Joshua 10:14
in Joshua 10There 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And there was no day like that before it or after it, that Jehovah hearkened unto the voice of a man: for Jehovah fought for Israel.
KJV
And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the Lord fought for Israel.
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This verse in Joshua 10
Commentary
3 notes on this verseAnd there was no day like that - There was no period of time in which the sun was kept so long above the horizon as on that occasion. Some learned men have supposed that the Fable of Phaeton was founded on this historic fact. The fable may be seen with all the elegance of poetic embellishment in the commencement of the second book of Ovid’s Metamorphoses; but I confess I can see nothing in the pretended copy that can justify the above opinion.
This site's exposition
no day like that before
The verse weighs no mechanism. What it calls unrepeatable is that the LORD hearkened unto the voice of a man, so the marvel is placed in answered prayer. Adam Clarke canvasses the means at length, including whether the light was prolonged rather than the earth halted, and reaches no settled account; John Gill raises the shadow that went backward for Hezekiah at 2 Kings 20:11 and holds that this day stands alone by the reason the verse itself gives. The tale that modern astronomers found a missing day in their calculations has no source behind it and is evidence for nothing here.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
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
On the verses either side of this one
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.
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
14 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְלֹ֨א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| הָיָ֜ה | hayah | it has been | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כַּיּ֤וֹם | kaiyom | like the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַהוּא֙ | hahu' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| לְפָנָ֣יו | lefanav | <to> before it | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| וְאַחֲרָ֔יו | veacharav | and after it | H310 → | 715 times |
| לִשְׁמֹ֥עַ | lishmoa' | to listen | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| בְּק֣וֹל | bekol | to [the] voice of | H6963 → | 506 times |
| אִ֑ישׁ | ʾish | a man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| נִלְחָ֖ם | nilcham | [was] fighting | H3898 → | 177 times |
| לְיִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ פ | leyisrael | for Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
וְלֹ֨אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
הָיָ֜הit has been
hayahH1961 →3559 times
כַּיּ֤וֹםlike the day
kaiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַהוּא֙<the> that
hahu'H1931 →1879 times
לְפָנָ֣יו<to> before it
lefanavH6440 →2123 times
וְאַחֲרָ֔יוand after it
veacharavH310 →715 times
לִשְׁמֹ֥עַto listen
lishmoa'H8085 →1159 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
בְּק֣וֹלto [the] voice of
bekolH6963 →506 times
אִ֑ישׁa man
ʾishH376 →1663 times
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
נִלְחָ֖ם[was] fighting
nilchamH3898 →177 times
לְיִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ פfor Israel
leyisraelH3478 →2507 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
Exodus 14:14The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 3:22
Do not be afraid of them, for the LORD your God Himself will fight for you.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 20:4
For the LORD your God goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Chronicles 20:17
You need not fight this battle. Take up your positions, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Go out…
- 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
- 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.
- Deuteronomy 3:22
Through
Deuteronomy 1:30The LORD your God, who goes before you, will fight for you, just as you saw Him do for you in Egypt
it leads to
- Exodus 14:14
The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Nehemiah 4:20
Wherever you hear the sound of the horn, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us!”
- Romans 8:37
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
- Exodus 14:14
About Joshua
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament.