Joshua 10 Footnotes

10:12-15 In one of the most remarkable occurrences recorded in biblical history, God responded to Joshua’s prayer by causing the sun and the moon to stop their movement. Time came to a standstill for nearly an entire day. This text is more than a record of astronomical events; it also makes a theological point. The supposed gods of the sun and moon were prominent in Canaanite religion; the Lord’s greater power now divests these bodies of their religious significance and puts them to the service of his people. The Genesis account of creation offers a similar perspective; the sun and moon—the “two great lights” (Gn 1:16)—do not appear till the fourth day; they are not identified with the light of God’s first creative act (Gn 1:3), but serve as regulators of earthly time.

The event was the act of a sovereign and omnipotent God who governs his creation. The emphasis of the passage is how, on that particular day, God listened to the prayer of Joshua in a way that had never been witnessed. The event was clear evidence that the Lord was fighting for Israel. The quote from the Book of Jashar probably encompasses vv. 13b-15, since v. 16 continues the narrative from vv. 10-11.