Chapter 10 of Sefer Yehoshua is one of the most dramatic chapters in all of Tanach: five Emorite kings unite in a coalition against Givon, Yehoshua marches up in a single night to rescue it, HaKadosh Baruch Hu hurls hailstones from the heavens, and at the height of the day Yehoshua commands the sun and the moon to stand still. In its wake the entire southern flank of Eretz Yisrael is conquered in one stroke. We will proceed through the pesukim in order according to the explanation of the Malbim, adding the words of the Radak, the Ralbag and Chazal.
וַיְהִי כִשְׁמֹעַ אֲדֹנִי־צֶדֶק מֶלֶךְ יְרוּשָׁלַ͏ִם כִּי־לָכַד יְהוֹשֻׁעַ אֶת־הָעַי וַיַּחֲרִימָהּ כַּאֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה לִירִיחוֹ וּלְמַלְכָּהּ כֵּן־עָשָׂה לָעַי וּלְמַלְכָּהּ וְכִי הִשְׁלִימוּ יֹשְׁבֵי גִבְעוֹן אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיִּהְיוּ בְּקִרְבָּם׃ - And it came to pass, when Adoni Tzedek king of Yerushalayim heard that Yehoshua had captured Ai and utterly destroyed it, that as he had done to Yericho and its king so he had done to Ai and its king, and that the inhabitants of Givon had made peace with Yisrael and were among them.
Adoni Tzedek hears three things: what Yehoshua did to Yericho, what he did to Ai, and what has now happened with Givon, which came and made peace. On the strength of this he decides to go out to war, and beforehand he assembles a coalition: Hoham king of Chevron, Piram king of Yarmut, Yafia king of Lachish and Devir king of Eglon.
The Malbim asks: in the previous chapter it already stated, "And it came to pass, when all the kings who were beyond the Yarden, in the hills and in the lowland and along all the coast of the Great Sea, heard... they gathered together to fight with Yehoshua and with Yisrael as one." In other words, all the kings had already gathered, and these five kings are among those very kings. If so, why do they appear here separately? And where did all the other kings who had assembled earlier disappear to?
And a further point in the wording: there it says "they gathered" (vayitkabtzu), here in verse 5 it says "the five Emorite kings assembled and went up" (vaye'asfu vaya'alu), and in verse 6 the people of Givon say "for all the Emorite kings have gathered against us" (nikbetzu). What is the difference between gathering (kibutz) and assembling (asifah), and what accounts for the difference?
The Malbim explains: at first all the kings indeed gathered together to fight Yisrael, but HaKadosh Baruch Hu scattered them, frustrated their counsel and stirred up confusion among them, so that they could not come and fight as one. The inhabitants of Givon too were part of that coalition, they are the ones mentioned there as "the Chivi," except that the Givonim broke away and said: why should we go and risk ourselves in war? Let us make peace with them. This withdrawal ignited the fury of the five kings, and they set out to strike Givon with the claim: had you not broken away, the entire coalition would have retained its strength and we would have subdued Yisrael, and you ruined the plan.
There is also a deterrent consideration here: to ensure that no one would dare to do as the Givonim did. For if others follow their path, dread will fall upon all the inhabitants of the land and it will become far easier to conquer them.
And what else stirred the kings up? "For Yehoshua had captured Ai and utterly destroyed it." They heard that Ai had been taken through cunning and stratagems of war, and this actually strengthened their resolve: if Yehoshua needed tactics and shrewdness, it is a sign that there is no special spiritual power with him, but rather he proceeds by natural means, and by natural means one can overcome him.
Another matter: "as he had done to Yericho and its king so he had done to Ai and its king." Had he destroyed only Yericho, says the Malbim, they would not have been so alarmed, for such was the way of conquerors of lands: the first city they capture they place under the ban, they burn it and leave not one stone upon another. And the aim is to instill dread in the heart of the opposing nation, for when they see warriors who take nothing into account, to whom money means nothing and no persuasion appeals, they are filled with fear: these are dangerous men, men who cannot be bought. But once Yehoshua destroyed Ai as well, it was a sign that his intent was to destroy them all, and then do not sit quietly, go and stand for your life.
A third matter: "and that the inhabitants of Givon had made peace." This brought dread into the heart of all the inhabitants of the land: if Givon is afraid to fight Yehoshua, what shall we say? It struck a blow to the general morale. And a fourth matter: "and were among them." Once Yisrael accepted them, the kings feared that many more would come to make peace with Yisrael in order to become their tributaries and be kept alive, and then all appetite for fighting would be lost. Therefore Givon must be struck in order to deter: whoever wishes to make peace with Yehoshua, this will be his end.
