A.M. 2553. as certain memorable events seem to require. The petty kings on B.C. 1451. that side the river Jordan now entered into a league, with a view to

A.M. 2554.

Shower of stones

Josh. x. 11.

their mutual defence; but the Gibeonites consulted rather their own safety, by the adoption of a singular stratagem to obtain a peace with their invaders: they had deceived them into the idea that they were foreigners coming from a great distance; but three days afterwards, having discovered the imposition, they took measures to reduce them to a state of perpetual slavery, making them hewers of wood and drawers of water; an expedient which appeased the discontents of the people, and prevented the danger of incurring the divine displeasure for violating a solemn oath of alliance.

Displeased at this separation from the Canaanitish confederacy, B.C. 1450. the Gibeonites were soon surrounded by the Amorites, and shut up in their principal city. This reduced them to a state of great distress, and incited them to make application to Joshua, who instantly accorded to them a prompt and effectual assistance. Early in the ensuing morning he marched upon the enemy, and completely routed them with dreadful slaughter. In addition to the ordinary sufferings of a retreat before an incensed and warlike enemy, it is stated in sacred story, that "it came to pass that as they fled before Israel, and were in the going down to Beth-horon, that the Lord cast down great stones from heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died: they were more that died with hail-stones than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword." This circumstance has given birth to several elaborate dissertations, in which learned men have adduced instances of the falling of immense stones from the atmosphere, to the destruction of many lives. None of those cases, however, afford any very satisfactory elucidation of the present event; the truth of which appears to have been, that a heavy hail-storm overtook the retreating forces of the Amalekites, and cut them off; the peculiarity of which consisted not so much in the circumstances of the storm, as in the time of its occurrence. Destructive hail has in other cases fell upon men, but this was in connection with an express promise from heaven to assist the Israelites. It descended at the moment which must have been anticipated, exclusively too upon the enemy, and cannot be viewed in any other light than that of a miraculous interference. Joshua had been expressly assured before the battle that God would be with him; that the confederate princes should be delivered into his power, and not a man should stand before him; and while this excited his confidence in prospect of the conflict, it justified and substantiated that confidence in the progress of the victory.

Standing

still of the sun and

moon.

Another accompaniment of this day's achievements has awakened a still greater curiosity, and produced in the minds of mankind a more wondering attention, than the preceding miracle. It is

Josh. x. 12-related in the following words:- "Then spake Joshua to the Lord, in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the

14.

children of Israel; and he said, in the sight of Israel, 'Sun, stand a.m. 2554. thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, moon, in the valley of Ajalon.' B.c. 1450. And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hastened not to go down about a whole day. 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." It will obviate the objections which have sometimes been advanced against this miracle, to remark, that the Hebrew general did not use a philosophic, but popular language, which was, indeed, absolutely necessary, unless he had chosen to incur the charge of insanity. In the ordinary intercourse of life, and even in those written communications which are not strictly scientific, philosophers themselves do not deem it necessary to deviate from the common idiom, otherwise they would be unintelligible to the mass of mankind. Besides, in the days of Joshua, and long posterior, the system of astronomy was conformable to the appearances of nature, and science had not yet conducted her votaries into those vast fields of discovery which have been thrown open to modern times, and are become accessible to the multitude: and yet, even at this advanced period of the world, it would be deemed pedantic, rather than necessary, were the language of science to be transfused into the records of history. Some have supposed that the command in question was issued, not at noon, when the sun was, according to the literal interpretation, "in the midst of heaven;" but at the time of his setting; when Joshua, observing the unfinished state of the conflict, requested a miraculous prolongation of the day. It has been remarked, that the words in signify merely that division of the heavens which is formed by the visible horizon; and that wow, rendered sun, properly signifies the solar light, which it is supposed was made to linger in the heavens or in the horizon about twelve hours. In this case the rotatory motion of the earth was not suspended; but the miracle consisted in the retention of the light, by giving it perhaps an unusual refraction, so as to render it visible at once over the whole, instead of half the globe. It is by this means that the sun, according to the present laws of nature, actually appears above the horizon for some time after his descent below it; a phenomenon, which is not only of daily occurrence, but easily explained: the same refractive power of the atmosphere, being proportionally increased by a direct interposition of providence, might produce the extraordinary prolongation of the day, which took place at the voice of Joshua. If the narrative of this extraordinary occurrence be considered, according to its most obvious and most natural interpretation, we must suppose that the motion of the earth upon its axis was suddenly suspended by a volition of God; and there are really no difficulties attendant upon this hypothesis, which a reflecting mind

