A well-respected work from a prominent evangelical scholar. Williams aims to be comprehensive. He incorporates word studies and ample historical background into his careful exegesis. But while the volume is clearly for academics, wider audiences will appreciate the book’s pastoral tone. [Full Review]

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Crux Sola (Nijay Gupta's Blog) (Aubrey Buster)

January 9, 2022

Hugh Williamson’s commentary, along with Joseph Blenkinsopp’s, set the standard for critical commentaries on Ezra-Nehemiah in the 1980s. Even though this commentary is approaching 40 years old, it remains the gold standard in its careful treatment of the text, its clear evaluation of the critical issues, and its poignant theological engagement. [Full Review]

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Carlos Baner

November 21, 2019

very important

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G Ware

May 24, 2018

The three commentaries on Ezra-Nehemiah I rely on (Williamson, Fensham, Blenkinsopp) were all published around the same time, but still hold up quite well. Williamson is the most technical of the three. If you are willing to work with the somewhat annoying WBC format, this is a wonderful commentary, especially the introduction, which is surprisingly short for a technical commentary (roughly 30 pages) but distilled well, avoiding speculative tangents.

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Princeton Theological Seminary

January 5, 2018

offers an excellent interpretation of these books, with thorough discussion of contemporary scholarship

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Princeton Theological Seminary

January 5, 2018

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Tim Challies

August 5, 2013

There is not only near-consensus on the best commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah, but also near-consensus on the second best–Williamson’s contribution to the WBC. Williamson takes a more scholarly and technical approach than Fensham, making this a little bit more difficult to read. His strength is in word study, background, customs and the like. With Fensham this should make a pretty good one-two punch in understanding and interpreting the text. [Full Review]

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Moore Theological College Journal: Societas

April 15, 2009

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John Glynn

September 20, 2008

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Jim Rosscup

September 20, 2008

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Ligonier Ministries (Keith A. Mathison)

September 1, 2008

Williamson's commentary is a scholarly standard on these books and should be consulted in conjunction with Fensham's work. There is more technical information in Williamson's work, but it is less user friendly due to the cumbersome format of the WBC. [Full Review]

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Denver Seminary Journal