And further: by the Givonim dwelling among them, Yisrael found well-established towns of settlement. They can enter the cities of the Givonim and find there everything, food and provisions and livestock and all their needs, a place that will serve them as an orderly camp from which to fight the remaining nations. And thus this is further fuel and strength for Yehoshua's war machine.
The Radak explains: all the kings of Yerushalayim at that time were called "Malki Tzedek" (kings of righteousness) or "Adoni Tzedek" (lords of righteousness), as it is written "And Malki Tzedek king of Shalem," and Shalem is Yerushalayim. Just as all the kings of Egypt were called Pharaoh, so the name "Tzedek" was the name of all the kings of Yerushalayim, as it is written "And His tabernacle was in Shalem." They were called this because Yerushalayim is the place of righteousness.
The Minchat Shai brings the Midrash in Bereshit Rabbah: Avraham Avinu called the place "Yireh," as it is said "On the mountain of Hashem He will be seen (yeraeh)," and Malki Tzedek called it "Shalem," and the Holy One, blessed be He, combined the two names and called it Yerushalayim. The Yefeh To'ar asks: why was it not called "Yireh Shalem"? He answers that "Yiru" and "Yireh" have the same gematria, for alef and heh add up to six. And this is also why the spelling is always defective: in the verse it is written "Yerushalem" with a chirik and without the letter yod, so that the reading is Yerushalayim but the spelling is a combination of Yireh and Shalem.
וַיִּירְאוּ מְאֹד כִּי עִיר גְּדוֹלָה גִּבְעוֹן כְּאַחַת עָרֵי הַמַּמְלָכָה וְכִי הִיא גְדוֹלָה מִן־הָעַי וְכׇל־אֲנָשֶׁיהָ גִּבֹּרִים׃ - And they were very afraid, for Givon was a great city, like one of the royal cities, and it was greater than the Ai, and all its men were mighty.
They were very afraid, says the Malbim, for now everyone would learn from Givon. And Givon's greatness was threefold: first, in quality, for it held the importance of leadership, "like one of the royal cities," not a remote village but one of the important cities of the land. Second, in quantity, for it was greater than the Ai. Third, in might, "and all its men were mighty." A country may be densely populated yet have no strong army, only an army of parades, and therefore the verse emphasizes that it was great in might as well.
They further explain what troubled them: they saw that the Givonim made peace with Yisrael, and Yehoshua did not leave them in their place but was relocating them from their cities, and this angered them. Some explain that the Givonim made peace without the knowledge of their king, that is, they rebelled against him, and the king of Yerushalayim feared that the other nations would learn from them and rebel against their kings, and therefore it had to be stopped immediately. Furthermore: Givon was a fortified city and its men were mighty, so they ought to have fought and stood their ground and taken revenge on Yisrael for the conquest of Yericho and the Ai. And if you were afraid, why did you not call us? Why did you immediately raise a white flag and surrender? In the fact that they were not called, the kings saw an affront to their honor, and they went out to fight for the honor that had been slighted.
עֲלוּ־אֵלַי וְעִזְרֻנִי וְנַכֶּה אֶת־גִּבְעוֹן כִּי־הִשְׁלִימָה אֶת־יְהוֹשֻׁעַ וְאֶת־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ - Come up to me and help me, and let us strike Givon, for it has made peace with Yehoshua and with the children of Yisrael.
"And let us strike," says the Malbim: since all the kings gathered and agreed together to fight, the Givonim in their defection violated the law of the land, broke the prior agreements, and harm the collective. They are like traitors, who go to lend aid and support to the conquerors instead of being with us as they were at first.
וַיֵּאָסְפוּ וַיַּעֲלוּ חֲמֵשֶׁת מַלְכֵי הָאֱמֹרִי מֶלֶךְ יְרוּשָׁלַ͏ִם מֶלֶךְ־חֶבְרוֹן מֶלֶךְ־יַרְמוּת מֶלֶךְ־לָכִישׁ מֶלֶךְ־עֶגְלוֹן הֵם וְכׇל־מַחֲנֵיהֶם וַיַּחֲנוּ עַל־גִּבְעוֹן וַיִּלָּחֲמוּ עָלֶיהָ׃ - And the five kings of the Emori gathered and went up, the king of Yerushalayim, the king of Chevron, the king of Yarmut, the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon, they and all their camps, and they encamped against Givon and fought against it.
Seemingly, why go back and list them anew? Rather, Adoni Tzedek asked of them "come up to me and help me," meaning I am the main one and you are appendages, merely assistants. But they came with great pride, saying: we are the ones waging this war here. They were certain they were going to win, and they did not agree that the crown of glory be given to him alone while they were only the helpers. We come as full partners, as equals, and not as an appendage. Therefore the verse lists each and every one, that each king rose and went up as a warrior in his own right. "They and all their camps" comes to teach that the camps too joined out of unity, so that you should not say that a hasty conscription took place here in which the men were forced to go out, but rather all came with the aim of subduing Yehoshua.
