Book Review: Joshua’s Jericho

Author	Bryan Windle
Publisher	Trowel Press
Publication Date	2025
Number of Pages	122
Number of Illustrations	20
ISBN	1945750375

In the past, I have reviewed books written by others, including Mark Wilson’s Biblical Turkey, Scott Stripling’s The Trowel and the Truth, Collins and Holden’s The Harvest Handbook of Bible Lands, and a comparison of the ESV and NIV Archaeological Study Bibles. This article is unique in that it is a review of my own book, Joshua’s Jericho: The Latest Archaeological Evidence for the Conquest, which is a summary of my research into how the latest archaeological evidence from Jericho aligns with the biblical account of the conquest of the city in the book of Joshua.

Rather than writing the review myself, I am going to let others share their reviews. This includes the endorsements from scholars whom I respect, as well as some Amazon reviews.

Ch. 1 – The Problem of Jericho

Ch. 2 – Criterial Screen: A Summary of Biblical Criteria for Joshua’s Jericho

Ch. 3 – A History of Excavations at Jericho (Tell es-Sultan)

Ch. 4 – Evidence for the Occupation of Jericho City V

Ch. 5 – Evidence for the Fortifications of Jericho City V

Ch. 6 – Evidence for the Destruction of Jericho City V

Ch. 7 – Conclusion

Scholarly Reviews

I was honored to receive the following endorsements for my book from scholars I respect.

Bryan Windle’s Joshua’s Jericho offers a welcome contribution to the complex problem of which Jericho Joshua conquered. Windle’s study throws fresh light on this important topic, not only by clarifying the chronology of the biblical narrative but also by clarifying the question of the date of the exodus itself. Joshua’s Jericho promises to reinvigorate debate and, in my opinion, to move it in the right direction.

Craig A. Evans, PhD, D.Habil., Distinguished Research Professor, The Bible Seminary

The difficulties inherent in synchronizing Jericho’s destruction with the biblical text are well known, and every generation produces new scholars who try to solve the puzzle. Most of these attempts are haphazard and based on little new evidence. By contrast, in this study, Brian Windle has made one of the most comprehensive and up-to-date attempts to solve many of the archaeological questions surrounding Joshua’s conquest of Jericho, particularly the ceramics and fortifications. In short, this book is the best summary of the past and present finds to date from Tell es-Sultan. His database of all known LB ceramics from City V, his re-examination of the older Sellin & Watzinger and Garstang projects, in addition to the results of the ongoing Italian-Palestinian work at Tell es-Sultan by Lorenzo Nigro are valuable contributions. While Nigro’s work remains ongoing, and we still lack a final publication that can be studied and analyzed, much of value has been preliminarily published. Windle’s book is unlikely to be the final say in the matter, since so much remains unknown, but it will stand out as a valuable summary of what we know about Late Bronze Age Jericho to date.

Robert Mullins, PhD, Professor, Biblical and Religious Studies, Azusa Pacific University, Co-Author of “The Late Bronze Age” in The Ancient Pottery of Israel and Its Neighbors (Israel Exploration Society, 2015)

In Bryan Windle’s Joshua’s Jericho the reader will find a careful analysis and evaluation of past excavations of tall es-Sultan (Jericho) in view of the most recent excavation reports. The author has personally examined the pottery, communicated with the excavators and visited museum collections to present his research and proposal for reconciling inadequate past conclusions within a chronological “conquest window” that honors the priority of Scripture. While his conclusions invite peer review, his first-rate research deserves the attention of the academy and all students of biblical archaeology.

J. Randall Price, PhD, Ret. Distinguished Research Professor of Biblical and Judaic Studies, Liberty University, Director, Qumran Plateau Excavation Project, Dead Sea, Israel, Founder & President of World of the Bible Ministries

Windle’s relentless obsession (in the best sense!) with Joshua’s Jericho is truly our gain, and all of us who care about the archaeology of this important ancient city owe a debt of gratitude to him. What was once a mound of oft conflicting and confusing hypotheses has now been sorted out, organized, compared, contrasted, and clarified as best it can be, given the current state of available information. In the light of his analysis, the window of probability is open wider than ever to the historical reality of the Joshuan conquest of Jericho.

