A. M. 2553, the Lord fought for Israel." Now for the better understanding of these words we must &c. or 3803. observe : Ant. Chris. 1451, &c. or 1608. 1. That nothing is more common in Scripture than to express things, not according to the strict rules of philosophy, but according to their appearances, and the vulgar apprehension concerning them. The sun and moon, for instance, are called (a)" two great lights;" but, however that title may agree with the sun, it is plain that the moon is but a small body, the least that has yet been discovered in the planetary system, and that it has no light at all but what it borrows and reflects from the rays of the sun; and yet, because it is placed near us, it appears to us larger than other heavenly luminaries, and from that appearance the Holy Scriptures give it such an appellation. And, in like manner, because the sun seems to us to move and the earth to be at rest, the Scriptures speak a great deal of the pillars, and basis, and foundations of the earth, and of the sun's (b)" rejoicing, like a giant, to run its race," and of (c) "his arising, and going down, and hastening to the place where he arose," &c. Whereas it is certain, that (d) if the sun were made to revolve round about the earth, the * general law of nature would thereby be violated; the harmony and proportion of the heavenly bodies destroyed; and no small confusion and disorder brought into the frame of the universe: But, on the contrary, if the earth, turning upon its own axis every day, be made to go round the sun in the space of a year, it will then perform its circulation, according to the same law, which the other planets observe; and (without the least exception) there will be a most beautiful order and harmony of motions everywhere preserved through the whole frame of nature. As therefore the Scriptures were designed to teach us the art of holy living, and not to instruct us in the rudiments of natural knowledge, it can be deemed no diminution, either to their perfection or Divine authority, that they generally speak according to the common appearance of things, and not according to their reality or philosophic truth. The plain matter of fact is, that in the early ages, both before and long after the days of Joshua, the most learned astronomers had no notion of the improvements which our modern professors have since attained to. They never once dreamed of the earth's rotation upon its own axis; but, according to common appearance, were fully persuaded that the sun and moon had their respective courses. Upon this supposition they formed their schemes, and thought themselves able to answer every phenomenon by them. And therefore, if God had prompted Joshua to desire the prolongation of the day, in a manner more agreeable to our new astronomy, or to record the miracle in terms more suitable to it; this would have been a plain contrariety to all the rules of science then in use. The people who heard him utter the words, "earth rest upon thy axis," would have thought him distracted; and those who read his account of what had happened, if related in suitable expressions, would have decried it as false in fact, or passed it by with contempt and disregard, as a wild fancy or blunder of his own. (a) Gen. i. 16. (c) Ecclesiastes i. 5. (6) Psal. xix. 5. (d) Keil's Astronomical Lectures. such certain places, for such certain durations, and according to such certain circumstances, (as geome. try and arithmetic will certainly determine), and not otherwise. Now, that this is the real case in fact, and that every one of these particulars are true in the astronomical world, all that are skilful in that science do freely confess, even those who do not think fit to declare openly for this annual revolution of the earth, which yet is the natural and certain consequence of that concession." Whiston's Astron. Princ. of Relig. The reader, that is desirous to know more both of the annual and diurnal motion of the earth, may consult Mr Derham's Prelim. Disc. to his Astro. Theol. to the end. 2. In relation to the places over which the two heavenly bodies were to stand, the From Josh. i. sun over Gibeon, and the moon over the valley of Ajalon, we must observe, that (even upon the supposition of the sun's motion) the Jewish general cannot be thought to speak in a proper and philosophic sense. For, since the sun is almost a million of times bigger than the earth, and some millions of miles distant from it, to justify the strict sense of the words, a line drawn from the centre of the sun to that of the earth must exactly pass by Gibeon, which we know it cannot do, because no part of the holy land lies within the tropics: And therefore we must conclude, that Joshua here speaks according to the outward appearance of things, which makes the sense of his words plain and intelligible. Wherever we are (if so be we are not hindered by objects immediately surrounding us), we can cast our eye upon part of the surface of the earth, and at the same time take into our prospect some small extent of the firmament of