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| 1 And it came to pass when Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had taken Ai and had utterly destroyed it, that he had done to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king, and that the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel, and were among them, |
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| 2 that they feared greatly; for Gibeon was a great city, as one of the royal cities, and it was greater than Ai, and all its men were mighty. |
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| 3 And Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent to Hoham king of Hebron, and to Piream king of Jarmuth, and to Japhia king of Lachish, and to Debir king of Eglon, saying, |
Adoni-zedek . . . Japhia – Mentioned by name in the Tel-el-Amarna tablets of Egypt. R1652:2, R1994:1
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| 4 Come up to me, and help me, that we may smite Gibeon; for it has made peace with Joshua and with the children of Israel. |
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| 5 And the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, gathered themselves together, and went up, they and all their armies, and they encamped before Gibeon, and made war against it. |
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| 6 And the men of Gibeon sent to Joshua, to the camp at Gilgal, saying, Withdraw not thy hand from thy servants: come up to us quickly, and save us and help us; for all the kings of the Amorites that dwell in the hill-country are gathered against us. |
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| 7 So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and all the people of war with him, even all the valiant men. |
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| 8 And Jehovah said to Joshua, Fear them not; for into thy hand have I given them: not a man of them shall stand before thee. |
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| 9 And Joshua came upon them suddenly; he went up from Gilgal all night. |
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| 10 And Jehovah discomfited them before Israel, and smote them with a great slaughter at Gibeon; and he chased them on the way of the ascent of Beth-horon, and smote them up to Azekah and Makkedah. |
And the LORD – Not Joshua. R3344:3*
Discomfited them – Used violence on them. R3344:3*
Slaughter at Gibeon – Type of God's deliverance of regathered Israel. D555
In the last days, the Lord "shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon." (Isa. 28:21) R564:6
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| 11 And it came to pass, as they fled from before Israel, --they were at the descent of Beth-horon, --that Jehovah cast down great stones from heaven upon them up to Azekah, and they died. They were more who died with the hailstones than they whom the children of Israel had slain with the sword. |
Hailstones – The immense hailstones killing so many seems quite in line with the interpretation that the day was dark instead of light. PD38/48
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| 12 Then spoke Joshua to Jehovah in the day when Jehovah gave up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand still upon Gibeon; And thou, moon, in the valley of Ajalon! |
Then spake Joshua – Type of Christ. A79
Sun – Shemesh, sunlight. R3344:2*
Joshua addressing in prayer the Lord as the Sun. R1381:5
Stand thou still – Continue thy mighty help for us in battle. R1381:5
Dum, be dim, let this darkness continue which accompanies the hail-storm and so greatly terrifies the Amorites. R3344:5*[R3344*]
The obscurity of the sun and moon was really a great phenomenon, of which Joshua made use to discomfit the foe, commanding the sun and moon to stay hidden. PD38/48; Q828:1; R3344:5*
That the sunlight continue without the orb itself being visible. R1381:5
Upon – In. R3344:5*
Gibeon – The last beams of the sun setting in the west, still lighting Mt. Gibeon. R1381:8
And thou, Moon – Yareach, moonlight. R3344:2*, R1381:5
God's peaceful blessing. R1381:5
The valley of Ajalon – The rising moon casting its beams directly through the valley of Ajalon. R1381:5
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| 13 And the sun stood still, and the moon remained where it was, until the nation had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? And the sun remained standing in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a full day. |
And the sun – Shemesh, sunlight. R3344:2*
Stood still – Dum, remained dim; the great darkness accompanying the storm continued. R3344:6*
Not by a stoppage of the earth on its axis, but possibly by clouds reflecting the sunlight. R1381:5, R1813:3, PD38/48
Totally different from the reference in Hab. 3:11. R1813:3
And the moon – Yareach, moonlight. R3344:2*
Stayed – Amad, continued dim as it was. R3344:6*
Upon their enemies – The force of this continued obscuration of the sun and moon upon the Amorites can be better understood when we remember that they were worshippers of the sun and moon. R3344:6*
Book of Jasher – Now lost--this is not an eyewitness account. R1381:4
Stood still – Typical of the power to be displayed in the time of trouble at the hands of Christ. A61
The enemies of Joshua were sun-worshippers, and the darkness of the day foreboded that their Sun-god was eclipsed. PD38/48
And hasted not – Did not press or force its way through. R3344:6*
To go down – Bo, to go in. R3344:6*
About a whole day – The sunlight, usually so bright in Syria, did not press through the clouds all that day. R3344:6*
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| 14 And there was no day like that before it or after it, that Jehovah hearkened to the voice of a man; for Jehovah fought for Israel. |
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| 15 And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp, to Gilgal. |
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| 16 And these five kings fled, and hid themselves in the cave at Makkedah. |
