Joshua 10, Conquest of the Amorites (and a Still Sun!)

The people of Israel have been victorious at Ai.  Their reputation spreads across the region.  Next on the list is a small community called Jerusalem.

Joshua 10: 1-4, Alliance by the Amorites

Now Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had taken Ai and totally destroyed it, doing to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king, and that the people of Gibeon had made a treaty of peace with Israel and were living near them. He and his people were very much alarmed at this, because Gibeon was an important city, like one of the royal cities; it was larger than Ai, and all its men were good fighters.

    

So Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem appealed to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish and Debir king of Eglon. "Come up and help me attack Gibeon," he said, "because it has made peace with Joshua and the Israelites."

The Gibeonites are described in II Samuel 21 as Amorites. The Amorites are going after a fellow tribe that has gone over to the side of Israel.

Joshua 10: 5-7, Call for help

Then the five kings of the Amorites--the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon--joined forces. They moved up with all their troops and took up positions against Gibeon and attacked it.    

    

The Gibeonites then sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal: "Do not abandon your servants. Come up to us quickly and save us! Help us, because all the Amorite kings from the hill country have joined forces against us."

    

So Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his entire army, including all the best fighting men.

Joshua is called to rescue his new allies. This is an immediate consequence of the treaty with a local tribe.

Joshua 10: 8-11, Hailstorm

The LORD said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you."

     

After an all-night march from Gilgal, Joshua took them by surprise. The LORD threw them into confusion before Israel, who defeated them in a great victory at Gibeon. Israel pursued them along the road going up to Beth Horon and cut them down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah. As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the LORD hurled large hailstones down on them from the sky, and more of them died from the hailstones than were killed by the swords of the Israelites.

YHWH promises Joshua that the battle is won.  After an overnight march, the Israelites surprise the Amorites and are supported by a powerful hailstorm.

In the cultural context of that day, we are told that "YHWH hurled large hailstones..."  Is this poetic imagery or is it "literal"?  I argue that neither response captures the cultural view of nature.  To the ancient Hebrew (or their pagan neighbors), God (or the gods) control the functions of nature and make decisions about the weather. A modern Christian might say, "God created a powerful thunderstorm and the hail from the storm was so big that it killed the Amorites."  In the ancient near east, this is exactly what is meant by "God hurled hailstones." 

Joshua 10: 12-15, A still sun

On the day the LORD gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the LORD in the presence of Israel: 

"O sun, stand still over Gibeon,

O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon." 

So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, 

till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, 

as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the LORD listened to a man. Surely the LORD was fighting for Israel!  

    

Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal.

Wow!  The physical effects of the sun truly standing still, that is, the earth not rotating, are beyond credibility.  A number of commentators suggest some type of optical illusion. Several have suggested something related to the severe thunderstorm; other commentators suggest that this is story-telling hyperbole dramatizing the powerful work of YHWH in the victory. The NIV offsets part of this passage as a poetic piece, possibly from a book of songs, the unknown Book of Jashar.

What is the Book of Jashar?  There are a number of external references that occur in the Old Testament.  One view of those books is here.  A link to a Wikipedia page on that text is here.

Joshua 10: 16-20, Catching five kings

Now the five kings had fled and hidden in the cave at Makkedah. When Joshua was told that the five kings had been found hiding in the cave at Makkedah, he said, "Roll large rocks up to the mouth of the cave, and post some men there to guard it.

    

"But don't stop! Pursue your enemies, attack them from the rear and don't let them reach their cities, for the LORD your God has given them into your hand." So Joshua and the Israelites destroyed them completely--almost to a man--but the few who were left reached their fortified cities.

Most of the Amorites are "destroyed" (or "fully devoted") but some escape to their fortified cities.  Regardless, the Israelites have won this war.

Joshua 10: 21-27, Joshua kills five kings

The whole army then returned safely to Joshua in the camp at Makkedah, and no one uttered a word against the Israelites. Joshua said, "Open the mouth of the cave and bring those five kings out to me."

    

So they brought the five kings out of the cave--the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon. When they had brought these kings to Joshua, he summoned all the men of Israel and said to the army commanders who had come with him, "Come here and put your feet on the necks of these kings." So they came forward and placed their feet on their necks.

     

Joshua said to them, "Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous. This is what the LORD will do to all the enemies you are going to fight." Then Joshua struck and killed the kings and hung them on five trees, and they were left hanging on the trees until evening.

    

At sunset Joshua gave the order and they took them down from the trees and threw them into the cave where they had been hiding. At the mouth of the cave they placed large rocks, which are there to this day.

The kings are captured and executed by Joshua.  After their deaths, the bodies of the kings are hung on trees for the day before they are buried. As prescribed in Deuteronomy 21: 22-23, the bodies of the executed are to be taken down before evening.

Joshua 10: 28-39, Other cites

That day Joshua took Makkedah. He put the city and its king to the sword and totally destroyed everyone in it. He left no survivors. And he did to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the king of Jericho.

    

Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Makkedah to Libnah and attacked it. The LORD also gave that city and its king into Israel's hand. The city and everyone in it Joshua put to the sword. He left no survivors there. And he did to its king as he had done to the king of Jericho.

    

Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Libnah to Lachish; he took up positions against it and attacked it. The LORD handed Lachish over to Israel, and Joshua took it on the second day. The city and everyone in it he put to the sword, just as he had done to Libnah.  

    

Meanwhile, Horam king of Gezer had come up to help Lachish, but Joshua defeated him and his army--until no survivors were left.

    

Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Lachish to Eglon; they took up positions against it and attacked it. They captured it that same day and put it to the sword and totally destroyed everyone in it, just as they had done to Lachish.

    

Then Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to Hebron and attacked it. They took the city and put it to the sword, together with its king, its villages and everyone in it. They left no survivors. Just as at Eglon, they totally destroyed it and everyone in it.

    

Then Joshua and all Israel with him turned around and attacked Debir. They took the city, its king and its villages, and put them to the sword. Everyone in it they totally destroyed. They left no survivors. They did to Debir and its king as they had done to Libnah and its king and to Hebron.

Makkedah, Libnah, Lachish, Gezer, Eglon, Hebron, Debir,...   all fall to the Israelites, as the nation spreads over the land.  This short passage probably summarizes years, maybe decades, of warfare. We see that Makkedah and Libnah are treated as Jericho, Lachish is treated "as Libnah", Eglon as Lachish, Hebron as Eglon. Finally Debir is treated "as Libnah ... and Hebron."  At least one city falls in one day; Lachish takes two days.

Other defeated kings will form a list in chapter 12 as the author quickly wraps up the history of the conquest and moves on to the distribution of the lands.

Joshua 10: 40-43, Complete victory

So Joshua subdued the whole region, including the hill country, the Negev, the western foothills and the mountain slopes, together with all their kings. He left no survivors. He totally destroyed all who breathed, just as the LORD, the God of Israel, had commanded.

Joshua subdued them from Kadesh Barnea to Gaza and from the whole region of Goshen to Gibeon. All these kings and their lands Joshua conquered in one campaign, because the LORD, the God of Israel, fought for Israel.

Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal.

This passage summarizes the chapter: Joshua and his people have conquered the land of southern Canaan.