,בחצי השמיס,question

A.M. 2554. will deem it all insuperable. He, whose omniscient intelligence foreB.C. 1450. knew, and whose perfect wisdom arranged all the harmonies of nature, could as easily and did as certainly provide for this as for any other event in the progress of time; an event which, however it deviated from what our limited experience has induced us to denominate the course of things or the law of nature, could not possibly be contingent to an infinite and eternal being; and might as certainly as any other circumstance, whether important or insignificant, have formed a part of that system, whose basis is the eternal past, and whose consummation is the illimitable future.

Ancient su

perstitions

the sun and

moon.

To

providence which spreads its operations over the whole of time, it was quite as natural, that at that precise æra, when Joshua was pursuing the fugitive Canaanites, the sun and moon should be made to stand still; or that that should occur in nature which inevitably produced such a phenomenon; as that, at a previous period, these orbs should begin to shine, or that at any subsequent moment they should retain their station, and diffuse their influence. It may be inquired, indeed, if the revolution of the earth upon its axis were so suddenly suspended, how is it possible to account for the circumstance, that none of those disastrous consequences ensued, which in such a case would seem inevitable? As every being and substance upon the earth's surface is carried round with it at the rate of a thousand miles an hour, must not a sudden stoppage of this motion have whirled every thing moveable from the surface, dashed the ocean into air, and overturned the most stupendous rocks and mountains? Surely this instantaneous suppression of the diurnal movement of our planet must have necessarily produced a most calamitous re-action! The reply is obvious: the same miraculous energy which arrested the luminaries of heaven in their course, or, to speak philosophically, which caused the earth to rest upon its axis; could have prevented, at the same moment, the effects which, in an ordinary case, would have naturally resulted from the suspension of any one of the laws of nature. The same volition which arrested the whirling globe, could unquestionably, and would most assuredly avert the ill consequences of that mighty jar which must otherwise have overspread the world with confusion and ruin. The one of these operations is quite as conceivable as the other, and both were equally requisite to complete the miracle.

The sun and moon were worshipped as gods throughout the respecting heathen world, and many nations boasted of the title of Heliada, or descendants of the sun. This was an ancient superstition, and may be traced in the records of the very earliest times. All things were supposed to be under their influence, as the chief deities, and universal preservers and creators. Heliodorus introduces the queen of Ethiopia as invoking the sun, Επικεκλησθω μαρτυς κ. τ. λ.-Let the sun, the great author of our race, be invoked as a witness upon this occasion. Both luminaries are thus addressed at a sacrifice,