heaven, which seems, as it were, to cover the other; and each celestial body which we perceive in this extent above, appears to us to be directly over such and such part of the earth, as we alternately turn our eyes to: and it was thus that the sun, when Joshua spake, seemed to him, and to those that were with him, to" be over Gibeon, and the moon to be over the valley of Ajalon." This valley, in all likelihood, took its name from some adjacent town; but then, as there are three Ajalons mentioned in Scripture, one (a) in the tribe of Ephraim, another in (b) Zebulon, and another in (c) Dan, it is reasonable to think, that the place here spoken of was in Dan, the most remote province from Gibeon; for we must suppose that these two places were at some considerable distance, otherwise Joshua could not see the sun and moon both appear at the same time, as it is probable they were both in his eye when he uttered these words. 3. In relation to the time when this miracle began, and how long it lasted, the Scripture's expression is, that the "sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day;" which words can import no less, than that the sun stood still in the meridian, or much about noon, and that in this position it continued for the space of a civil or artificial day, i. e. for twelve hours. But (d) Maimonides is of opinion (and in this he is followed (e) by some Christian writers) that there was no such cessation of the sun and moon's motion, but that the whole purport of the miracle was this:-"That God, at Joshua's request, granted him and his soldiers such a degree of spirits, activity, and dispatch, as enabled them to gain a complete victory, and do as much execution in one day as might otherwise have taken up two;" but this is a construction so repugnant to the genuine sense of the words as to need no formal confutation. There is something more, however, to be said to the notion of other learned men, who, with regard to the time when Joshua might send up his request, and the miracle begin, think it more probable, that he should pray for a longer day when he perceived the sun just going to leave him than when it was in its height. But Joshua, no doubt, had reasons for what he did: He was an old experienced general, eager for a complete victory, and able to compute what time it would take to achieve it; so that his fear of losing any part of the present advantage might make him pray that the day might be thus prolonged until he had obtained the whole. If the sun in its declension had stopped its course, it might have answered his purpose perhaps; but then it had given a juster handle to the suggestions of those who would deny the whole merit of the miracle. For if the retardation of the sun had not happened until it was going to set, (ƒ) Spinosa might, with a much better grace, have attributed the extraordinary length of this day to the refraction of its rays from the clouds, which at that time were loaded (a) 1 Chron. vi. 69. part ii. chap. 39. VOL. II. (b) Judges xii. 12. 3 &c. A. M. 2553, with hail; or (a) Peirerius, to some aurora borealis, or parhelium, which, after the sete or 3803. ting of the sun, might appear about the territories of Gibeon, and so be mistaken for 1451, &c. the sun's standing still: But now, by fixing it in its meridian point, all these cavils are effectually silenced; and (b) God, no doubt, who heard him so readily, inspired the Hebrew general with that wish or prayer, which otherwise perhaps would never have come into his head. or 1608. 4. In relation to the book of Jasher (or of just and upright men), which Joshua quotes as a voucher of the truth of this miracle, the opinions of learned men are much divided. (c) Some think that it was the book of Genesis, which is here so called, because it treats of the lives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, three of the most righteous men that the world then knew. The Targum of Jonathan calls it the Book of the Law, as containing, not only the chief precepts which God gave his people, but several promises likewise of the wonders which he intended to work for them. (d) Josephus, and some interpreters after him, will have it to be certain annals of the lives and particular adventures of some Jewish worthies, and of other things remarkable that happened to that nation; though others again suppose, that this was only a collection of some verses, which the Israelises thought themselves concerned to learn by heart, the better to remember the miracles which God had been pleased to vouchsafe them. But whatever the subject of this book was, or † whether it was composed in prose or verse, it is a groundless conjecture to say, (e) that it was wrote in a figurative and hyperbolical style, or that the quotation which Joshua takes from it is so to be understood. The design of the quotation is only to confirm what Joshua had said concerning the retardation of the sun; and therefore, if the book of Joshua affirms that the sun did stand still, that of Jasher (in-what style soever it was written) must necessarily be