“Then spake Joshua to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon.”
My Notes
What Does Joshua 10:12 Mean?
Joshua 10:12 records the most audacious prayer in the Old Testament — a military commander, in the middle of a battle, asking God to stop the sun.
"Then spake Joshua to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel" — the Hebrew 'az yĕdabber Yĕhoshu'a laYahweh (then Joshua spoke to the LORD) places the prayer in real time. The Amorite coalition is being routed. God has already sent hailstones that killed more enemies than Israel's swords (v. 11). Victory is happening. And Joshua needs more time to complete it.
"And he said in the sight of Israel" — the Hebrew vayyomer lĕ'eyney Yisra'el (and he said before the eyes of Israel) makes the prayer public. Joshua doesn't whisper this in private. He says it in front of the entire army. The boldness of the request is amplified by its audience — everyone is watching.
"Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon" — the Hebrew shemesh bĕGiv'on dom (sun, in Gibeon, be silent/stand still). The marginal note gives the literal Hebrew: "be silent." The Hebrew damam means to be still, to be silent, to cease activity. Joshua commands the sun to stop — to pause its course over Gibeon, the city Israel is defending.
"And thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon" — the Hebrew vĕyare'ach bĕ'emeq 'Ayyalon (and moon, in the valley of Aijalon) extends the command to the moon. Both luminaries are addressed. The entire sky is told to hold.
Verse 13 records the result: "And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies... So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day." The sun stopped. For approximately a full day. The longest day in history, produced by a battlefield prayer.
Verse 14 adds the commentary: "And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the LORD hearkened unto the voice of a man." The event was unique — unrepeated in all of history. And the cause was a man's voice. Joshua spoke. God stopped the sky.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Joshua asked God to stop the sun — the most audacious prayer in the Bible. What prayer have you been withholding because it feels too big to ask?
- 2.He prayed publicly — 'in the sight of Israel.' How does praying boldly in front of others differ from praying safely in private? What does the public risk reveal about Joshua's faith?
- 3.God was already helping (hailstones, v. 11). Joshua asked for more. Does God's current activity in your life give you permission to ask for the next level of intervention?
- 4.Verse 14 says there was no day like it — 'the LORD hearkened unto the voice of a man.' What does it mean that your voice can move the God who moves the sun?
Devotional
Sun, stand still. Moon, hold your position.
Joshua is in the middle of a battle. The enemy is running. God is already helping — hailstones are killing more Amorites than Israelite swords. But the day isn't long enough. If the sun sets, the enemy escapes. The victory will be incomplete.
So Joshua prays the most outrageous prayer anyone has ever prayed. In front of the entire army. Out loud. Sun, be silent over Gibeon. Moon, stay in the valley of Aijalon. Stop the sky.
And the sky stops.
Verse 14 says there was no day like it before or after — the day God listened to a man's voice and held the universe in place. The prayer wasn't sophisticated. It wasn't theologically nuanced. It was a battlefield commander who needed more daylight and asked the Creator of daylight for it. And the Creator said yes.
The boldness of the request is what makes it extraordinary. Joshua didn't ask for strength. He didn't ask for strategy. He asked God to alter the rotation of the cosmos to give him more time. The scale of the ask matched the scale of the need. And God, who controls the sun the way you control a lamp, simply stopped it.
This verse is permission to pray larger than you think is appropriate. Not because every prayer gets a cosmic response. But because the God who stops the sun for a battlefield commander isn't limited by the size of your request. He's limited by the size of your asking. Joshua needed something impossible and asked for it publicly, in front of everyone. And the impossible happened.
What are you not asking for because it seems too big? Joshua asked the sun to stop. What's your version of that prayer?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Then spake Joshua to the Lord,.... In prayer, and entreated as follows, that the sun and moon might stand still, until…
These four verses seem to be a fragment or extract taken from some other and independent source and inserted into the…
Then spake Joshua to the Lord - Though Joshua saw that the enemies of his people were put to flight, yet he well knew…
Here, I. Joshua resolves to assist the Gibeonites, and God encourages him in this resolve. 1. He ascended from Gilgal…
Then spake Joshua to the Lord The quotation probably commences with the 12th verse and extends to the end of the 15th.…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture