“The sun stood still”
1 ① Adonizedek king of Jerusalem came to know how Joshua had conquered and leveled Ai, doing to it and its king what he had done to Jericho and its king. He also knew how the Gibeonites had made peace with the Israelites and were living in their midst. 2He feared greatly, for Gibeon was a very important city, a royal city greater than Ai and its men were very brave.
3In view of this, Adonizedek sent for Hoham king of Hebron, for Aram king of Jarmuth, for Japhia king of Lachish and for Debir king of Eglon saying: 4“Come and help me conquer Gibeon for it has made a pact with Joshua and the Israelites.”
5So the five kings of the Amorites — the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon — joined forces and set out, each one with troops. They encamped opposite Gibeon and surrounded it.
6The Gibeonites sent word to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal: “Do not leave us alone, but come and help us, for all the Amorite kings who live on the mountains have united against us.”
7So Joshua left Gilgal that day with all his valiant warriors. 8Then Yahweh said to Joshua: “Do not be afraid because I have placed them in your hands and no one among them will be able to stand up against you.” 9Joshua marched from Gilgal, journeying throughout the night and came upon the Amorites by surprise.
10Yahweh defeated them. The Israelites gained a great victory in Gibeon and pursued the Amorites by the slope of Beth-horon up to Azekah and Makkedah.
11As they were fleeing, Yahweh rained huge hailstones on them and pursued them up to Azekah, and they were killed. There were more who died because of the hailstones than by the sword of the Israelites.
12On that day when Yahweh gave the Amorites over to them, Joshua addressed Yahweh and said in the sight of all Israel:
“Sun, stand still at Gibeon, and you, moon, in the valley of Aijalon.”
13And the sun stood still and the moon stopped until the people had taken revenge on their enemies: so it is written in the Book of the Just, “The sun stood still in mid-heaven and did not hasten to set for almost a whole day. 14There has not been a day like this before or after in which Yahweh obeyed the order of a man. It was Yahweh who fought for Israel.”
15Then Joshua and all Israel returned to the camp at Gilgal.
16But the five kings fled and hid themselves in a cave at Makkedah. 17And so it was told to Joshua: “We have found the five kings. They are hiding in a cave at Makkedah.”
18So Joshua ordered: “Roll great stones against the entrance of the cave and set men to guard it. 19But do not stay there. Pursue your enemies and fall upon their rear. Do not let them return to their cities for Yahweh, our God, has placed them in our hands.”
20Joshua and the Israelites destroyed and finished them off. Only a few survivors were left who took refuge in the fortified cities 21while all Israel returned unscathed to the camp with Joshua. Henceforth, no one dared challenge them.
22Then Joshua ordered: “Open the entrance of the cave, take the five kings out and bring them to me.” 23They did this and brought the five kings before Joshua: the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Lachish, Jarmuth and Eglon. 24Joshua assembled all Israel and said to the captains of the troops: “Come here and step on the necks of these kings."
So they came near and put their feet on the necks of the kings.
25Then Joshua said to them: “Do not be afraid or lose courage, be valiant and firm, for Yahweh will do so to all your enemies against whom you will fight.”
26Joshua immediately put them to death by hanging them on five trees until evening. 27At nightfall, they took down the bodies of the kings and threw them into the same cave where they had hidden and closed it with great stones which remain there to this day.
Joshua conquers the southern part of Canaan
28On that same day Joshua seized Makkedah. He slew its king and its inhabitants. And he consecrated it and all that was in it in anathema to Yahweh, without sparing anyone. The king suffered the same fate as did the king of Jericho.
29Then Joshua and all Israel went to attack Libnah. 30Yahweh gave the city and its king to the Israelites, and they put to the sword all its inhabitants without sparing anyone. The king met the same fate as the king of Jericho. 31From Libnah Joshua went to Lachish, laid siege to it and attacked it. 32Yahweh also gave them this city and its king and inhabitants suffered the same fate as Libnah. 33Then Horam king of Gezer came to help Lachish but Joshua destroyed him together with all his people without leaving anyone alive.
34From Lachish he then went to Eglon; he besieged it and conquered it on the same day. 35The king and the inhabitants of Eglon were also put to death by the sword. They consecrated the city in anathema as they had done to Lachish.
36From Eglon they went to Hebron. Joshua conquered it together with 37all the towns which were subject to it, put to the sword its king and all its inhabitants, without letting anyone survive. He consecrated it in anathema as he had dealt with Eglon.
38Joshua and all Israel with him turned back to Debir and attacked it. He took it as well as the towns subject to it. 39He put to the sword its king and inhabitants, consecrating them in anathema, without sparing anyone. Debir and its king received the same punishment as Hebron and Libnah.
40In this way, Joshua struck the whole region of the Mountains, the Negeb Desert, the Plains and the mountain slopes with their kings.
He did not let anyone survive but consecrated all living beings in anathema according to what Yahweh had commanded. 41Joshua destroyed them all from Kadesh-barnea to Gaza and from Goshen to Gibeon. 42Joshua defeated all these kings and seized all these lands in one single campaign because Yahweh fought for Israel.
43Then he and all Israel returned to their camp at Gilgal.
- Jos 10,1 The sun of Gibeon has caused enough worry to those who take everything they read in the Bible literally. Some thought that at that moment the sun stood still in the sky. Later, when people learned that it is the earth that revolves around the sun, they thought the earth must have stopped turning. But this explanation is not acceptable either; for, had the earth suddenly stood still, the resulting momentum would have caused total destruction. Therefore, we have to remark that the Bible is citing in this case poetic literature, the Book of the Just, and that the poets are led by their imagination and do not write in the manner of historians or scientists. Hence, they may have wanted to say that simply it was a great day.