וַיִּשְׁלְחוּ אַנְשֵׁי גִבְעוֹן אֶל־יְהוֹשֻׁעַ אֶל־הַמַּחֲנֶה הַגִּלְגָּלָה לֵאמֹר אַל־תֶּרֶף יָדֶיךָ מֵעֲבָדֶיךָ עֲלֵה אֵלֵינוּ מְהֵרָה וְהוֹשִׁיעָה לָּנוּ וְעׇזְרֵנוּ כִּי נִקְבְּצוּ אֵלֵינוּ כׇּל־מַלְכֵי הָאֱמֹרִי יֹשְׁבֵי הָהָר׃ - And the men of Givon sent to Yehoshua, to the camp at Gilgal, saying: Do not withhold your hands from your servants, come up to us quickly and save us and help us, for all the kings of the Emori who dwell in the hill country have gathered against us.
"Do not withhold your hands from your servants": we are your servants, and when a person's servant is taken captive or threatened, he goes to rescue him. So too we expect that you will come and save us.
And what is the difference between "save us" and "help us"? The Malbim explains: the one who saves does everything, while the one who helps does only a little, you do the main part and he merely assists you. And this is what they said: save us, and if you do not wish to bring a complete salvation, then at least "help us", we will act and you will assist. But do not sit on the side and watch how they strike us.
And should you say, we already stated that they are mighty men, so what is their fear? Therefore they emphasize "for all the kings of the Emori have gathered against us." Against all of them together we already need assistance. And furthermore they say to him: this help will benefit you as well, for after they strike us you are the next target, and it is fitting that you assist already now and strike them before they reach you.
And here the Malbim resolves the question of the wording: gathering together (asifah) comes after assembling (kibbutz). First each one assembles from his own place, and afterward they all concentrate in one place, and that is the asifah. The kings had already assembled in chapter 9, and when they came to fight Givon all that remained for them was to gather together, and therefore it says "and they gathered." But the men of Givon speak of themselves: from their perspective this is the first time the kings come against them, for originally there was no intention to fight Givon, and only now did the intention arise. For them this is still the beginning, the start of the agreement to come and fight, and therefore they say "they have gathered against us."
And in their request "do not withhold your hands from your servants" there is an argument: even though we acted toward you with deceit, our honor touches upon your honor. For why do they come against us? Because we made peace with you. It turns out that the strike against us is a strike aimed at you. Just as the State of Israel bombs in Syria while really aiming at the tail of Iran, it has no concern with the Syrians in themselves, but it knows that if it strikes at Iran or at Lebanon a war will be dragged along, and therefore it strikes at the tails of Hizbollah and Iran in Syria. So too here: the kings know that they cannot strike at Yehoshua, therefore they strike at his tail, at the inhabitants of Givon, but the arrow is aimed at Yehoshua. And if so, the matter touches upon your honor, come and assist us.
וַיַּעַל יְהוֹשֻׁעַ מִן־הַגִּלְגָּל הוּא וְכׇל־עַם הַמִּלְחָמָה עִמּוֹ וְכֹל גִּבּוֹרֵי הֶחָיִל׃ - And Yehoshua went up from Gilgal, he and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valor.
Yehoshua goes up immediately that very night to assist them, yet it is brought that he still had concerns. First concern: he had said to them "you are cursed," and cursed them, and if a curse rests upon them, perhaps there will be no success here. Second concern: perhaps the kings come to Givon in order to punish them for their deceit, and this is a punishment coming to them from Heaven. Third concern: perhaps we too deserve it, for we accepted the Givonim without inquiring of the Urim VeTumim, and it turns out that there is a sin in our hands as well. And just as we saw that when there was sin in us and we acted improperly we fell at Ai, so too perhaps we will fall here at Givon.
וַיֹּאמֶר יְהֹוָה אֶל־יְהוֹשֻׁעַ אַל־תִּירָא מֵהֶם כִּי בְיָדְךָ נְתַתִּים לֹא־יַעֲמֹד אִישׁ מֵהֶם בְּפָנֶיךָ׃ - And Hashem said to Yehoshua: Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hand, not one of them shall stand before you.
The Holy One, blessed be He, sees all these concerns and answers him: "for I have given them into your hand," meaning already long ago, even before this. The very reason for their coming is a cause from Me, in order to deliver them into your hand, and you have nothing to fear from them, for the whole matter was designed from the outset that they should fall into your hand.
And why does it say "none shall stand" and not "none shall take his stand"? The Malbim explains: "take his stand" indicates the beginning of standing in position in order to fight, whereas "stand" means that even afterward one remains in place. Here the enemies had already received a draft order and had taken their stand, so it would not be fitting to say "none shall take his stand," but rather "none of them shall stand before you": they will indeed take their stand, but they will not be able to remain standing and fighting against you. And so it turned out in the end, they did not remain standing but knelt and fell.