supposed to do the same, otherwise it would have been to no purpose to have cited it. It cannot be denied, indeed, but that upon some occasions the sacred penmen do use figures and poetical expressions; but then the sense and chain of the discourse do easily discover it when they do so. Whenever they intend to express themselves in a figurative manner, there is usually something going before which prepares the reader for it; and besides that figurative expressions cannot be long continued, there is always something apparently in them that can by no means be reduced to a literal sense. But now, in the Scripture account of this transaction, where do we perceive any thing like (a) Præadam. lib. iv. c. 6. (b) Calmet's Dissert. sur le Commandment, &c. + M. Le Clerc has taken the pains to versify the probably cited from some ancient record, yet the preceding ones, "and the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies," (Josh. x. 13.) are the author's own, wherein he talks, not in the loftiness of a poet, but in the plainness and simplicity of an historian: And therefore it is, at least, a bold assumption to say, that a writer, who barely appeals to another for the truth of a single instance, has taken the whole from him. The most that can be fairly concluded from such an appeal, is, that the fact is equally affirmed by both, either in the same or equivalent terms; whereas, had the terms of the "sun's standing still in the midst of heaven" been intended to mean no more, than that there remained so much light after its setting, occasioned by some unusual refraction, as made the whole army think it was still above the horizon, no honest man (for fear of imposing on his reader) would have cited them without modifying their sense or giving them an explanation. Saurin's Dissertation, sur la Defaite des cinq. Roys, and Univers. Hist. lib. i. c. 7. (e) Grotius and Le Clerc in locum. to the end. this? (a) Joshua, seeing the enemy put to the rout, begs of God to give him a complete From Josh. i. victory, and at the same time, out of the zeal and fervour of his mind, commands the sun and moon not to advance any farther until he had effected his desire. The sacred historian tells us, that at his command these heavenly luminaries actually did stand still; and to evince the credibility of a thing so marvellous, having produced the testimony of another author that makes mention of the same event, he thereupon concludes, that (b) "there was no day like that, before it or after it, that God hearkened to the voice of a man." Here we see are all the tokens imaginable of a simple, literal, and historical narration; and the reader must therefore be strangely prejudiced against the belief of all miracles whatever, who can possibly distort such plain and uniform expressions into any figurative or metaphorical sense, in order to evade the force of this. "But if there really was such a miracle wrought, it is somewhat strange, that the au-An OBJECTION. thor of the epistle to the Hebrews, when he certainly makes mention of things of less moment, should entirely forget this, or that we should have no memorial of it recorded by any profane writer. God is not so prodigal of his miracles, one would think, as to reverse the whole order of nature, and stop the sun in its regular course, merely that a victory might be obtained in one day, which, every whit as well, might have been gained in two; though it cannot be denied, but that, if it was so, his hearkening to the voice of Joshua, gave him a pre-eminence far above Moses (forasmuch as all his miracles were nothing in comparison of this), even though the Scriptures say expressly, that (c) there rose not a prophet, in all Israel, like unto Moses, in all signs and wonders, which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt, and in the wilderness." The author of the epistle to the Hebrews, in (d) the chapter now under debate, meant ANSWERED. no more, than to give his reader some notable instances of the wonderful power of faith. To have been too curious in the choice of these instances, especially when he wrote to persons of the same nation, and who were as well acquainted with these things as himself, would have savoured too much of art and human wisdom, which inspired authors always professedly avoid; and to have been too prolix in the commemoration of them, would have spoiled the form of his epistle, by swelling that part of it beyond its due proportion. The apostle himself seems to be sensible of this; and therefore we find him cutting himself short, omitting some, and reckoning up several other instances in the gross; and (e) "what shall I more say? for the time would fail me, to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, and of Sampson, and of Jephtha; of David also, and Samuel, and all the prophets." You see, that in the catalogue of his worthies, he observes no great method in enumerating them, nor does he so much as mention Joshua, though his character be vastly superior to that of Gideon and others that he takes notice of; and therefore, if