Ω Δεσποτα Ηλιε, και Σεληνη δεσποινα.—Our Lord the sun, and our A.M. 2554. governess the moon. We find the sun invoked by the Egyptian B.C. 1450. priests, at the funeral of a deceased person, as the fountain of being, Ω εσποτα Ηλιε, και θεοι παντες κ. τ. λ.—Ο sovereign lord, the sun, and all ye other deities who bestow life upon mankind; receive me, I beseech you, and suffer me to be admitted to the society of the immortals. (Cons. Heliod. L. 10; Ethop. L. 4; Porphyry de Abst. L. 4.) If, as is most probable, if not absolutely certain, the inhabitants of the district where this extraordinary battle occurred, were worshippers of the celestial luminaries, esteeming the sun and the moon as their principal deities; nothing could have been more appropriate than the miraculous interposition of the God of Israel at the voice of Joshua. The very gods of these people were compelled to see the overthrow of their votaries, and even to lend an unwilling aid to the hostile forces of their enemies. The Gibeonites had certainly joined, in considerable numbers, the army of the Israelites, and must have been witnesses of that stupendous miracle, which was so calculated to nullify their religion, and confirm the faith of the people of God. Each must distinctly perceive an omnipotent agency, as the towers of Gibeon retained the lingering splendour of the day, and the valley of Ajalon was filled with the undeparted mildness of the lunar beam. The Providence which operated these effects, will appear to have been still further triumphant, if it be admitted, what is indeed most probable, that Gibeon had a relation to the sun: for Giba, as Bryant observes, signifies a hill; and the term On is well known to denote the sun. Gibaon, therefore, is literally the hill or high place of the sun. In like manner Ajalon, which, from ps, should be expressed Aia-Lun, denotes the place or shrine of the moon; for Ai or Aia, in the language of ancient Egypt and of many other countries, signified a place, as lun signified the moon among the ancient Hetrurians, Germans, and many other nations. Gibeon, therefore, most likely contained a temple of the sun, the king of heaven, and the valley of Ajalon, a temple of the moon, the queen of heaven; by resting on whose turrets, each heavenly luminary would diffuse an unwelcome radiance through the recesses of idolatrous adoration. While their forces were in full and disastrous retreat, the five Cave of confederate kings hid themselves in a cave at Makkedah, a place about eight miles distant from Eleutheropolis; in which they were blockaded by the orders of Joshua, as soon as he obtained information of their attempted concealment. Upon his return from the pursuit, the cave was opened, the royal fugitives brought forth, and hung upon the spot: after which the sword of excision traversed Makkedah, Libnah, Lachish, Eglon, and other places, in rapid succession; till the whole of southern Canaan having yielded to the desolating power of the conqueror, he returned to his encampment at Gilgal. A new confederacy, however, was soon formed to

Makkedah.

A.M. 2554. the north, under the direction of Jabin, the king of Hazor, in B.C. 1450. which a number of petty princes entered, who assembled an

A.M.

immense force at the waters of Merom; to the amount, according to Josephus, of three hundred thousand foot, ten thousand horse, and two thousand chariots. As the Israelites were interdicted the use of horses and chariots, by the express command of God, this new confederacy assumed a very formidable aspect, and presented itself in an imposing and advantageous attitude. But Joshua did 2554-60. not hesitate to meet the fierce encounter; and, encouraged by a divine assurance of success, he fell upon them suddenly, defeated them completely, slew Jabin, and burnt his city; and delivered up all the cities of the confederacy, to be plundered by the Israelitish soldiery.

B.C. 1450-44.

A.M. 2560.

the land.

After these transactions, it became necessary to apportion out B.C. 1444. the lands which had been subdued among the several tribes which Division of had hitherto been unsettled: for which purpose, proper commissioners were appointed to survey the country, and the lot resorted to as the most unexceptionable mode of determining the partition. And here the superintendence of Providence ought not to be overlooked, nor the prophetic character of Moses and Joshua. The appeal to the lot gave every tribe the possession which these servants of God had predicted, in all the circumstances of soil and situation. The tribe of Judah became enriched with a district abounding in vines and pasture grounds; Asher had a province full of oil, iron, and brass; Naphtali possessed a part extending from the west to the south of Judea; Benjamin, one in which the temple was erected; Zebulon and Issachar comprehended the different seaports; Ephraim and Manasseh, places celebrated for the "precious fruits of the earth.' No particular district was appropriated to Simeon and Levi: the former participating with Judah, and the latter being diffused among the other tribes. Eight and forty cities, however, were bestowed upon them. Six places were also appointed as cities of refuge for those who had committed involuntary murder. Joshua had a residence in the vicinity of Shiloh, where the tabernacle was set up, to which perpetual recourse might be had for divine instruction.

Reubenites,

half tribe of

honourably

These regulations being completed, the Reubenites, the Gadites, Gadites, and and the half tribe of Manasseh, were called together by Joshua, Manasseh who dismissed them from the service in which they had so honourably dismissed. engaged, with very solemn and wise admonitions respecting the distribution of the booty they had acquired in the war, and the future observance of the Mosaic institutions. To the other half tribe of Manasseh which had received no inheritance from Moses, Joshua appointed a residence among their brethren on this side Jordan, westward. Thus, as the sacred historian emphatically represents it, "The Lord gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers; and they possessed it and dwelt

Josh. xxi. 43-45.