And why did the Holy One, blessed be He, actually make him this promise? Even though the Givonim acted with deceit, in the end there was a sanctification of God's Name in it, for the Givonim came and converted. Yet even so, the deceit does not become for them a merit of protection and rescue, and therefore He said to him "I have delivered them into your hand": it is your merit that will stand for them to protect them. It is further brought in Chazal that He told him to raise the staff as he had done in the battle of Ai, and through this none of them would remain a survivor or refugee.
וַיָּבֹא אֲלֵיהֶם יְהוֹשֻׁעַ פִּתְאֹם כׇּל־הַלַּיְלָה עָלָה מִן־הַגִּלְגָּל׃ - And Yehoshua came upon them suddenly, for all night he went up from Gilgal.
He came upon them suddenly because he went up from Gilgal all night, at a time when they could not see him. And Chazal say that a miracle was performed for them, that a journey of three days he walked in a single night and took them by surprise.
וַיְהֻמֵּם יְהֹוָה לִפְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיַּכֵּם מַכָּה־גְדוֹלָה בְּגִבְעוֹן וַיִּרְדְּפֵם דֶּרֶךְ מַעֲלֵה בֵית־חוֹרֹן וַיַּכֵּם עַד־עֲזֵקָה וְעַד־מַקֵּדָה׃ - And Hashem threw them into a panic before Yisrael, and He struck them a great blow at Givon, and pursued them along the way that goes up to Beit Choron, and struck them as far as Azekah and as far as Makkedah.
Hashem threw them into a great panic and they fled before Yisrael. And the victory was not by natural means, for Yehoshua was below and they were above, and yet they were the ones who fled before him.
וַיְהִי בְּנֻסָם מִפְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הֵם בְּמוֹרַד בֵּית־חוֹרֹן וַיהֹוָה הִשְׁלִיךְ עֲלֵיהֶם אֲבָנִים גְּדֹלוֹת מִן־הַשָּׁמַיִם עַד־עֲזֵקָה וַיָּמֻתוּ רַבִּים אֲשֶׁר־מֵתוּ בְּאַבְנֵי הַבָּרָד מֵאֲשֶׁר הָרְגוּ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בֶּחָרֶב׃ - And it was, as they fled before Yisrael, while they were on the descent of Beit Choron, that Hashem cast down upon them great stones from heaven as far as Azekah, and they died; more died from the hailstones than those whom Bnei Yisrael killed with the sword.
What is meant by "as far as Azekah"? Says the Malbim: that hailstones fall upon one spot and kill man and beast, that is still something natural. But here there was an open miracle: the enemies flee toward Azekah and Yisrael pursues after them, and the hailstones strike the fleeing ones directly and not the pursuers. Everyone is in motion, and the stones do not strike Yisrael but precisely the place where the enemy stood. If he advanced a meter, the stone strikes him; and the Israelite who arrives a centimeter behind him is not struck. Like a guided missile in our times, a kind of homing missile that chases after him and falls on his head. All along the way the stones are cast down and strike precisely the enemies of Yisrael.
Chazal say that the stones killed their mighty ones, and with a single stone many died, and afterward the stones continued and rolled down the descent and struck also those who kept fleeing.
And what is the source of those stones? When Moshe Rabbeinu prayed that the hail should stop, it says "and the hail did not reach the ground." Chazal say: what is meant by "did not reach the ground"? That even the hail that was still in heaven and was supposed to come down was held back in heaven. And that hail the Holy One, blessed be He, kept, and now brought it down upon the five kings. And not all the hail and stones came down here, but a portion remained for the war of Gog and Magog, where the Holy One, blessed be He, will bring down upon them hailstones from heaven.
אָז יְדַבֵּר יְהוֹשֻׁעַ לַיהֹוָה בְּיוֹם תֵּת יְהֹוָה אֶת־הָאֱמֹרִי לִפְנֵי בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיֹּאמֶר לְעֵינֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל שֶׁמֶשׁ בְּגִבְעוֹן דּוֹם וְיָרֵחַ בְּעֵמֶק אַיָּלוֹן׃ - Then Yehoshua spoke to Hashem on the day that Hashem delivered up the Emori before Bnei Yisrael, and he said before the eyes of Yisrael: Sun, stand still over Givon, and moon, over the valley of Ayalon.
