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Joshua 10:13

in Joshua 10

So the sun stood still and the moon stopped until the nation took vengeance upon its enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? “So the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day.”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, Until the nation had avenged themselves of their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jashar? And the sun stayed in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.

KJV

And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.

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This verse in Joshua 10

Commentary

4 notes on this verse

A commentator

Ambrose of Milan

On the Duties of the Clergy 2.20.99 · Written before 397.

on Joshua 10:12-13

Everywhere, therefore, he alone kept close to holy Moses amid all these wondrous works and dread secrets. In this way it happened that the one who had been Moses' companion in this intercourse with God succeeded to his power. Worthy surely was he to stand forth as a man who might stay the course of the river, and who might say, "Sun, stand still," and delay the night and lengthen the day, as though to witness his victory. Why?—a blessing denied to Moses—he alone was chosen to lead the people into the promised land.

This site's exposition

stand thou still upon Gibeon

on Joshua 10:12-13

The words Joshua speaks stand as poetry, addressed to the sun over Gibeon and the moon over the valley of Ajalon, which are the two ends of the sky from a man on that battlefield. The book of Jasher is named here for the first time in Scripture and once more at 2 Samuel 1:18, and the book itself has not survived; the volumes printed under that title today are later compositions with no line back to the one this writer cites. Keil and Delitzsch make the quotation the governing fact and hold that a poet's language should not be pressed for astronomy, while Matthew Henry and John Gill read a real lengthening of the day. Habakkuk 3:11 uses the same picture, the sun and moon stood still in their habitation, inside a poem.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

Avenged them on their enemies - That is, till they bad utterly destroyed them. Book of Jasher - This book was written and published before Joshua wrote his, and so is fitly alluded here.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

on Joshua 10:12-15

It would seem, from Jos 10:14, that the command of Joshua was in reality a prayer to God for the performance of this miracle; and that, although the prayers of eminently good men like Moses often prevailed with God, never was there on any other occasion so astonishing a display of divine power made in behalf of His people, as in answer to the prayer of Joshua.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

Is it not written [in the Seifer Ha Yoshor.] This subject is recorded in the Torah, 8 What is the Seifer Ha Yoshor that is mentioned in this verse? We do not have any book that is called by that name.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on Joshua 10:13:1, via Sefaria, The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 7 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

23 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וַיִּדֹּ֨םand it was still

    vaiyidomH1826 →

  • הַשֶּׁ֜מֶשׁthe sun

    hashemeshH8121 →134 times

  • וְיָרֵ֣חַand [the] moon

    veyareachH3394 →

  • עָמָ֗דit stood still

    ʾamadH5975 →521 times

  • עַד־until

    ʾad-H5704 →1261 times

  • יִקֹּ֥םit avenged itself on

    yikomH5358 →

  • גּוֹי֙[the] nation

    goyH1471 →561 times

  • אֹֽיְבָ֔יוenemies its

    ʾoyevavH341 →282 times

  • הֲלֹא־¿ not

    halo'-H3808 →5168 times

  • הִ֥יא[is] it

    hi'H1931 →1879 times

  • כְתוּבָ֖הwritten

    khetuvahH3789 →224 times

  • עַל־on

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • סֵ֣פֶר[the] scroll of

    seferH5612 →186 times

  • הַיָּשָׁ֑ר<the> Jashar

    haiyasharH3477 →

  • וַיַּעֲמֹ֤דand it stood still

    vaiyaamodH5975 →521 times

  • הַשֶּׁ֙מֶשׁ֙the sun

    hashemeshH8121 →134 times

  • בַּחֲצִ֣יin [the] middle of

    bachatziH2677 →125 times

  • הַשָּׁמַ֔יִםthe heavens

    hashamayimH8064 →421 times

  • וְלֹא־and not

    velo'-H3808 →5168 times

  • אָ֥ץit hastened

    ʾatzH213 →

  • לָב֖וֹאto go

    lavo'H935 →2568 times

  • כְּי֥וֹםabout a day

    keyomH3117 →2304 times

  • תָּמִֽים׃complete

    tamimH8549 →

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Habakkuk 3:11Sun and moon stood still in their places at the flash of Your flying arrows, at the brightness of Your shining spear.11 worksIsaiah 38:8I will make the sun’s shadow that falls on the stairway of Ahaz go back ten steps.’” So the sunlight went back the ten steps it had descended.10 worksJoshua 10:14There has been no day like it before or since, when the LORD listened to the voice of a man, because the LORD fought for Israel.8 worksJudges 16:28Then Samson called out to the LORD: “O Lord GOD, please remember me. Strengthen me, O God, just once more, so that with one vengeful blow I may pay back the Philistines for my two eyes.”7 worksJoshua 10:12On the day that the LORD gave the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua spoke to the LORD in the presence of Israel: “O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.”7 worksJoel 3:15The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will no longer shine.6 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
2 Samuel 1:18and he ordered that the sons of Judah be taught the Song of the Bow. It is written in the Book of Jashar:6 worksEsther 8:13A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued in every province and published to all the people, so that the Jews would be ready on that day to avenge themselves on their enemies.6 worksPsalms 136:7–9He made the great lights— His loving devotion endures forever.6 worksLuke 18:7Will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry out to Him day and night? Will He continue to defer their help?6 worksPsalms 148:3Praise Him, O sun and moon; praise Him, all you shining stars.6 worksJoel 2:10Before them the earth quakes; the heavens tremble. The sun and moon grow dark, and the stars lose their brightness.6 worksPsalms 19:4their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens He has pitched a tent for the sun.6 worksNumbers 31:2“Take vengeance on the Midianites for the Israelites. After that, you will be gathered to your people.”5 worksPsalms 74:16–17The day is Yours, and also the night; You established the moon and the sun.5 worksJoshua 10:11As they fled before Israel along the descent from Beth-horon to Azekah, the LORD cast down on them large hailstones from the sky, and more of them were killed by the hailstones than by the swords of the Israelites.5 worksIsaiah 24:23The moon will be confounded and the sun will be ashamed; for the LORD of Hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before His elders with great glory.5 worksJudges 5:2“When the princes take the lead in Israel, when the people volunteer, bless the LORD.5 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Joshua 10:14

    There has been no day like it before or since, when the LORD listened to the voice of a man, because the LORD fought for Israel.

    it leads to

    • Deuteronomy 1:30

      The LORD your God, who goes before you, will fight for you, just as you saw Him do for you in Egypt

    • Exodus 14:14

      The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

    • Joshua 10:42

      And because the LORD, the God of Israel, fought for Israel, Joshua captured all these kings and their land in one campaign.

    • Joshua 23:3

      “and you have seen everything that the LORD your God has done to all these nations for your sake, because it was the LORD your God who fought for you.

    • Luke 17:6

      And the Lord answered, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.

  • Through

    Judges 16:28

    Then Samson called out to the LORD: “O Lord GOD, please remember me. Strengthen me, O God, just once more, so that with one vengeful blow I may pay back the Philistines for my…

    it leads to

    • Lamentations 3:31–32

      For the Lord will not cast us off forever.

    • Jeremiah 15:15

      You understand, O LORD; remember me and attend to me. Avenge me against my persecutors. In Your patience, do not take me away. Know that I endure reproach for Your honor.

    • Revelation 6:10

      And they cried out in a loud voice, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You avenge our blood and judge those who dwell upon the earth?”

About Joshua

Joshua Commands the Sun to Stand Still — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Joshua Commands the Sun to Stand Still — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Joshua: the study guide →Read Joshua 10 →

This page draws on Ambrose of Milan, On the Duties of the Clergy 2.20.99; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Joshua 10 →