Joshua 10:12

Then spake Joshua to the Lord,.... In prayer, and entreated as follows, that the sun and moon might stand still, until the victory was complete; though the Jewish writers interpret it of a song; so

Then spake Joshua to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon.

Joshua spake to the Lord, to wit, in way of petition for this miracle; being moved to beg it out of zeal to destroy God’ s enemies, and directed to it by the motion of God’ s Spirit; and receiving a gracious answer, and being filled with holy confidence of the success, he speaks the following words before the people, that they might be witnesses of it. In the sight of Israel, i.e. in the presence and audience of Israel; seeing being sometimes put for hearing, as , compared with ; although these words may seem rather to be joined with the following, thus, In the sight of Israel stand still, O sun, & c., which sense the Hebrew accents favour. Upon Gibeon, i.e. over and above or against Gibeon, i.e. in that place and posture in which now it stands towards and looks upon Gibeon. Let it not go down lower, and by degrees, out of the sight of Gibeon. It may seem that the sun was declining; and Joshua perceiving that his work was great and long, and his time but short, begs of God the lengthening out of the day, and that the sun and moon might stop their course, and keep the place in which they now were. In the valley, or, upon the valley; as before, upon Gibeon; the preposition being the same there and here. Ajalon; either, 1. That Ajalon which was in the tribe of Zebulun, northward from Gibeon. Or rather, 2. That Ajalon which was in the tribe of Dan, , westward from Gibeon, For, 1. This was nearer Gibeon than the other. 2. This was most agreeable to the course of the sun and moon, which is from east to west. 3. This way the battle went, from Gibeon westward to Ajalon, and so further westward, even to Lachish, . And he mentions two places, Gibeon and Ajalon, not as if the sun stood over the one, and the moon over the other, which is absurd and ridiculous to affirm, especially these places being so near the one to the other; but partly to vary the phrase, as is common in poetical passages; partly because he was in his march in the pursuit of his enemies to pass from Gibeon to Ajalon; and he begs that he may have the help and benefit of longer light to pursue them, and to that end that the sun might stand still, and the moon also; not that he needed the moon’ s light when he had the sun’ s, but because it was fit, either that both the sun and moon should go, or that both should stand still, to prevent disorder and confusion in the heavenly bodies.

Joshua 10:12 Then spake Joshua to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon.Ver. 12. Then spake Joshua to the Lord.] He first prayed, and then laid his commands on sun and moon to stand still, and not stir, till he had achieved a full victory, Hereupon one crieth out, O admirabilem piarum precum vim ac potentiam quibus etiam caelestia cedunt! O fidem heroicam, cuius virtutem ipsa astra sentiunt! quos non hostes terreret, feriret, fugaret illa manus quae victoriae suae trophaea etiam in ipsis caeli orbibus figit? O the power of prayer! O the force of faith! How could that hand do less than confound his enemies, which had set trophies of victory in the very celestial orbs?

(10) Beth-horon—is identified as Beit’ Ur. Azekah—is unknown. Makkedah.—Probably el-Moghβr. (11) Great stones from heaven.—Compare Job 38:22-23, “Hast thou seen the treasures of the hail, which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?” The employment of the artillery of heaven against Jehovah’s enemies was there foretold by Himself. (12-15)—The whole of this paragraph appears to be a quotation from the Book of Jasher. That book is mentioned also in 2 Samuel 1:18, where the lament of David over Saul and Jonathan appears to be a citation from it. We may compare Numbers 21:14; Numbers 21:27, where reference is made to poetical passages either current among the people (as national ballads) or actually written. The name Jasher (upright) is not taken as the name of an author, and what it refers to no one knows. From the fact that all the passages cited in this way are more or less poetical, we may infer that there was a poetical literature among the Hebrews (partly written, partly unwritten) from which the inspired writers occasionally made extracts. The songs of Moses, including the ninetieth Psalm, belong to this literature. The fact that the great miracle of the Book of Joshua is recorded in this form is, to those who believe that Joshua was the original author of the book, a remarkable proof of the impression which the miracle had’ made upon the minds of the people. Even before the death of the hero of the story, it had come to be told in a set form of words, in which the ear could tolerate no alteration. As in later times they sang, “Saul hath slain his thousands and David his ten thousands,” so. they appear to have recited the deed of Joshua. “Then spake Joshua to the Lord.” The form of the original sentence, “Then speaketh Joshua,” &c., is suitable to this view. (12) And he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still . . .—It is not impossible to read thus: “And he said, In the sight of Israel sun in Gibeon be thou still (dumb); and, moon, in the valley of Ajalon.” But we do not seem to gain anything by supposing that the miracle was only apparent—i.e., that the light of the sun and moon was retained in its position, while the heavenly bodies themselves—viz., earth, moon, and sun—maintained their actual course (for the sun moves). Nor, again, can we accept the view of some, that it was the night, not the day, that was specially prolonged. The word used for the sun’s standing still is peculiar, and signifies to be dumb or silent. We may compare with this metaphor the words of Psa 19:3-4, “There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.” Joshua’s command was that the sun should for the time silence that penetrating voice, and be dumb from those all-prevailing words.

