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  • From: Harold Holmyard <hholmyard3 AT earthlink.net>
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Sun and moon in Joshua 10 (was "Silver Scrolls")
  • Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2009 08:07:21 -0600

Kevin,
Yigal wrote: "But the principle is still, that the whole purpose of the
story is to emphasize to Israel and to everyone else that the victory is
God's. So having it all look like a freak storm would defeat the purpose."

I write:
Yes, but this is only part of it. Notice the narrator finds especial import
not only in the victory, but in Joshua's request being instantly answered.
Verse 14 ends with the narrator's idea of what was most important: "There
has been no day like it before or since, when the LORD hearkened to the
voice of a man; for the LORD fought for Israel" (RSV). The narrator tells us
the purpose of his story with that, one of dual import. In that sense, it
wasn't just "a freak storm" but the storm that God sent at Joshua's request,
which killed the Canaanites.

Looking at it from a phenomenological perspective, an ancient would have
seen precisely the situation we see the narrator describe. The Israelites
were not killed by hailstones, but the Canaanites were. Therefore, the
storm that dropped the hailstones was sent by Israel's God. The ancients
wouldn't have considered it "a freak storm" occasioning unfortunate
weather-related deaths. That wasn't their mindset. They would've seen
Divine warfare on behalf of the Israelites. And there, the narrator agrees,
as do you and I.

HH: Thanks for sharing your parallel Near Eastern text in your blog:

http://www.bombaxo.com/blog/?p=6

HH: God answered the voice of man in prayer in warfare situations on many occasions, so that would not be unique. There is God answering Moses and parting the Red Sea when the Egyptians were attacking, and then causing the Egyptian soldiers to drown when they chased Israel into the sea. There is Moses praying with arms upraised while Joshua fought the Amalekites. There is God answering David's prayer in the midst of battle in Psalm 18:6-14 to give him the victory. There is story after story along these lines.

HH: As has been said, the uniqueness of the day relates particularly to how God answered Joshua's prayer, and the nature of the prayer. It is the sun standing in the sky for nearly a whole day. Joshua asks for the day to be extended so he can defeat his enemies. This fact is stated three times because of the incredible nature of the event. Joshua knew that God was on his side to give him the victory, so he had confidence to make this unheard of request.

12 On the day the LORD gave the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua spoke to the LORD in the presence of Israel: "Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and moon, over the valley of Aijalon." 13 And the sun stood still and the moon stopped, until the nation took vengeance on its enemies. Isn't this written in the Book of Jashar? So the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed its setting almost a full day. 14 There has been no day like it before or since, when the LORD listened to the voice of a man, because the LORD fought for Israel.

HH: The words plainly describe an extended day. Thee is no way around it. It is described as unique and unnatural in this extension. Perhaps the idea of the sun or moon stopping do occur elsewhere (consider the sun going back on Ahaz's sun dial for Hezekiah as a sign). It is easy to see how people at one time or another could think the moon or sun were unnaturally fixed in place, and in relation to a storm. But the writer clearly saw this day as unique for its extension, and for the fact that it happened as an answer to a prayer that the whole army heard.

Yours,
Harold Holmyard






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