Stopping of the Sun in Gibeon

AI Info Icon
Some of the text on this page has been AI generated.  Learn More
Feedback
Stories
Notable Sources
All Sources
A
The Day the Sun Stood Still
TANAKH
The miraculous event of the sun and moon standing still in response to Joshua's command demonstrates God's direct intervention in human affairs. The Book of Joshua recounts this extraordinary event during a battle against the Amorites, highlighting the divine support for the Israelites.
On that occasion, when GOD routed the Amorites before the Israelites, Joshua addressed GOD; he said in the presence of the Israelites:
“Stand still, O sun, at Gibeon,
O moon, in the Valley of Aijalon!” And the sun stood still
And the moon halted,
While a nation wreaked judgment on its foes
—as is written in the Book of Jashar…
Joshua 10:12-13
How Long Did he Sun Stand Still?
TALMUD
The rabbis offer a detailed breakdown of the duration and phases of the sun's suspension during the battle in Gibeon. In the Talmudic tractate Avodah Zara, the rabbis Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani present differing opinions on the duration the sun was suspended in the sky.
Rabbi Elazar said that it lasted thirty-six hours: The sun traveled for six hours and stood for twelve hours, and again traveled six hours and stood for twelve hours, so that the accumulated time of its suspension was that of an entire day. Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said: Forty-eight hours elapsed before it set. It traveled six hours and stood for twelve hours, and then traveled six hours and stood for twenty-four hours…
Avodah Zarah 25a:4
Transcending Time in Gibeon
HALAKHAH
In polar regions, the sun regularly remains visible in the sky for longer than a day during the summer, a situation which raises calendrical halakhic issues, in particular with the timing of Shabbat. Rabbi J. David Bleich looks to traditions surrounding the miracle of Gibeon to seek a model for understanding halakhic time in such extreme situations.
Pirkei de-Rabbi Eli'ezer obviously maintains that the additional twenty-four hours of daylight were not "extra-calendrical." Nevertheless, although that twenty-four hour period corresponded to the Shabbat day, Sabbath restrictions were not incumbent upon Jews during that period. When the sun did set, it was at the "conclusion of the Sabbath." It must therefore be concluded that during the twenty-four hour period during which the sun remained in the sky, time was not suspended but was "transcended." Since all of Earth was affected, time was transcended by the entire planet…
Contemporary Halakhic Problems, Vol V, Chapter III Mizvot in the Polar Regions and in Earth Orbit 49
Commanding the Sun and Moon
MIDRASH
What kind of a person can command the sun and the moon to stand still? Bereshit Rabbah, a talmudic-era midrashic work on the book of Genesis, links the story of the battle in Gibeon to other verses throughout the Torah to shed light on Joshua's remarkable character.
“And to rule during the day and at night, and to divide between the light and the darkness, and God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:18).
“And to rule during the day and at night” – Rabbi Ilfa said: If this is referring to the lights, is it not already stated: “The greater light to rule the day”? Genesis 1:16). Why, then, does the verse state: “And to rule during the day and at night”? Rather, it is referring to the righteous, who exert control over the body that was created to illuminate during the day and the body that was created to illuminate at night…
Bereshit Rabbah 6:9
A Unique Miracle?
COMMENTARY
According to Joshua 10:14, the stopping of the sun in Gibeon was an unprecedented and never repeated event of God's obeying a human request. Rabbeinu Chananel, a prominent medieval Jewish scholar, compares this incident to similar miracles involving Moses and Nakdimon ben Gurion.
ואחריו לא יהיה כן. At the command of a prophet. [this answers the question raised in connection with the prophet Yoel describing an unprecedented plague of locust. [That plague had been a natural disaster, had not been predicted by a prophet. Ed.] The expression describing the unique nature and quality of this phenomenon is similar to the Book of Kings II 18,5 describing the unparalleled faith in the Lord by the King Chiskiyah. The meaning there is that whereas Chizkiyah’s faith in the Lord was unparalleled, his fear of the Lord was matched by other people…
Rabbeinu Chananel on Exodus 10:14:1
Miracle of Extended Day
SECOND TEMPLE
The strategic and military aspects of Joshua's campaign, including divine intervention, highlight the extraordinary nature of this biblical event. Josephus, a first-century Jewish historian, recounts the miraculous lengthening of the day to aid Joshua's forces in their battle against the Canaanite kings.
17. But the king of Jerusalem took it to heart that the Gibeonites had gone over to Joshua; so he called upon the kings of the neighboring nations to join together, and make war against them. Now when the Gibeonites saw these kings, which were four, besides the king of Jerusalem, and perceived that they had pitched their camp at a certain fountain not far from their city, and were getting ready for the siege of it, they called upon Joshua to assist them; for such was their case, as to expect to be destroyed by these Canaanites…
The Antiquities of the Jews 5:1:17
A Precedented Miracle
TALMUD
The event of the sun standing still for Joshua is a unique miracle in the explicit text of Tanakh. However, the Talmud in tractate Taanit teaches of similar events happening in the time of Moses, through verbal connections between verses, and during the Second Temple period, through an oral tradition.
The Sages taught: With regard to three people, the sun broke through and shone at an irregular time for their sake: Moses, Joshua, and Nakdimon ben Guryon. The Gemara asks: Granted, the case of Nakdimon ben Guryon is known by the aforementioned tradition. The case of Joshua too is derived from a verse, as it is written: “And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies” (Joshua 10:13). However, from where do we derive that the sun shined in a supernatural way for Moses?…
Taanit 20a:5-8
Joshua commands the Sun to Stand Still, James Tissot, 1896-1902
Joshua commands the Sun to Stand Still, James Tissot, 1896-1902

Storiesסיפורים

More

Sheetsדפי מקורות

Related Sheets
We use cookies to give you the best experience possible on our site. Click OK to continue using Sefaria. Learn More.OKאנחנו משתמשים ב"עוגיות" כדי לתת למשתמשים את חוויית השימוש הטובה ביותר.קראו עוד בנושאלחצו כאן לאישור