Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of Joshua
Chapter 10: The Day the Sun Stood Still
When Gibeon makes peace with Israel, five Amorite kings unite to destroy it, and the Gibeonites cry to Joshua for help. Israel marches all night, and the LORD fights for them as never before: He throws down great hailstones from heaven, and at Joshua's word, 'Sun, stand thou still,' the sun halts in the sky for about a whole day. 'There was no day like that,' for 'the LORD fought for Israel.' The five kings are dragged from a cave, and Israel's captains set their feet on their necks, a picture of the total victory God gives His people. Then Joshua sweeps through the south, and city after city falls, 'because the LORD God of Israel fought for Israel.'
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of Joshua chapter 10. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Hebrew words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Here the LORD fights for Israel with hailstones and a standing sun, the five kings are subdued, and the south is conquered. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
Setting the Stage
War on Gibeon
The Amorite kings unite; Gibeon cries for help.
The Sun Stands Still
Hailstones from heaven, and a day like no other.
Feet on Their Necks
Total victory over the enemies of God's people.
City After City Falls
"The LORD God of Israel fought for Israel."
Sun, Stand Thou Still (Joshua 10:1-15)
Five kings attack Gibeon, and Israel marches all night to its aid; the LORD routs the enemy with hailstones, and at Joshua's word the sun stands still until the victory is won.
The LORD Fought for Israel
"Now it came to pass, when Adonizedek king of Jerusalem had heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it; as he had done to Jericho and her king, so he had done to Ai and her king; and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel, and were among them; That they feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, as one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all the men thereof were mighty. Wherefore Adonizedek king of Jerusalem sent unto Hoham king of Hebron, and unto Piram king of Jarmuth, and unto Japhia king of Lachish, and unto Debir king of Eglon, saying, Come up unto me, and help me, that we may smite Gibeon: for it hath made peace with Joshua and with the children of Israel. Therefore the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon, gathered themselves together, and went up, they and all their hosts, and encamped before Gibeon, and made war against it. And the men of Gibeon sent unto Joshua to the camp to Gilgal, saying, Slack not thy hand from thy servants; come up to us quickly, and save us, and help us: for all the kings of the Amorites that dwell in the mountains are gathered together against us. So Joshua ascended from Gilgal, he, and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valour. And the LORD said unto Joshua, Fear them not: for I have delivered them into thine hand; there shall not a man of them stand before thee. Joshua therefore came unto them suddenly, and went up from Gilgal all night. And the LORD discomfited them before Israel, and slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them along the way that goeth up to Bethhoron, and smote them to Azekah, and unto Makkedah. And it came to pass, as they fled from before Israel, and were in the going down to Bethhoron, that the LORD cast down great stones from heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died: they were more which died with hailstones than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword. Then spake Joshua to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon. And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day. And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the LORD hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the LORD fought for Israel. And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, unto the camp to Gilgal."
Word Study
"stand thou still," Hebrew dom (דֹּם), from damam (דָּמַם). The verb damam means to be silent, to be still, to cease; Joshua's command to the sun, "stand thou still," is literally "be silent, be still." Joshua "spake to the LORD," and then, "in the sight of Israel," commanded the sun and moon, "and the sun stood still, and the moon stayed... about a whole day." This is one of the most astonishing miracles in Scripture, and its meaning is stated plainly: "there was no day like that before it or after it, that the LORD hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the LORD fought for Israel." Two truths shine here. First, the LORD is the Creator and Sovereign over all creation, even the sun and moon obey His word; the very heavenly bodies that the nations worshiped as gods stood still at the command of Israel's God. Nothing is too hard for the LORD (Jeremiah 32:17). Second, the God of all power "hearkened unto the voice of a man." The Almighty listened to Joshua's bold prayer and moved heaven itself to answer. This is the wonder of prayer: the Creator of the sun stoops to hear His servant and to act. Joshua prayed a seemingly impossible prayer, in faith, and God answered. "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much" (James 5:16). So dom unites two great truths: God's absolute sovereignty over creation, and His gracious readiness to hear the prayer of faith. The God who can still the sun is the God who hearkens to the voice of His people, and when He fights for us, the impossible becomes the servant of His purpose.
