The Promised Land · c. 1405 BC
Chapter 5
The Sun Stands Still
There was no day like that before it or after it, that Yahweh listened to the voice of a man; for Yahweh fought for Israel.
For parents
The Gibeonites, who tricked Israel, are cursed and put to work as slaves, cutting wood and carrying water (Joshua 9:23, 27). The battle at Gibeon is a great slaughter, and more of the fleeing armies die from hailstones from the sky than by the sword (10:10–11, 20). Joshua has his commanders put their feet on the necks of the five captured kings, then puts the kings to death and hangs their bodies on five trees until evening (10:22–27). City after city in the south is taken and completely destroyed, with every person in it, as the Lord commanded (10:28–42); it is all told plainly, without detail.
News of all this reached every king on the west side of the : the , , , , and kings. They ruled in the hill country, in the lowland, and along the whole shore of the facing . They all came together as one to fight and .
But the people who lived in had heard what Joshua had done to and to , and they too came up with a trick. They set out pretending to be ambassadors. They loaded their donkeys with old sacks, and with old leather wineskins that had split and been tied up again. They wore old, patched sandals and old clothes. All the bread they had brought to eat was dry and moldy.
They went to Joshua at the camp at , and they said to him and to the men of Israel, “We have come from a far country. So make a with us.”
The people of Gibeon were Hivites. The men of Israel said to them, “What if you live here among us? Then how could we make a covenant with you?”
They said to Joshua, “We are your servants.”
“Who are you?” Joshua asked them. “Where do you come from?”
They told him, “We have come from a very far country because of what we have heard about the Lord your God. We have heard about everything he did in . We have heard what he did to the two kings of the Amorites on the other side of the Jordan: to king of , and to , the king of , who lived at Ashtaroth.
“Our and everyone who lives in our country said to us, ‘Take food with you for the journey, and go and meet them. Tell them, “We are your servants. So now, make a covenant with us.”’
“This bread was still hot when we packed it at home, the day we left to come to you. Now look: it’s dry, and it has gone moldy. These wineskins we filled were new, and look, they’ve split. Our clothes and our sandals are worn out from the very long journey.”
The men of Israel tried some of their food, and they didn’t go to the Lord to ask what to do.
Joshua made peace with them. He made a covenant with them to let them live. The community’s leaders swore an oath to them.
Three days after they had made the covenant with them, the Israelites heard that these people were their neighbors, and that they lived among them. The Israelites set out, and on the third day they reached the Gibeonites’ cities: Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth and .
The Israelites didn’t attack them, because the community’s leaders had sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel. All the community grumbled against the leaders.
But all the leaders said to the whole community, “We have sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel, so now we must not lay a hand on them. Here is what we will do with them. We will let them live. Otherwise anger will fall on us because of our oath to them.”
“Let them live,” the leaders said. So the Gibeonites became the community’s woodcutters and water carriers, as the leaders had said.
Joshua called for the Gibeonites. “Why did you trick us?” he said to them. “You told us, ‘We are very far from you,’ but you live right here among us. So now you are cursed. From now on there will always be some of you serving as slaves, cutting wood and carrying water for the house of my God.”
They answered Joshua, “We were told for certain how the Lord your God commanded his servant to give you all the land, and to destroy everyone who lives in the land ahead of you. We were very afraid for our lives because of you, so we did this. Now here we are, in your hands. Do with us whatever seems good and right to you.”
This is what Joshua did with them. He saved them from the Israelites, so the Israelites didn’t kill them. That day Joshua made them woodcutters and water carriers for the community, and for the Lord’s in the place the Lord would choose. They still do that work today.
Now , king of , heard how Joshua had taken Ai and completely destroyed it. Joshua had done to Ai and its king what he had done to Jericho and its king. Adoni-Zedek heard too that the people of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and now lived among them. In Jerusalem they were very afraid, because Gibeon was a great city, like the cities ruled by kings. It was greater than Ai, and all its men were strong.
So Adoni-Zedek, king of Jerusalem, sent word to Hoham king of and Piram king of Jarmuth, and to Japhia king of and Debir king of . His message was: “Come up to me and help me. Let’s attack Gibeon. They have made peace with Joshua and the Israelites.”
So the five kings of the Amorites gathered together: the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish and the king of Eglon. They went up with all their armies, set up camp outside Gibeon and attacked it.