Verse 12. Then spake Joshua to the Lord] Though Joshua saw that the enemies of his people were put to flight, yet he well knew that all which escaped would rally again, and that he should be obliged to meet them once more in the field of battle if permitted now to escape; finding that the day was drawing towards a close, he feared that he should not have time sufficient to complete the destruction of the confederate armies; in this moment, being suddenly inspired with Divine confidence, he requested the Lord to perform the most stupendous miracle that had ever been wrought, which was no less than to arrest the sun in his course, and prolong the day till the destruction of his enemies had been completed! Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon.] To account for this miracle, and to ascertain the manner in which it was wrought, has employed the pens of the ablest divines and astronomers, especially of the last two centuries. By their learned labours many difficulties have been removed from the account in general; but the very different and contradictory methods pursued by several, in their endeavours to explain the whole, and make the relation accord with the present acknowledged system of the universe, and the phenomena of nature, tend greatly to puzzle the plain, unphilosophical reader. The subject cannot be well explained without a dissertation; and a dissertation is not consistent with the nature of short notes, or a commentary on Scripture. It is however necessary to attempt an explanation, and to bring that as much as possible within the apprehension of common readers, in order to this, I must beg leave to introduce a few preliminary observations, or what the reader may call propositions if he pleases. 1. I take it for granted that a miracle was wrought as nearly as circumstances could admit, in the manner in which it is here recorded. I shall not, therefore, seek for any allegorical or metaphorical interpretations; the miracle is recorded as a fact, and as a fact I take it up. 2. I consider the present accredited system of the universe, called sometimes the Pythagorean, Copernican, or Newtonian system, to be genuine; and also to be the system of the universe laid down in the Mosaic writings - that the SUN is in the centre of what is called the solar system; and that the earth and all the other planets, whether primary or secondary, move round him in certain periodical times, according to the quantity of their matter, and distance from him, their centre. 3. I consider the sun to have no revolution round any orbit, but to revolve round his own axis, and round the common centre of gravity in the planetary system, which centre of gravity is included within his own surface; and in all other respects I consider him to be at rest in the system. 4.

12. Then spake Joshua to the Lord] The quotation probably commences with the 12th verse and extends to the end of the 15th. It begins as follows:— “Then spake Joshua unto Jehovah, In the day Jehovah delivered up the Amorites before the sons of Israel.” Then] The crisis of the battle had now arrived. The day had far advanced since Joshua had emerged after his night-march through the passes of Ai. It was noon, and the sun stood high in the midst of heaven above the hills which hid Gibeon from his sight. “In front, over the western vale of Ajalon, was the faint figure of the crescent moon visible above the hailstorm (Jos. Ant. 5:1. 17), which was fast driving up from the sea in the valleys below.” Beneath him was the Amorite host rushing in wild confusion down the western passes. The furious storm was obscuring the light of day, and the work was but half accomplished. Was the foe to make good his escape? Was the speed, with which he had “come up quickly, and saved, and helped” the defenceless Gibeonites, to be robbed of half its reward? Oh that the sun would burst forth once more from amidst the gloom that had obscured it! Oh that the day, all too short for his great undertaking, could be prolonged “until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies”! See Stanley’s Sin. and Pal. p. 210; Edersheim’s Israel in Canaan, pp. 81, 82. spake Joshua] Then it was, standing on the lofty eminence above Gibeon, “doubtless with outstretched hand and spear,” that Joshua burst forth into that ecstatic prayer of faith, which has been here incorporated into the text from the “Book of Jasher.” and he said in the sight of Israel] literally, before the eyes of Israel, in the sight or presence of Israel, who were witnesses of his words, Sun, stand thou still] Literally, as in the margin, “be silent,” comp. Leviticus 10:3, “And Aaron held his peace.” The word denotes (i) to be dumb with astonishment; (ii) to be silent; (iii) to rest, or, be quiet. Comp. 1 Samuel 14:9, “If they say thus unto us, Tarry (or be still as in marg.) until we come to you;” Job 31:34, “Did I fear a great multitude, or did the contempt of families terrify me, that I kept silence?” Keil would translate it “wait.” The Vulgate renders it, “Sol contra Gabaon ne movearis et luna contra vallem Ajalon;” Wyclif thus, “Sunne, Açens Gabaon be thow not meued, and mone, açens the valey of Haylon.”Gibeon … Ajalon] These spots are named as stations of the sun and moon “because Joshua, when he engaged in the battle, was probably west of Gibeon, in a place where he saw the sun shining in the east over that city, and the moon in the far west over Ajalon.” The hour of utterance contemplated was probably still in the forenoon. in the valley of Ajalon] i.e.

These four verses seem to be a fragment or extract taken from some other and independent source and inserted into the thread of the narrative after it had been completed, and inserted most probably

12. Then spake Joshua to the Lord — What Joshua said to the Lord we do not know, unless we are to construe the command to the sun and moon as Joshua’s prayer, “O Lord, let the sun stand still.” But