Joshua 10:13

“And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, etc.] The sun that came out of his chamber like a bridegroom, and rejoiced as a strong man to run his course, stopped his course at once; and the moon that walks in her brightness proceeded not on, but both stood still, motionless, and continued in this position: until the people had avenged themselves on their enemies: until the nation and people of Israel had taken vengeance on and destroyed the live kings and their forces: how this is to be reconciled to the Copernican system, or that with this, I shall not inquire. It was a most wonderful and surprising phenomenon, to see both luminaries standing still in the midst of heaven; it is pretended…”

“These four verses seem to be a fragment or extract taken from some other and independent source and inserted into the thread of the narrative after it had been completed, and inserted most probably by another hand than that of the author of the Book of Joshua. It is probable that Joshua 10:12 and the first half of Joshua 10:13 alone belong to the Book of Jasher and are poetical, and that the rest of this passage is prose. The writer of this fragment seems to have understood the words of the ancient song literally, and believed that an astronomical miracle really took place, by which the motion of the heavenly bodies was for some hours suspended. (Compare also Ecclesiasticus 46:4.) So…”

“Avenged them on their enemies - That is, till they bad utterly destroyed them. Book of Jasher - This book was written and published before Joshua wrote his, and so is fitly alluded here. But this, as well as some other historical books, is lost, not being a canonical book, and therefore not preserved by the Jews with the same care as they were. The sun stood - Here is no mention of the moon, because the sun's standing was the only thing which Joshua desired and needed; and the moon's standing he desired only by accident to prevent irregularity in the motions of those celestial lights. And if it seem strange to any one, that so wonderful a work should not be mentioned in any Heathen writers;…”

“10:13 God caused the sun to stay in the middle of the sky. Not all miracles can be understood, whether in purpose, in scope, or in mechanism. • The Book of Jashar served as one of the ancient sources for Israel’s historians. While well known in ancient Israel, it did not survive as a separate document.”

“until: Num 31:2; Jdg 5:2, Jdg 16:28; Est 8:13; Luk 18:7; Rev 6:10 Jasher: or, the upright, Num 21:14; Sa2 1:18 So the sun: Jos 10:11, Jos 10:14; Psa 19:4, Psa 74:16, Psa 74:17, Psa 136:7-9, Psa 148:3; Isa 24:23, Isa 38:8; Joe 2:10, Joe 2:31, Joe 3:15; Mat 5:45, Mat 24:29; Act 2:20; Rev 6:12, Rev 8:12, Rev 16:8, Rev 16:9; Rev 21:23 Joshua 10:14”