Joshua and the Miracle of the Sun

Episode 5: Joshua and the Miracle of the Sun

The text of Joshua 10 describes the sun standing still at Gibeon as the greatest miracle in history. Analysis of this chapter reveals a complicated composition history, and the archaeological evidence suggests that a very different historical situation underlies the narrative. To theologians, reconciling the story with modern science has been a challenge for centuries.

Related blog post
• https://isthatinthebible.wordpress.co...

Contents
0:00 Introduction
0:45 Prologue
1:48 The battle at Gibeon
4:31 The miracle of the sun (and moon)
10:49 The campaign continues southward
12:46 The archaeology of Joshua’s conquest
17:51 The conflict between religious worldviews and science
21:53 Credits

Works cited
⦾ Baruch Margalit. “The Day the Sun Did Not Stand Still: A New Look at Joshua X 8–15”. Vetus Testamentum, 42/4. 1992.
⦾ Theodore Hiebert. “The Use of Inclusion in Habakkuk 3”. Directions in Biblical Hebrew Poetry, edited by Elaine R. Follis. 1987.
⦾ Thomas Dozeman. Joshua 1–12: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary (Anchor Yale Bible Commentary series). 2015.
⦾ J. Briend, “Josué 10: Une conquête en morceau”, Foi et Vie 97/4, 1998.
⦾ Yigal Levin. “The Wars of Joshua: Weaning Away from the Divine”. War and Peace in Jewish Tradition, 2011.
⦾ Yigal Levin. “Conquered and Unconquered: Reality and Historiography in the Geography of Joshua”. The Book of Joshua, edited by Edward Noort. 2012.
⦾ Nadav Na’aman. “The ‘Conquest of Canaan’ in the Book of Joshua and in History”, Canaan in the Second Millennium BCE. 1994.
⦾ K. Lawson Younger, Jr. Ancient Conquest Accounts: A Study in Ancient Near Eastern and Biblical History Writing. 1990.
⦾ Edward Noort. “Joshua and Copernicus: Josh 10:12–15 and the History of Reception”. Flores Florentino: Dead Sea Scrolls and Other Early Jewish Studies in Honour of Florentino García Martínez. 2007.
⦾ Harry Rimmer. Science and the Long Day of Joshua. 1927.
⦾ E. Walter Maunder. The Astronomy of the Bible. 1908.
⦾ John Walton. “Biblical Credibility and Joshua 10: What Does the Text Really Claim?”. BioLogos, October 15, 2013.

Other notes
• Regarding travel distances for ancient armies, see Richard A. Gabriel and Karen S. Metz, A Short History of War, 1992, Chapter 3. See also C. Neumann, “A Note on Alexander’s March-Rates”, Historia 20(2/3), 1971, p. 196.
• Regarding the location of Makkedah, see D.A. Dorsey, The Location of Biblical Makkedah, Tell Aviv 7(3–4), 1980.

Music by Scott Buckley (www.scottbuckley.com.au), Fesliyan Studios, Adrian Walther, Autumn Summers, Caleb Etheridge, and Cody Martin.

Special thanks to John Kesler for feedback and advice.

#Joshua #heliocentrism #archaeology