The men of Gibeon sent a message to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal: “Don’t abandon us! Come up to us quickly and save us! Help us! All the kings of the Amorites from the hill country have gathered together against us.”
So Joshua set out from Gilgal with his whole army, including all his best fighters.
The Lord said to Joshua, “Don’t be afraid of them. I have put them in your power. Not one of them will hold his ground against you.”
Joshua marched all night from Gilgal, and he took them by surprise. The Lord confused them in front of Israel. He struck them down in a great slaughter at Gibeon. He chased them along the road that climbs to , and kept striking them down all the way to Azekah and .
They ran from Israel, and as they were going down the slope from Beth Horon, the Lord threw huge stones down on them from the sky, all the way to Azekah, and they died. The hailstones killed more of them than the Israelites killed with the sword.
Then Joshua spoke to the Lord, on the day the Lord handed the Amorites over to Israel. In front of all Israel he said:
“Sun, stand still on Gibeon!You, moon, stop in the valley of !”
The sun stood still,the moon stopped,until the nation had paid its enemies back.
Isn’t this written in the ? The sun stayed in the middle of the sky and didn’t go down for about a whole day. There was no day like that before it or after it, when the Lord listened to a man’s voice. The Lord was fighting for Israel.
Then Joshua went back to the camp at Gilgal, and all Israel with him.
The five kings had run away and hidden themselves in the cave at Makkedah. Joshua was told, “The five kings have been found, hiding in the cave at Makkedah.”
Joshua said, “Roll big stones over the mouth of the cave, and post men there to guard them. But don’t stay there yourselves. Chase your enemies. Attack them from behind, and don’t let them get into their cities, because the Lord your God has put them in your power.”
Joshua and the Israelites struck them down in a very great slaughter, until only a few of them were left. Those few got into the walled cities. Then all the people came back safely to the camp, to Joshua at Makkedah. No one spoke a word against any of the Israelites.
Then Joshua said, “Open the cave’s entrance, and bring those five kings out to me.”
They did as he said, and brought the five kings out of the cave to Joshua: the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish and the king of Eglon.
When they had brought the kings out to Joshua, he called for all the men of Israel. He said to the commanders of the fighting men who had gone with him, “Come here. Put your feet on the necks of these kings.” They came and put their feet on the kings’ necks.
Joshua said to them, “Don’t be afraid, and don’t lose heart. Be strong and courageous, because the Lord will do the same to every enemy you fight.”
After that, Joshua struck the kings down and put them to death, and he hung their bodies on five trees. They hung there on the trees until evening.
At sundown Joshua gave the order. The bodies were taken down off the trees and thrown into the cave where the kings had hidden. Great stones were laid over the mouth of the cave, and they are there to this very day.
That same day Joshua took Makkedah. He struck it and its king with the sword. He completely destroyed it and every person in it. He left no one remaining. He treated the king of Makkedah the way he had treated the king of Jericho.
From Makkedah Joshua and all Israel went on to Libnah and fought against it. The Lord handed Libnah and its king over to Israel too. He struck it and every person in it with the sword. He left no one remaining in it, and he treated its king the way he had treated the king of Jericho.
From Libnah they went on to Lachish, set up camp outside it and fought against it. The Lord gave Lachish over to Israel, and on the second day Joshua took it. He struck it and every person in it with the sword, as he had done at Libnah. Then Horam king of Gezer came up to help Lachish, and Joshua struck him and his people until he had left no one remaining.
From Lachish they went on to Eglon. They took it that same day and struck it with the sword. That day Joshua completely destroyed every person in it, as he had done at Lachish. From Eglon they went up to Hebron, and from there they turned back to the city of . They took each of them, with its king and its towns. They struck them with the sword and completely destroyed every person in them. Joshua left no one remaining. He dealt with Hebron the way he had dealt with Eglon. He dealt with Debir and its king the way he had dealt with Hebron, and the way he had dealt with Libnah and its king.
So Joshua conquered the whole land and all its kings: the hill country, , the lowland and the slopes. He left no one remaining. He completely destroyed everything that breathed, as the Lord, the God of Israel, commanded.
Joshua defeated them from all the way to , and across the whole region of , up to Gibeon. In one campaign, Joshua took all these kings and their land, because the Lord, the God of Israel, fought for Israel.
Then Joshua went back to the camp at Gilgal, and all Israel with him.