וַיִּדֹּם הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ וְיָרֵחַ עָמָד עַד־יִקֹּם גּוֹי אֹיְבָיו הֲלֹא־הִיא כְתוּבָה עַל־סֵפֶר הַיָּשָׁר וַיַּעֲמֹד הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ בַּחֲצִי הַשָּׁמַיִם וְלֹא־אָץ לָבוֹא כְּיוֹם תָּמִים׃ - And the sun stood still and the moon stayed, until the nation had avenged itself upon its enemies. Is this not written in the Book of the Upright? So the sun stood still in the midst of the heavens and did not hasten to set for about a whole day.
וְלֹא הָיָה כַּיּוֹם הַהוּא לְפָנָיו וְאַחֲרָיו לִשְׁמֹעַ יְהֹוָה בְּקוֹל אִישׁ כִּי יְהֹוָה נִלְחָם לְיִשְׂרָאֵל׃ - And there was no day like it before or after, when Hashem hearkened to the voice of a man, for Hashem fought for Yisrael.
This passage raises many difficulties, and the Malbim enumerates them as follows. One: what is meant by "on the day that Hashem delivered up the Emori"? You already said "then Yehoshua spoke," which continues from what came before, and this refers to the very same day on which the kings were delivered into Yehoshua's hand, so the phrase is redundant. Two: "And the sun stood still and the moon stayed until the nation had avenged itself upon its enemies," and afterward "so the sun stood still in the midst of the heavens and did not hasten to set": why is "until the nation had avenged itself upon its enemies" wedged into the middle, when its place should have been at the end of the verse? Three: what is the Book of the Upright and why is it called by that name? Four: why was it necessary for the sun to stand still for a whole day, twenty four hours? Five: "and there was no day like it before or after," yet Chazal say that the sun stood still for Moshe Rabbeinu, and after him too we find with Chizkiyahu that the sun went backward, and with Nakdimon ben Guryon that the sun did not set. Six: what is meant by "for Hashem fought for Yisrael," as though Hashem had not fought for us until now? Did He not fight for us at Yericho? Seven: and in general, why was this miracle needed at all? Great stones had already come down upon them from the heavens and the battle was decided, so why was a further miracle of the sun and moon standing still required?
The Malbim explains: in Parashat Ki Tisa, Moshe Rabbeinu prays, "If I have now found favor in Your eyes, let Hashem now go in our midst," asking that the Divine Providence of the Holy One, blessed is He, be revealed upon them and cling to them without any intermediary. An angel is sent to Moshe, and Moshe sends it back: this is not the address we wanted, we do not want an angel. "If Your Presence does not go, do not bring us up from here," we want only the Holy One, blessed is He. For the guidance of an angel is guidance within nature, whereas the guidance of the Holy One, blessed is He, is guidance above nature. We want a miraculous guidance and not a natural guidance.
And then the Holy One, blessed is He, says: "Behold, I make a covenant. Before all your people I will do wonders such as have not been created in all the earth and among all the nations, and all the people among whom you are shall see the work of Hashem, for it is awesome." There are three conditions to these wonders: one, that they be open and known to all the people, "before all your people." Two, that they be new wonders the like of which had never been, "such as have not been created." Three, that they become renowned "in all the earth and among all the nations," and that through them all should recognize the work of Hashem.
And immediately afterward it says, "Observe that which I command you this day; behold, I drive out before you the Emori... Take heed to yourself, lest you make a covenant," implying that the Holy One, blessed is He, even gives a target date: when will the wonders occur? At the time of the conquest of the seven nations, the first of which is the Emori. And there it says, "And Hashem said to Moshe: Write down these words, for according to these words I have made a covenant with you and with Yisrael." The Holy One, blessed is He, commands him to write this passage, for according to it the covenant is made: if you do not observe it, the wonders will not come to pass; and if you observe it, Hashem will fulfill the wonders at the time of the driving out of the Emori, at the time of the conquest of the land.
The book in which Moshe Rabbeinu wrote these things, says the Malbim, is the "Book of the Upright." There the covenant is written, and there the clear promise of wonders such as had not been created, before the eyes of all the earth and with great renown. And it is called the Book of the Upright because it sets Yisrael straight to walk in the ways of Hashem: you have a written contract with the Holy One, blessed is He, that if you walk in His ways, Hashem promises you signs, miracles, and wonders such as had not been in all the earth and among all the nations.
And now, says the Malbim, apply your mind and understand the verses. Yehoshua sees that Hashem is fighting for them against the Emori, and he comes forward and demands the fulfillment of the contract: Master of the Universe, we have a written covenant, let Hashem fulfill what He wrote with Moshe in the Book of the Upright. This is "then Yehoshua spoke to Hashem." "On the day that Hashem delivered up the Emori before Bnei Yisrael" corresponds to the Emori mentioned there, the first of the nations. And corresponding to the first condition, "before all your people I will do wonders," it says here "and he said before the eyes of Yisrael," that Yehoshua spoke the words aloud so that all Yisrael would hear.
