G. Webb
Publisher: Eerdmans
Page Count: 555 Pages
ISBN: 978-0802826282
This commentary is the a newer edition of the famous New International Commentary on the Old Testament Series, a series which is synonymous with excellent exegesis and superior application, this volume not only continues this legacy, but truly propels it to new heights. This volume is one of the most articulate and practical commentaries on the one of the books of history which is usually bogged down by from criticism and or long discussions on genocide. Yet while Webb does answer these critical issues, something he does flawlessly by the way, he interacts with critical scholarship in a way most conservative commentators don’t. From this it is easy to see why Webb is a highly regarded scholar and superior exegete.
Judges has two main sections the typical general introduction, and then followed by a insightful exegetical commentaries on the book of Judges. With regard to the general introduction it is the typical study into the introductory matters of the book and how they relate to the Bible as a whole. This is a serious scholarly work which dives into contextual as well as the as the different methodical approaches to study of this book Hawk takes great care in carefully showing the original context of passage while applying it directly to the modern day reader. He does not use his own translation of the Hebrew text, yet this is not common in the NICOT series as a whole. I do wish though that there was more application to some of the more difficult passages.
While I disagree with Web on a few minor issues with regard to Old Testament date of writing, the arguments he makes are sound I just adhere to a earlier date of composition. One are I did greatly enjoy is Webb’s argument against Deborah’s judgeship and for Barrack’s. This is an position that many today do not hold, yet it was refreshing to see it in a scholarly commentary.
Webb is innovate in his interpretation and application while staying stalwart in his commitment to orthodoxy. In the vein of recommending, Judges , to others I would recommend this commentary to pastors and scholars, yet I would highly recommend pastors, such as myself, to pair this scholarly commentary with one that is one that has more of a pastoral tone. There are many commentaries about the book of Judges available at this moment but Judges of the New International Commentary on the Old Testament series is a very scholarly works worthy of your time.
This book was provided to me free of charge from Eerdmans in exchange for an unbiased, honest review.
Judges: New International Commentary on the Old Testament
© 2012 by Barry G. Webb
Publisher: Eerdmans
Page Count: 555 Pages
ISBN: 978-0802826282
August 29, 2022
Barry Webb’s mammoth commentary on Judges is a part of the New International Commentary on the Old Testament (NICOT) which is a rich historical and textual resource. This was probably the resource I used the most but at over five hundred pages it is probably more than most people want to read on the book of Judges. For those who are interested in diving deeply into the Hebrew translation this is a great text and it also does a great job at identifying parallels in the text of Judges but also throughout the Hebrew Scriptures.
October 27, 2025
An absolutely fantastic commentary on the violent and difficult Old/First Testament book Judges. It is easy to superficially read Judges and just ask why this book is in the canon? The author highlights the extremes of irony and satire that must be appreciated and emphasized to understand this work. The structure and echoes in the book emphasize the overall message. Cannot recommend this book enough to anyone looking for an in depth commentary on Judges.
September 15, 2014
Superb.
For the record, I did not read it cover to cover, but where I did, I found it illuminating.
In the Intro to his book, Webb writes, "Judges is not a nice book. It’s rough and raw and confronting. Working on it has been like living with someone who always tells you the truth: it is good for you, but not pleasant. In this commentary I have tried to let Judges be what it is instead of taming it. Readers will have to judge whether or not I’ve succeeded."
Webb succeeds. Untamed exegesis that unpacks the untamed mercy of God for his sinful people.
One of the best commentaries I have seen on *any* book of the Bible. Get it.
For the record, I did not read it cover to cover, but where I did, I found it illuminating.
In the Intro to his book, Webb writes, "Judges is not a nice book. It’s rough and raw and confronting. Working on it has been like living with someone who always tells you the truth: it is good for you, but not pleasant. In this commentary I have tried to let Judges be what it is instead of taming it. Readers will have to judge whether or not I’ve succeeded."
Webb succeeds. Untamed exegesis that unpacks the untamed mercy of God for his sinful people.
One of the best commentaries I have seen on *any* book of the Bible. Get it.
April 14, 2013
Great commentary on an interesting book of the OT. Very readable (unlike Waltke on Proverbs in the same series). Points out thematic links within the book and highlights the tragic spiritual condition of Israel in the period of the Judges.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews