The story of the sun and moon standing still at the command of Joshua provides the incentive for many excursions into astronomical science in order to demonstrate that the idea is by no means so fantastic as it sounds. Some enthusiasts, such as Prof. Totten in the nineteenth century, have produced elaborate calculations to show that such a super-naturally lengthened day must have happened once in human history. Records of ancient nations have been searched for stray allusions to so noteworthy an event; but in all this fervour of scientific research the fact that a careful examination of the passage in question fails to justify the popular impression has generally escaped notice.

It was shortly after the entry into the Promised Land that Joshua's army, battling to secure possession of their new home, marched all night from Gilgal to Gibeon. It was an uphill journey of sixteen miles, involving a climb of several thousand feet into the mountains, to intercept and do battle with the Canaanites and Amorites. Upon their arrival, at probably about five in the morning, Joshua gave battle, and, tired as his men must have been after their all night forced march, defeated the enemy and pursued him for seven miles to Beth-horon (Josh.10.10). They went over the crest of the mountain into the valley of Ajalon, which runs in a south westerly direction to the Mediterranean Sea. It was apparently at this point that Joshua, seeing that his prey was escaping him, uttered the cry that has been interpreted as an invocation to the powers of heaven to intervene on his behalf: "Sun, stand still at Gibeon, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon. And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, until the nation took vengeance on their enemies . . .The sun stopped in mid-heaven, and did not hurry to set, to go down about a whole day."

Whatever the real purpose of Joshua's appeal, the powers of heaven were already taking a hand in the battle in another manner. A violent hailstorm from the Mediterranean was sweeping up the valley of Ajalon, a not uncommon phenomenon in the valley, then or now in its course, overwhelming the fleeing Canaanites. Their rout was complete; many of them perished; "they were more that died with hailstones" says the chronicler "than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword". The Israelites, high up on the summit of Beth-horon, apparently escaped the hail but the Canaanite host was decimated. This was the decisive battle which laid the land of Canaan open to the invading Israelites.

From verses 10 and 11 it is clear that the Canaanites encountered this storm whilst they were between Beth-horon and Azekah, and therefore well down in the valley. Joshua must have been standing on the summit of Beth-horon, and from his exalted position perceived the storm approaching from the sea long before the Canaanites were aware of its onset. From where he stood, facing the south, his gaze could take in the heights of Gibeon on his left hand, and on his right the valley of Ajalon, crowded now with the retreating foe. The time would have been about eight a.m., for the seven mile pursuit between Gibeon and Beth-horon could hardly have occupied more than two or three hours. Gibeon lies E. by S.E. of Beth-horon, so that at this time the sun would appear to Joshua to be directly over the heights of Gibeon. Upon turning to his right and looking W by SW through the valley of Ajalon, Joshua would see the crescent moon, in its last quarter, directly over the valley, faintly illumined by the rays of the sun. That this was the phase of the moon at the time is deduced from the fact that the Israelites crossed Jordan on the 10th of Nisan, and therefore ten days after the new moon. A study of the subsequent events with their date as recorded in the Book of Joshua shows that the battle took place about six weeks later. This is within a day or two of the 24th of Zif, the second month, so that the moon would be in the third quarter of the second lunation of the year. It is an interesting testimony to the historical accuracy of the Book of Joshua. Only at this one time in the month could the sun be over Gibeon and the moon over the valley of Ajalon simultaneously from the point of view of an observer on the summit of Beth-horon.

It was not the "standing still" of the sun and moon, but the hailstorm, that achieved the victory for the Israelites. The confusion and disaster into which the Canaanite hosts were thrown by the pitiless rain of hailstones completed the havoc begun on Beth-horon by Joshua's warriors. What then was the purpose of Joshua's command to the sun and moon?

The words in question are not original to the Book of Joshua. They are quoted from the 'Book of Jashar' (see v.13). The account of the battle occupies vv. 10 and 11, and the thread of the narrative is not taken up again until v.16. The intervening portion is a parenthesis, inserted by some later transcriber of the Book of Joshua, in order to place on record the words used by Israel's great leader on this occasion, words that apparently had been preserved only in this 'Book of Jashar'. After the quotation, which occupies v.12 and part of v13, and the acknowledgment "Is not this written in the Book of Jasher" there follows a short observation (vv.14-15) by the same unknown transcriber by way of comment on the situation.

The Book of Jasher is referred to once elsewhere in the Scriptures, in 2 Sam.1.18. Here is mentioned a song or poem called (the song of) "the Bow", dealing probably with the prowess of archers in battle; a song which David ordered should be taught the children of Judah. From this fact, and the fact that in the Joshua quotation the passage concerned is, in the Hebrew, not prose, but poetry, it has been concluded that the Book of Jasher was a poetic composition telling of the great events in Israel's history, and was in existence certainly in the time of David. We probably do well therefore to allow for poetic licence in the words in which Joshua's appeal is recorded—much as must be allowed when reading Jud. 5.20 "The stars in their courses fought against Sisera" and Psa. 18. 9 "He bowed the heavens and came down". Both expressions are taken from similar poetic compositions.

The passage in question then needs to be considered as a fragment of true history preserved in a fine piece of poetic language. "Sun, stand still upon Gibeon; and Moon, in the valley of Ajalon." The word here rendered 'stand still' is "dom" and means to be silent, quiet, still or dumb. Gesenius says that it is derived from the sound made by the shutting of the mouth and that its literal meaning is "to be dumb". Its significance is not that of standing still in the sense of cessation of motion, but of being still or silent in the sense of ceasing to perform a customary activity. Instances of its use are in Lam.3.28; Jer.8.14 (silence); Hab.2.19 (dumb), 1 Kings 19.12 (still). The literal English of the Hebrew text is "Sun, on-Gibeon be-dumb, and moon, on-valley Ajalon".

The Israelites would be hard put to it to keep up with their fleeing foes. They had been on the move since the previous evening and it was essential that this victory be complete and that no appreciable number of Canaanites be allowed to escape. The sun's heat was rapidly increasing as the morning advanced, and Joshua must have feared above everything else its effects upon his weary troops. In this extremity he appealed to the Lord (v.12), but not for the cessation of the sun's progress, which would involve a corresponding increase in the duration of noonday heat. Rather it was for the silencing or cessation of the sun's activity so that the greater coolness of the day might invigorate his tiring forces.

God answered the prayer by sending the hailstorm described in the account. As the dark clouds swept up the valley, first the crescent moon over Ajalon, and then the sun over Gibeon, were blotted out, and their rays "ceased" from the earth for the remainder of the day, "until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies".

In v.13 "The sun . . . hasted not to go down about a whole day", there is no justification in the Hebrew text for the use of "down". The word is "boa", a verb meaning to come in or to enter, but not to go down or descend. It is normally used for 'to enter' as into a chamber, and is so used in some parts of the Old Testament to describe the sun's setting, as if entering into his chamber. But in the passage under examination it probably signifies that the sunlight failed to break through the clouds so as to enter upon the earth for the remainder of that day. This supposition is strengthened by the fact that the word for "sun" used in this account is not "chammah", the sun itself, but "shemesh". the sun's radiance or rays, or as we would say, the sunlight. Similarly the word for "moon" used in the passage is "yareach", "the scent of the moon", i.e., moonlight, and not "levonah", the lunar satellite itself.

"And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened to the voice of a man: for the Lord fought for Israel" (v.1.14). This is the comment of the unknown transcriber who felt bound thus to complete his quotation from the Book of Jashar. The reference is of course to the hailstorm, which, the account tells us, was definitely sent by the Lord to ensure the Israelite victory.

AOH