And corresponding to the two other conditions he said, "Sun, stand still over Givon." By this is fulfilled "wonders such as have not been created," for such a miracle among the upper beings had never yet been done. And this is a very interesting distinction: all the miracles that had occurred until now were miracles in the lower realm. The splitting of the Yam Suf was in the lower realm, Korach whom the earth opened its mouth for, the mouth of the donkey, all in the lower realm. And this is the first time that a miracle was performed in the upper realm through a human being. True, we find that the Holy One, blessed is He, brought darkness in the plague of darkness and the like, but those were acts that the Holy One, blessed is He, did Himself; that a man should decree and it be done, such a thing we had not seen. And corresponding to the third condition, that it be "in all the earth and among all the nations": when the sun stands still, the whole world knows of it. It is not something hidden, nor is it local. Even the splitting of the Yarden, only the people of that region saw it, and the splitting of the Yam Suf was passed along by word of mouth; but a sun standing still and a moon standing still for twenty four hours, that is something known throughout the entire world.
Yehoshua asked that only the sun and the moon stand still. There is a possibility of stopping all the heavenly spheres, and there is a possibility that all the heavenly spheres continue as usual, that the seven planets keep on their courses, and only the sun and the moon stand still. And which is the greater miracle? Without a doubt, when all the heavenly bodies keep functioning and the sun and the moon stand still. To what may this be compared? It is easier to bring a car to a stop by turning off the engine, so that the wheels stop on their own, than to have the engine keep running while I grab hold of a wheel so it will not turn. That takes tremendous strength. And that is what happened here: all the heavenly bodies continued on their course, and only the sun and the moon stood in their place.
And why so? Because when all the spheres continue, the framework of days and years continues and is not stopped, and we have no day in history that is erased. Everything continues and revolves, and only the sun and the moon stood still.
Here there was an innovation that had never been before, and even though we have seen miracles before it and after it, the verse is speaking in certain respects. The first respect concerns who brought about the miracle. All miracles were done either from Hashem's will, that at a certain moment He desires to perform a miracle for us, or from the power of a prophet's prayer requesting something, as in "and if Hashem creates something new" that the earth open its mouth. But it never happened that a prophet performs a miracle by decree, neither through prayer and request nor from Hashem's will unrelated to the prophet, but rather that the prophet decrees upon one of the heavenly bodies or upon the reality in nature that it act according to his will. This is "that Hashem heeded the voice of a man": there was no prayer here, no request and no supplication, only the voice of a man, Yehoshua raised his voice and commanded the sun to stand still.
The second respect concerns the purpose for which the miracle was done. Wherever a miracle was performed by the power of the divine will, it was in order that His name be magnified and sanctified in the world, "all that is called by My name, for My glory I created it, formed it, even made it," or in order to elevate the stature of Israel, that all should see what miracles the Holy One, blessed be He, performs for them. And wherever a miracle came through a prophet's prayer, it was either for Hashem's honor or in order to save Israel from the enemy and from the trouble coming upon them. But we never saw a prophet ask for a sign and wonder whose entire purpose was only to make known that Hashem fights for Israel. Here they had already been saved through nature or close to nature, and the miracle was not necessary for winning the battle. A miracle whose entire aim was only to make known that Hashem fights for us, such a miracle had never been and never will be. This is "and there was no day like that day, before it or after it, that Hashem heeded the voice of a man, for Hashem fought for Israel": that a man raised his voice and decreed a decree upon the heavenly bodies, and its whole point was to publicize that Hashem fights for Israel, and the Holy One, blessed be He, heeds his decree.
And there are further answers to this question. Some say it is said with respect to the combination of miracles, that the sun standing still together with the hailstones that fell from the heavens, such a thing had never been. And some say that there was no day like that day in this respect, that Yehoshua recited song in place of the sun.
The Malbim resolves the order of the verse: "and the sun was silent and the moon stood still" is a parenthetical clause. The main point is that Yehoshua said "Sun, stand silent at Givon, and moon, in the valley of Ayalon," until when? "until the nation avenges itself on its enemies," and why? "is this not written in the Book of the Upright." All this is Yehoshua's words, in which he asked them to be silent because the matter was already written in the Book of the Upright that Moshe Rabbeinu wrote. And what is said in the middle, "and the sun was silent and the moon stood still," these are the words of the author of the book, to teach us that the moment Yehoshua spoke his words, immediately it was done as he said. The miracle did not wait until he finished all his words, but the moment he said "Sun, stand silent at Givon," immediately the sun was silent, and the moment he said "moon, in the valley of Ayalon," immediately the moon was silent.
