Joshua 10:13

“And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, until the nation took vengeance on their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in the midst of heaven and did not hurry to set for about a whole day.” 

The account of Joshua’s long day in Joshua 10:12–14 is one of the most debated miracles in the Old Testament. Joshua, leading Israel against the Amorites, prayed for divine intervention, and Scripture records that the sun and moon halted. The text boldly declares:

“There has been no day like it before or since, when the Lord heeded the voice of a man, for the Lord fought for Israel.” (Joshua 10:14, ESV)

The traditional interpretation suggests that the sun literally stopped in the sky. However, modern scholarship, biblical patterns, and historical records suggest a more nuanced understanding. What if this event was not a suspension of celestial mechanics, but rather a supernatural prolonging of daylight by the radiance of God’s own glory?

This blog presents an analysis, examining historical, theological, and apologetic perspectives while addressing skeptical objections and introducing a possible resolution: from Earth’s perspective, the sun appeared to stand still, but from God’s perspective, He illuminated the battlefield with His own divine light.

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1. Historical and Scholarly Interpretations

A. The Literal Miracle Interpretation

The traditional view held by early Jewish interpreters and Church Fathers asserts that God supernaturally extended daylight by halting or altering the motion of the sun and moon.

Origen (c. 184–253) affirmed this reading, stating:

“He who established the heavens and numbered the stars by name can surely command their course to cease, for nature obeys its Master.”¹

Similarly, Basil the Great (c. 329–379) argued against naturalistic explanations:

“The Lord who divided the Red Sea can extend the day. To ask how is to forget whom we serve.”²

The Jewish historian Josephus (c. 37–100 AD) described the event as a supernatural occurrence:

“The day was increased, that night might not fall upon the Hebrews while they were avenging themselves upon their enemies.”³

Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) later defended this interpretation:

“Since all motion derives from the Prime Mover, it is not contradictory that He who set the heavenly bodies in motion should suspend them.”⁴

This view maintains that the Creator of natural laws is not bound by them and can alter time and space as He wills.

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B. The Hyperbolic or Phenomenological Interpretation

Another view is that Joshua’s language is poetic, hyperbolic, or phenomenological—describing the event from the observer’s perspective rather than as a technical astronomical statement.

John Calvin (1509–1564) insisted:

“The Holy Spirit had no intention to teach astronomy, but to convey, in common language, a great work of divine power.”⁵

John Walton, an expert in Ancient Near Eastern (ANE) literature, argues that the event is framed in ANE battle language:

*“The account is a description of divine intervention from the perspective of an observer.”⁶

Even Keil and Delitzsch (19th-century scholars) held that:

“The miracle is described from the standpoint of the observer, just as we ourselves speak of the rising and setting of the sun.”⁷

This aligns with how we still speak today of sunrise and sunset, even though we know the earth rotates.

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C. The Supernatural Light Interpretation: God’s Glory as the Source of Prolonged Daylight

A third and more compelling explanation is that while Joshua and Israel perceived the sun standing still, the actual source of the prolonged light was the radiant glory of God Himself. This aligns with biblical patterns of divine light replacing or exceeding the sun’s brightness.

1. God’s Glory as Light

• Psalm 84:11 – “For the Lord God is a sun and shield.”
• Isaiah 60:19-20 – “The sun shall be no more your light by day… but the Lord will be your everlasting light.”
• Revelation 21:23 – “The city has no need of sun or moon… for the glory of God gives it light.”

2. The Angel of the Lord as Radiant Like the Sun

• Judges 5:31 – “May those who love Him be like the rising sun in its might.”
• Matthew 17:2 – “His face shone like the sun.” (Transfiguration of Christ)
• Revelation 1:16 – “His face was like the sun shining in full strength.”

If God’s presence has been seen as brighter than the sun, then it is possible that Joshua’s long day was illuminated by the divine radiance of God or His Angelic Messenger.

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2. Apologetic Considerations: Addressing Skepticism

Objection 1: “There’s No Extra-Biblical Evidence”

• Herodotus mentions an extended day in Egypt.¹²
• The Shu King (Chinese text) records a “long day.”¹³
• Incan and Aztec legends speak of prolonged daylight.¹⁴

Objection 2: “Miracles Violate Natural Laws”

• C.S. Lewis:

“Laws of nature describe what happens when God does not intervene.”¹¹

• Alvin Plantinga:

“If God exists, then intervention in the natural order is not only possible, but expected.”

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3. Theological and Christological Implications

• Theodoret of Cyrus (c. 393–457 AD) linked Joshua’s victory to Christ’s triumph:

“As Joshua’s battle was lengthened, so Christ’s victory is unending, for He is the true Sun that will never set.”¹⁰

If Joshua’s victory was prolonged by the light of God, then it foreshadows Christ as the eternal Light of the World (John 8:12).

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4. A Divine Light Instead of a Celestial Halt?

We frequently use observational language to describe natural events as they appear, rather than as they scientifically occur. For example:

• We say “the sun rises” and “the sun sets”, but in reality, the Earth is rotating while the sun remains stationary relative to our solar system.
• We speak of “stars twinkling”, yet this effect is caused by Earth’s atmospheric turbulence distorting their light, not by the stars themselves fluctuating in brightness.
• When we say “the moon is shining”, we are not describing the reality that the moon has no light of its own, but rather reflects sunlight.
• We describe lightning as “flashing”, though what we perceive as a flash is actually a rapid sequence of electrical discharges occurring in fractions of a second.

Similarly, in Joshua 10:12–14, the description of the sun standing still may reflect how the event was observed rather than an astronomical statement of what physically happened. From Joshua’s perspective, daylight remained when it should have faded, making it appear as though the sun had stopped moving. However, the true cause may have been God’s supernatural light sustaining the battlefield, a divine intervention that was recorded in the only language available to human observers.

Rather than requiring the earth to stop rotating, the best explanation is that:

1. From Earth’s perspective, the sun appeared to stand still.
2. From God’s perspective, He sustained the battlefield with His own light.
3. The unique nature of this event (Joshua 10:14) aligns with God manifesting His glory in a way that had never been seen before or since.

This maintains the theological integrity of the miracle, aligns with biblical descriptions of divine light, and avoids unnecessary scientific conflicts while affirming God’s direct intervention on behalf of His people.

“The Lord fought for Israel.” (Joshua 10:14)

Indeed, while the sun appeared to stand still on Joshua’s long day, it is possible that the prolonged light was sustained by the radiant presence of God Himself.

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Footnotes:

¹ Origen, Homilies on Joshua, 10.4.
² Basil the Great, Hexaemeron, 6.10.
³ Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 5.1.17.
⁴ Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, I.105.6.
⁵ John Calvin, Commentary on Joshua, trans. Henry Beveridge (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2009), 208.
⁶ John Walton, Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2006), 179.
⁷ Keil and Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, 136.
⁸ Colin J. Humphreys and W. G. Waddington, “Dating the Crucifixion,” Nature 306 (1983): 743–46.
⁹ Augustine, City of God, 21.8.
¹⁰ Theodoret of Cyrus, Commentary on Joshua, 3.4.
¹¹ C.S. Lewis, Miracles (New York: Macmillan, 1947), 3.
¹² Herodotus, Histories, 2.142.
¹³ Shu King, Book of Yao, 1.5.
¹⁴ William Prescott, History of the Conquest of Peru (New York: Modern Library, 1998), 59.
¹⁵ Basil the Great, Hexaemeron, 1.4.