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| 17 And it was told Joshua, saying, The five kings have been found, hid in the cave at Makkedah. |
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| 18 And Joshua said, Roll great stones before the mouth of the cave, and set men before it to keep them. |
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| 19 And ye, stay not, pursue after your enemies, and smite the hindmost of them; suffer them not to enter into their cities; for Jehovah your God has given them into your hand. |
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| 20 And it came to pass when Joshua and the children of Israel had ended smiting them with a very great slaughter, until they were consumed, that the remnant which remained of them entered into fortified cities; |
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| 21 and all the people returned to the camp to Joshua, at Makkedah, in peace; none moved his tongue against the children of Israel. |
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| 22 And Joshua said, Open the mouth of the cave, and bring forth to me those five kings out of the cave. |
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| 23 And they did so, and brought forth to him those five kings out of the cave, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon. |
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| 24 And it came to pass when they had brought forth those kings to Joshua, that Joshua called to all the men of Israel, and said to the captains of the men of war who went with him, Come forward, put your feet on the necks of these kings. And they came forward and put their feet on their necks. |
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| 25 And Joshua said to them, Fear not, neither be dismayed; be strong and courageous, for thus will Jehovah do to all your enemies against whom ye fight. |
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| 26 And afterwards Joshua smote them, and put them to death, and hanged them on five trees; and they were hanging upon the trees until the evening. |
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| 27 And it came to pass at the time of the going down of the sun, that Joshua commanded, and they took them down off the trees, and cast them into the cave where they had been hid, and laid great stones before the cave's mouth, which remain to this very day. |
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| 28 And Joshua took Makkedah on that day, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king thereof, him and all the souls that were therein he utterly destroyed; he let none remain; and he did to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the king of Jericho. |
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| 29 And Joshua passed, and all Israel with him, from Makkedah to Libnah, and fought against Libnah. |
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| 30 And Jehovah gave it also and the king thereof into the hand of Israel; and he smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were therein; he let none remain in it: and he did to the king thereof as he had done to the king of Jericho. |
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| 31 And Joshua passed, and all Israel with him, from Libnah to Lachish, and encamped against it, and fought against it. |
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| 32 And Jehovah gave Lachish into the hand of Israel; and they took it on the second day, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were therein, according to all that he had done to Libnah. |
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| 33 Then Horam king of Gezer came up to help Lachish; and Joshua smote him and his people, until he had left him none remaining. |
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| 34 And Joshua, and all Israel with him, passed from Lachish to Eglon; and they encamped against it, and fought against it. |
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| 35 And they took it on that day, and smote it with the edge of the sword; and all the souls that were therein he utterly destroyed on that day, according to all that he had done to Lachish. |
He utterly destroyed – Proving that God can destroy souls. R1882:1
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| 36 And Joshua went up, and all Israel with him, from Eglon to Hebron; and they fought against it. |
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| 37 And they took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king thereof, and all the cities thereof, and all the souls that were therein: he let none remain, according to all that he had done to Eglon; and he utterly destroyed it, and all the souls that were therein. |
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| 38 And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to Debir; and fought against it. |
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| 39 And he took it, and the king thereof, and all the cities thereof, and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed all the souls that were therein; he let none remain: as he had done to Hebron, and as he had done to Libnah, and to the king thereof, so he did to Debir and to the king thereof. |
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| 40 And Joshua smote the whole country, the mountain, and the south, and the lowland, and the hill-slopes, and all their kings: he let none remain, but he utterly destroyed all that breathed, as Jehovah the God of Israel had commanded. |
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| 41 And Joshua smote them from Kadesh-barnea even to Gazah, and all the country of Goshen, even to Gibeon; |
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| 42 and all these kings and their land did Joshua take at one time; for Jehovah the God of Israel fought for Israel. |
And their land – At the end of the six-years' war after entering Canaan. B48
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| 43 And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp, to Gilgal. |
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