Explanation
The miracles pile one upon another. Joshua marches his army "all night" from Gilgal to fall on the five kings at dawn; as the enemy flees, "the LORD cast down great hailstones," and "they were more which died with hailstones than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword." Then, so the victory could be finished in a single day, "the sun stood still, and the moon stayed... about a whole day." The God who commanded the heavens holds even the sun in its course for His people, and the writer marvels, "there was no day like that before it or after it."
Gospel Focus
Gibeon's peace with Israel makes it a target: five Amorite kings unite to destroy the city that dared to submit to the God of Israel. And here grace shines through Israel's earlier failure. The Gibeonites had deceived Israel, yet because Israel had sworn to protect them, Joshua now marches all night to save them, God turns even Israel's mistaken oath into an occasion of deliverance for those who sought refuge among His people. The LORD's word steadies Joshua: "Fear them not: for I have delivered them into thine hand." And the LORD fights as never before. He "discomfited them," He "cast down great stones from heaven," so that "they were more which died with hailstones than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword", God's own hand won more of the battle than all Israel's swords. Then comes the crowning wonder. Joshua, bold in faith, commands the sun and moon to stand still, and they obey, "the LORD hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the LORD fought for Israel." The victory was Israel's to fight, but the LORD's to win; man marched and struck, but God threw the hail and stopped the sun. For the Apostolic reader this is the pattern of every spiritual victory. Our battles are real, and we must fight them, marching, striving, obeying; yet the victory is God's, and He does what we never could, casting down what no human effort could touch. And the God of all power hears the prayer of faith: Joshua asked the impossible, and God answered. When the LORD fights for His people, no enemy can stand, and no obstacle, not even the sun in its course, is too great for Him to move in answer to believing prayer. So we fight our battles in His strength, and we pray bold prayers, for the LORD still fights for those who are His.
Put Your Feet Upon the Necks of These Kings (Joshua 10:16-27)
The five kings are found hiding in a cave; Joshua has his captains set their feet on their necks as a sign of total victory, then executes them, urging Israel not to fear, for so God will do to all their enemies.
Thus Shall the LORD Do to All Your Enemies
"But these five kings fled, and hid themselves in a cave at Makkedah. And it was told Joshua, saying, The five kings are found hid in a cave at Makkedah. And Joshua said, Roll great stones upon the mouth of the cave, and set men by it for to keep them: And stay ye not, but pursue after your enemies, and smite the hindmost of them; suffer them not to enter into their cities: for the LORD your God hath delivered them into your hand. And it came to pass, when Joshua and the children of Israel had made an end of slaying them with a very great slaughter, till they were consumed, that the rest which remained of them entered into fenced cities. And all the people returned to the camp to Joshua at Makkedah in peace: none moved his tongue against any of the children of Israel. Then said Joshua, Open the mouth of the cave, and bring out those five kings unto me out of the cave. And they did so, and brought forth those five kings unto him out of the cave, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon. And it came to pass, when they brought out those kings unto Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said unto the captains of the men of war which went with him, Come near, put your feet upon the necks of these kings. And they came near, and put their feet upon the necks of them. And Joshua said unto them, Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage: for thus shall the LORD do to all your enemies against whom ye fight. And afterward Joshua smote them, and slew them, and hanged them on five trees: and they were hanging upon the trees until the evening. And it came to pass at the time of the going down of the sun, that Joshua commanded, and they took them down off the trees, and cast them into the cave wherein they had been hid, and laid great stones in the cave's mouth, which remain until this very day."