And what is the redundancy of "was silent" and "stood still"? Silence is the cessation of motion, as in the phrase "they were still as a stone," silent meaning without motion. First it informs you that as he brought the words out of his mouth the sun already ceased its motion. And afterward it comes to say in which place it stood and for how long, and about this it says "and the sun stood in the middle of the sky," that it remained standing at that point where it was at that hour, and this continued "for a whole day," twenty four hours.
And why were twenty four hours needed, when it could have ended earlier? The Malbim is precise: "and it did not hasten to set" on its own. The sun was already able to return and continue its function, but on its own it did not hasten to set. And there is a wondrous reason in this: since the rest of the heavenly bodies continued their function, had the sun returned to function after twelve hours, it would have been in a place inappropriate for it relative to the rest of the heavenly bodies, and the moon would have been in a place not matching it, and the entire heavenly order would have been disrupted. Therefore it had to remain twenty four hours at that point, and when the rest of the heavenly bodies reached that point, they, as it were, gather it up and it continues with them. And thus the sun remained in its relative position to the rest of the heavenly bodies. And this is necessary, for if the position of the sun relative to the moon were to change, suddenly you would have a full moon on the seventh of the month, since it changed its position relative to the sun, and so with all the rest of the planets.
And the Malbim further adds that there is an annual motion and there is a daily motion. In the annual motion everything continued, and only the daily motion stopped. Therefore one cannot say "a whole day" with complete precision but rather "about a whole day," for the sun moves a little each day, and its place in summer is not like its place in winter, and there was a certain shift here.
Chazal expounded "Sun, be still at Givon" to mean that the sun should be silent from saying song. And "Then Yehoshua spoke to Hashem" means that Yehoshua would sing a song to Hashem in place of the sun and the moon. The Malbim explains: the sun and the moon, by their very action in their fixed course, this itself is their song and their great praise to the Holy One, blessed be He. When they cease, they are silent from this song, for through their action His Name is made known. But Yehoshua argued to it: this cessation is not accidental, its batteries did not run out and cause it to stop, rather Yehoshua and Yisrael are commanding the sun and the moon to cease, in order to show how the Holy One, blessed be He, overturns the natural order for the sake of Yisrael to win the battle. And this song is more wondrous than the natural song, than the fixed movement of the sun and the moon. The very ability to stop the sun and the moon so that the Creator's nation should be victorious, this is the song that Yehoshua sang, and in this very act there is a special praise.
According to the plain meaning of the text, and this is the path the Malbim follows, the sun and the moon stood still for twenty four hours. But there is a teaching among Chazal that he made them stand for thirty six hours. The Radak says that the war was on Erev Shabbat, and Yehoshua feared that they would come to desecrate Shabbat, so he stretched out his hands upward so that the sun would stand on Friday for the length of the day of Shabbat, and the moon for the length of the night of Shabbat and the departure of Shabbat, altogether thirty six hours.
The commentators bring several reasons why Yehoshua needed to stop the course of the sun. The first reason, so that they would not come to desecrate Shabbat, and this is hinted at in the word shemesh (sun): shema mechalelim Shabbat (lest they desecrate Shabbat). For if the sun had set, Shabbat would have entered, so he took care that it should not set, and Friday remained long, encompassing every Erev Shabbat. The second reason, that the nations came to fight by the power of the constellations, they knew the hour that was auspicious for them and accordingly set the timing of the battle, so he stopped the sun and the moon and all the constellations with them, and all their intentions were thwarted (this differs from the Malbim's explanation, that the rest of the heavenly bodies continued in their action). The third reason, to show that the Holy One, blessed be He, overturns the natural order for the sake of Yisrael, and that we are not aided by the power of the constellations, so that they should not say, behold, they knew which hour and which constellation was auspicious and acted through their power. The fourth reason, that the nations were sun worshippers and served the sun, and He came to show them that even the sun is subject to Hashem, and this one to whom you bow does His will for our benefit and stops for our sake. The fifth reason, to draw close the converts, so that when they would see how we dealt with the Givonim and how much the Holy One, blessed be He, loves us, to the point that He halts the course of the sun for us, they would draw close to us. And a further reason, to implant faith in the heart of the nation that was now entering the land.
The commentators further bring that Yehoshua had a doubt: how can I tell the sun and the moon to be still, for can one servant command another servant? If you are the master, command the servants; but if you are a servant, how can you command another servant? Therefore he first asked permission from Hashem, and this is "Then Yehoshua spoke to Hashem." And in Chazal it is brought that the sun argued with him and said: I am fulfilling the will of Hashem, and I am even greater than you, for I was created on the fourth day and you were created on the sixth, and from me there is benefit to the entire world. Therefore "Sun, be still at Givon" has two meanings: both that it should stand in its place and that it should be silent from saying song. And its argument was that I am now being prevented from saying song, and to this Yehoshua said to it that I will say song in your place, and that your very silence is itself praise and song to Hashem, and specifically through it the Name of Heaven is sanctified. And some say that Yehoshua stopped the sun with the Explicit Name, and this is "Then Yehoshua spoke to Hashem," that he mentioned the Name of Hashem and through this the sun was stopped.