Steven Collins, PhD, Dean, The School of Archaeology, Veritas International University, Director & Chief Archaeologist, Tall el-Hammam Excavation Project, Jordan

For over a century scholars have grappled with the problem of Jericho – the unclear relationship between the excavated archaeological remains at tel es-Sultan and the biblical narrative in Joshua 6. Was City IV destroyed at the end of the Middle Bronze Age or the middle of the Late Bronze Age? Bryan Windle introduces a new paradigm by proposing that City V, not City IV, was the city Joshua conquered. Joshua’s Jericho offers a meticulous analysis of both cities and presents a strong case for City V. I highly recommend this book to my students and colleagues.

Scott Stripling, PhD, President of the Near East Archaeological Society

As his thesis advisor, I have been with Bryan Windle every step of the way on his search for the Jericho defeated by Joshua. His final conclusion about the city of Jericho associated with Joshua was different than the view he previously held. This book provides the most up-to-date framework for understanding all the factors that must be considered. It is a must-read for all interested in the biblical, historical and archaeological facts for the Israelite conquest of Jericho.

Gary A Byers, Dean, College of Archaeology and Biblical History, Trinity Southwest University

Few archaeological sites in the Holy Land are as important as Jericho and yet few sites are as debated. While physical battles have been replaced by ideological, methodological, and historical ones, the conflict wages on. Into this fray, archaeologist Bryan Windle has provided a fair and irenic examination of the mounds (pardon the pun) of data, past and present. This volume is well organized, nicely illustrated, and clearly and cogently argued. I wholeheartedly commend this work to anyone who has a serious interest in Tel Jericho generally and Joshua’s Jericho specifically.

Charles H. Savelle, Jr, PhD, Assistant Professor of Bible Exposition, Dallas Theological Seminary

Bryan Windle has done the archaeological and evangelical communities a great service with his research into the most recent excavations at Jericho. The on-going debate between early and late-date exodus proponents has centered around the battleground of Jericho. Windle’s work sharpens the debate and brings details of the exodus and conquest into clearer focus. Joshua’s Jericho does the hard work of weeding through excavation reports of the past hundred years to synthesize the best and most current information on the site. This important study will likely shape evangelical conversation about the book of Joshua and the biblical exodus and conquest for decades to come.

Jonathan J. Routley, PhD, Professor of Bible and Theology, Emmaus University

For those interested in Jericho and the longstanding challenges involved in reconciling its archaeological finds to the biblical account of its conquest, Bryan Windle has advanced the discussion and offered a possible solution to the conundrum. Windle has marshalled extensive evidence summarizing the history of the excavations and the archaeological finds: the architecture, pottery, inscriptional evidence, etc. Even if a person does not accept all of Windle’s argumentation that Jericho City V in the Late Bronze Age fits the biblical account of Joshua’s conquest, the careful reader would do well to consider the evidence presented in this book.

Boyd Seevers, PhD, Professor of Old Testament Studies, University of Northwestern—St. Paul

With this book, Bryan Windle provides a groundbreaking study for biblical archaeology. This book presents a new model for how the archaeology of Jericho interacts with the biblical text, and it backs the model up with archaeological data. This is an excellent example of the science of archaeology at work, exploring and testing new ideas that contribute to the field of biblical archaeology. Windle’s work is well-researched and clearly presented. This is an essential addition to the bookshelf of every biblical archaeologist and anyone interested in biblical archaeology. NOTE: I also recommend reading Abigail’s summary of my book at New Creation Blog.

Abigail Van Huss, PhD, Assistant Dig Director, Shiloh Excavations