Word Study
"necks," Hebrew tsavvar (צַוָּאר). The word means the neck; to set the foot upon the neck of a conquered foe was an ancient sign of complete conquest and subjection. "Put your feet upon the necks of these kings." Joshua calls his captains to place their feet on the necks of the five defeated kings, not out of cruelty, but as a visible, unforgettable declaration: these mighty kings are utterly subdued under the people of God. And Joshua interprets the act at once: "Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage: for thus shall the LORD do to all your enemies against whom ye fight." The picture of enemies under the feet runs through Scripture as the emblem of God's triumph. Of the Messiah God says, "Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool" (Psalm 110:1), and, "thou hast put all things under his feet" (Psalm 8:6). And to the church the promise comes: "the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly" (Romans 16:20). What Israel's captains did to five Canaanite kings is a shadow of the total victory of Christ over every enemy, and of the share His people have in that triumph. In Christ, the powers of darkness are already a defeated foe, destined to be crushed beneath His feet, and ours in Him. So tsavvar preaches the certainty and completeness of God's victory. The enemies that terrify us are, in the LORD's purpose, kings to be trodden underfoot; and the God who subdued the Amorite kings will surely subdue every foe of His people, until the last enemy is put under the feet of Christ.
Explanation
When the five kings are dragged from their cave, Joshua stages an object lesson for his commanders: "come near, put your feet upon the necks of these kings." Then he presses the meaning home — "Fear not... for thus shall the LORD do to all your enemies against whom ye fight." The foot on the neck, the ancient sign of total conquest, becomes a sermon in courage: the God who subdued these kings will subdue every foe. It looks ahead to the promise that God will "bruise Satan under your feet shortly" (Romans 16:20). The kings are then executed and buried before nightfall, as the law required.
Gospel Focus
The five kings flee and hide in a cave, and Joshua's response models a wise principle: he seals the cave with great stones and posts a guard, but does not stop the campaign, "stay ye not, but pursue after your enemies." He deals with the hiding kings later, but first finishes routing the fleeing armies, for "the LORD your God hath delivered them into your hand." When the battle is won, the kings are brought out, and Joshua summons his captains to "put your feet upon the necks of these kings." This dramatic act is a sermon in itself: the enemies that once seemed invincible are now completely subdued, and Joshua turns it into encouragement, "Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage: for thus shall the LORD do to all your enemies against whom ye fight." Every past victory is a pledge of future victory; God's triumph over yesterday's foe is His promise for tomorrow's. Then the kings are executed and "hanged... on five trees" until evening, and taken down at sundown, again the law of the tree honored (Deuteronomy 21:23), the curse falling on the enemies of God. For the Apostolic reader the feet on the necks is a picture of the believer's standing in Christ. The enemies of our souls, sin, death, and the powers of darkness, are, in Christ, a defeated foe. He has already conquered them at the cross, and He calls us not to fear but to be strong and of good courage, for what He has done to our enemies in the past He will do to every remaining foe. The God who set the necks of kings beneath the feet of Joshua's captains will "bruise Satan under your feet shortly." So we do not tremble before our enemies as though the outcome were in doubt. In Christ they are already subdued, and the day is coming when every foe is put under His feet, and ours in Him.
Because the LORD Fought for Israel (Joshua 10:28-43)
Joshua sweeps through the southern cities in a swift campaign, taking city after city, for the LORD God of Israel fought for His people.