his omitting this particular of the sun's standing still may be deemed a sufficient argument against its reality; by parity of reason, all the other miraculous transactions, which he has thought proper not to mention, such as the plagues of Egypt, the wonders in the wilderness, the passage of Jordan, and several others of the like nature, must be reputed destitute of truth, how frequently soever they may be recorded in other parts of Holy Writ. And in like manner, though we find no mention made of this wonderful event in heathen writers, yet this is no valid objection against it, because it happened many ages before there was any historians or chronologers, that we know of, extant to record it. Or if we think that a fact so very remarkable could have hardly escaped a general observation, why may we not suppose, that the public archives or monuments wherein it was recorded, in the long and obscure time that intervened before any of our present (a) Calmet's Dissert. sur le Commandment, &c. &c. or 3803. A. M. 2553, historians arose, have been lost; and that nothing has been transmitted to us (except Ant. Chris. What we have in Sacred Writ) but an uncertain tradition, clouded with fable and poeti1451, &c. cal fictions? or 1608. It can hardly be thought, indeed, but that the humour which the poets had, * of imputing to magic the power of stopping the stars in their courses, and what they relate of their heroes and demi-gods being able to lengthen days or nights, as it best served their military or amorous purposes, proceeded from something: And to what can we ascribe it more properly than to a glimmering knowledge, which they might from tradition have of this miraculous event? But however this be, it is certain, that the argument drawn from the silence of heathen authors, can be of no validity against the truth of this miracle, since it did not happen in any age when the earliest of them lived, and might therefore be what they knew nothing of; since all their works have not descended to us, and in what is lost, they perhaps might have related it, as in what is extant we are sure they say nothing to contradict it. (a) It must be reckoned a point of justice then, and a kind of right belonging to all nations, to be determined in what concerns the history of any country, by the history of those people, who are presumed to be better acquainted with their own affairs than any strangers can: And therefore we cannot, without apparent prejudice, deny this privilege to the Hebrew writers, even though we found some heathen testimonies not entirely according with them. But when nothing of this is pretended; on the contrary, when (as far as those dark times would permit) there is a concurrence and harmony between them, there can be no shadow of reason for calling in question their veracity, unless the things which they relate be either impossible or contradictory, which in the 'case before us can never be affirmed; because it is sure and self evident, that the Author of nature, who gave being and motion to the sun and stars, may stop that motion, and make them stand still when, and as long as he pleases; especially when their rest will contribute to his glory (as it certainly did in this instance) as much as their continued motion does. God indeed never works any miracle but upon a just and proper occasion; but then we ought to remember, that this battle against the confederate kings was fought, not offensively, but defensively on the side of Israel, in order to save a people whom they had solemnly taken under their protection. The Gibeonites, as is generally supposed, were a commonwealth, for which reason they might not enter into a league with the five kings; and as a free people, they had a right, no doubt, to take all proper measures for their safety. Joshua therefore could not but look upon the confederacy formed against them as cruel and unjust, and himself obliged in honour not to refuse the oppressed the succours they requested of him, upon any pretence whatever; since God's honour was likewise concerned in the preservation of a people who had entered into an alliance with his own inheritance, and had their alliance ratified by the mouth of his high priest, and with the sanction of his most blessed name. Upon these considerations, Joshua loses no time, but marches all the night to their assistance; and on the next day God is pleased to reward his faithfulness and zeal with a most miraculous victory, whereby he not only rescued his allies, but made all the land of Canaan sensible likewise, that a greater and more powerful God was on Israel's side than any whom they worshipped, (b) by stopping the sun and moon (which were two of the principal deities whom those idolatrous people adored) in the midst of their course. God might, no doubt, in the compass of two days, have enabled the Israelites to have gained a complete conquest over their enemies, without the expence of a miracle (as * Cessavêre vices rerum, dilataque longâ (a) Calmet's Dissert. sur le Commandment, &c. Lucan's Phars. lib. vi. |