All at One Time
"And that day Joshua took Makkedah, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king thereof he utterly destroyed, them, and all the souls that were therein; he let none remain: and he did to the king of Makkedah as he did unto the king of Jericho. Then Joshua passed from Makkedah, and all Israel with him, unto Libnah, and fought against Libnah: And the LORD delivered it also, and the king thereof, into the hand of Israel; and he smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were therein; he let none remain in it; but did unto the king thereof as he did unto the king of Jericho. And Joshua passed from Libnah, and all Israel with him, unto Lachish, and encamped against it, and fought against it: And the LORD delivered Lachish into the hand of Israel, which took it on the second day, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were therein, according to all that he had done to Libnah. Then Horam king of Gezer came up to help Lachish; and Joshua smote him and his people, until he had left him none remaining. And from Lachish Joshua passed unto Eglon, and all Israel with him; and they encamped against it, and fought against it: And they took it on that day, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were therein he utterly destroyed that day, according to all that he had done to Lachish. And Joshua went up from Eglon, and all Israel with him, unto Hebron; and they fought against it: And they took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king thereof, and all the cities thereof, and all the souls that were therein; he left none remaining, according to all that he had done to Eglon; but destroyed it utterly, and all the souls that were therein. And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to Debir; and fought against it: And he took it, and the king thereof, and all the cities thereof; and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed all the souls that were therein; he left none remaining: as he had done to Hebron, so he did to Debir, and to the king thereof; as he had done also to Libnah, and to her king. So Joshua smote all the country of the hills, and of the south, and of the vale, and of the springs, and all their kings: he left none remaining, but utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the LORD God of Israel commanded. And Joshua smote them from Kadeshbarnea even unto Gaza, and all the country of Goshen, even unto Gibeon. And all these kings and their land did Joshua take at one time, because the LORD God of Israel fought for Israel. And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, unto the camp to Gilgal."
Word Study
"fought," Hebrew lacham (לָחַם). The verb means to fight, to do battle, to wage war. The entire southern campaign is summed up in one phrase, repeated as the reason for every victory: "because the LORD God of Israel fought (lacham) for Israel." City after city falls, Makkedah, Libnah, Lachish, Eglon, Hebron, Debir, and again and again it is written, "the LORD delivered it... into the hand of Israel." The chapter is careful to give the glory not to Joshua's generalship or Israel's swords, but to God: "the LORD fought for Israel." This is the great theme of the book and of the whole life of faith. God does not merely send His people to fight alone; He fights for them and with them. Moses had promised, "The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace" (Exodus 14:14), and, "the LORD your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you" (Deuteronomy 20:4). Israel truly fought, they marched, they drew the sword, they labored, but the victory was the LORD's doing. So it is in the Christian life: we are called to fight the good fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:12), to wrestle against principalities and powers (Ephesians 6:12), yet "if God be for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31). Our part is to obey, to march, to strive; His part is to win. So lacham teaches the secret of every victory of God's people: the LORD fights for us. We take the field in His strength, but the triumph is His, "because the LORD God of Israel fought for Israel," and He fights still for all who are His.
Explanation
The southern campaign is told as a relentless drumbeat — Makkedah, Libnah, Lachish, Eglon, Hebron, Debir — each city taken, each king destroyed, each phrased in the same rhythm: "he let none remain." The repetition is the point; it hammers home the completeness and speed of a conquest accomplished "at one time," because "the LORD God of Israel fought for Israel." The long day God granted (v. 13) had given them the hours; obedience gave them the momentum; and God gave the victory over the whole south in one sweeping march.
Gospel Focus
The chapter closes with a swift and sweeping conquest of the southern cities. The account is deliberately repetitive, Makkedah, Libnah, Lachish, Eglon, Hebron, Debir, each falling, each king destroyed, each victory attributed to the LORD: "the LORD delivered it... into the hand of Israel." The repetition is not tedium but testimony: it hammers home that every single victory was God's gift, not one was won by human strength alone. And the summary crowns it all: "all these kings and their land did Joshua take at one time, because the LORD God of Israel fought for Israel." What looked like a long, hard campaign was, from heaven's view, God fighting for His people and giving them the land He had promised. For the Apostolic reader this closing sweep teaches steady confidence. The Christian life has many battles, one after another, city after city, and the sameness can feel wearying. But the same word is written over every one: the LORD fights for us. We do not win one battle by grace and the next by our own strength; every victory, first and last, is His doing. And He gives not just isolated wins but the whole inheritance, "at one time" the land was taken, for God finishes what He begins. So we press on through the many battles of faith, not trusting our own swords, but resting in the God who fights for His people, confident that He who gave the past victory will give the next, and that He will surely bring us into all He has promised. The land was Israel's, "because the LORD God of Israel fought for Israel"; and our inheritance is sure, because the same LORD fights for us.
Chapter 10 in Review
Joshua 10 is the chapter of the long day. When five Amorite kings attack Gibeon for making peace with Israel, the Gibeonites cry for help, and Israel marches all night to save them. The LORD "cast down great stones from heaven," so that more died by hailstones than by the sword, and at Joshua's word, "Sun, stand thou still," the sun halted "about a whole day", "there was no day like that... for the LORD fought for Israel." The five kings, found hiding in a cave, are brought out, and Israel's captains "put your feet upon the necks of these kings," a sign that God will subdue "all your enemies." Then Joshua conquers the southern cities one after another, "because the LORD God of Israel fought for Israel."
For the Apostolic reader this chapter magnifies the God who fights for His people. He is Sovereign over all creation, the sun and moon obey His word, and He is gracious to hear the prayer of faith, for "the LORD hearkened unto the voice of a man" and stopped the sun. Our battles are real and we must fight them, marching, striving, obeying, yet the victory is His; He does what we never could, casting down the hail and staying the sun. The feet on the necks of kings is a picture of the total, certain triumph of God over every enemy, and of the believer's share in it, a shadow of Christ, to whom God says, "I make thine enemies thy footstool," and who will "bruise Satan under your feet shortly." And the repeated refrain over the southern conquest, "the LORD fought for Israel," is the secret of every victory of faith: we take the field in His strength, but the triumph is His. So we pray bold prayers to the God who can still the sun; we do not fear our enemies, for in Christ they are already subdued; and we press through the many battles of faith, resting in the LORD who fights for His people and will surely give us the whole inheritance He has promised.
- Israel's oath to Gibeon becomes an occasion of deliverance; God redeems even our mistakes (10:6-8).
- The LORD's hailstones killed more than Israel's swords: the victory is God's (10:11).
- God is Sovereign over creation, yet "hearkened unto the voice of a man" (10:12-14).
- Feet on the necks of kings: the certain, total victory of God over every enemy (10:24-25).
- The enemies of God's people are a defeated foe, a shadow of Christ's triumph (10:25; Psalm 110:1).
- Every victory is "because the LORD God of Israel fought for Israel" (10:42).
Questions for Reflection
- Do you pray bold prayers, trusting the God who can still the sun?
- In your battles, do you fight in God's strength, giving Him the glory for the victory?
- How does "feet on the necks of kings" assure you of Christ's triumph over your enemies?
- Do you rest in the truth that the LORD fights for His people, first and last?
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). Supporting passages are listed so every claim can be verified in its own setting. The five kings; Israel defends Gibeon; the hailstones: Joshua 10:1-11; Joshua 9:15-19; Exodus 9:22-25; Psalm 18:13-14; Isaiah 28:2. The sun stands still; God hears the voice of a man: Joshua 10:12-15; Habakkuk 3:11; Isaiah 38:8; Jeremiah 32:17; James 5:16-18. Feet on the necks of kings; the victory of God: Joshua 10:16-27; Deuteronomy 21:22-23; Psalm 8:6; 110:1; Malachi 4:3; Romans 16:20; 1 Corinthians 15:25. The conquest of the south; the LORD fought for Israel: Joshua 10:28-43; Exodus 14:14; Deuteronomy 20:4; 2 Chronicles 20:15; Romans 8:31, 37; 1 Timothy 6:12. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- Israel defends Gibeon; the LORD's hailstones win the battle: Joshua 10:1-11; Exodus 9:22-25.
- The sun stands still; God hearkens to the prayer of faith: Joshua 10:12-15; Jeremiah 32:17; James 5:16.
- Feet on the necks of kings: total victory, a shadow of Christ's triumph: Joshua 10:16-27; Psalm 110:1; Romans 16:20.
- The southern conquest, "because the LORD God of Israel fought for Israel": Joshua 10:28-43; Exodus 14:14; Deuteronomy 20:4.