וַיָּשׇׁב יְהוֹשֻׁעַ וְכׇל־יִשְׂרָאֵל עִמּוֹ אֶל־הַמַּחֲנֶה הַגִּלְגָּלָה׃ - And Yehoshua returned, and all Yisrael with him, to the camp at Gilgal.
The Malbim addresses a difficulty: here it says that he returned to Gilgal, and in verse 21 it seems that the camp remained at Makeidah, "And all the people returned to the camp to Yehoshua at Makeidah in peace." He resolves this: what is stated "And Yehoshua returned" means in thought: Yehoshua thought, he and all Yisrael with him, to return to Gilgal, but in the end "these five kings fled and hid in the cave at Makeidah," and when it became known to him that the five kings were hiding in the cave at Makeidah, he said: if so, there is no reason for us to return to Gilgal, let us come and finish the war. And some say a further reason for the return to Gilgal, that they heard that the kings were going to attack Yehoshua's camp at Gilgal and he needed to turn back to save them, and Hashem revealed it to Yehoshua's ear.
וַיֻּגַּד לִיהוֹשֻׁעַ לֵאמֹר נִמְצְאוּ חֲמֵשֶׁת הַמְּלָכִים נֶחְבְּאִים בַּמְּעָרָה בְּמַקֵּדָה׃ - And it was told to Yehoshua, saying: The five kings have been found hidden in the cave at Makeidah.
וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוֹשֻׁעַ גֹּלּוּ אֲבָנִים גְּדֹלוֹת אֶל־פִּי הַמְּעָרָה וְהַפְקִידוּ עָלֶיהָ אֲנָשִׁים לְשׇׁמְרָם׃ - And Yehoshua said: Roll large stones to the mouth of the cave and appoint men over it to guard them.
The word "nimtze'u" (they were found) fits what we explained, that Yehoshua thought they had returned to their cities, and then they came and reported to him: those very ones whose fate we did not know, behold they are hiding in the cave. He then commanded to roll stones over the mouth of the cave.
וְאַתֶּם אַל־תַּעֲמֹדוּ רִדְפוּ אַחֲרֵי אֹיְבֵיכֶם וְזִנַּבְתֶּם אוֹתָם אַל־תִּתְּנוּם לָבוֹא אֶל־עָרֵיהֶם כִּי נְתָנָם יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם בְּיֶדְכֶם׃ - But you, do not stand still; pursue your enemies and cut down their rear ranks, do not allow them to enter their cities, for Hashem your God has delivered them into your hand.
What does "ve'zinavtem" mean? The Malbim says: cut off also the tail of the camp. The main camp had already been struck, and what remained is the tail, and against it one must deliver a blow to the rear. He commands them not to let them enter their cities, to seize the opportunity, for if they return to their cities they would have time to crown a new king for themselves.
וַיָּשֻׁבוּ כׇל־הָעָם אֶל־הַמַּחֲנֶה אֶל־יְהוֹשֻׁעַ מַקֵּדָה בְּשָׁלוֹם לֹא־חָרַץ לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לְאִישׁ אֶת־לְשֹׁנוֹ׃ - And all the people returned to the camp, to Yehoshua at Makkedah, in peace; no one dared move his tongue against any of Bnei Yisrael.
Only remnants remained who came to the fortified cities and entrenched themselves in them. And what does "livnei Yisrael le'ish" mean? It means that not even against a single man of Bnei Yisrael did anyone move his tongue. Rashi explains that "charatz" is an expression of speaking with the tongue, as in "lo yecheratz kelev leshono" (a dog shall not move its tongue), which refers to its barking, the speech of the dog.
וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוֹשֻׁעַ פִּתְחוּ אֶת־פִּי הַמְּעָרָה וְהוֹצִיאוּ אֵלַי אֶת־חֲמֵשֶׁת הַמְּלָכִים הָאֵלֶּה מִן־הַמְּעָרָה׃ - And Yehoshua said: Open the mouth of the cave and bring out to me these five kings from the cave.
Yehoshua tells them not to fear that they might be attacked while opening the cave. He had put the kings on hold, continued the battle and finished it, and now he returns to deal with them.
וַיְהִי כְּהוֹצִיאָם אֶת־הַמְּלָכִים הָאֵלֶּה אֶל־יְהוֹשֻׁעַ וַיִּקְרָא יְהוֹשֻׁעַ אֶל־כׇּל־אִישׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיֹּאמֶר אֶל־קְצִינֵי אַנְשֵׁי הַמִּלְחָמָה הֶהָלְכוּא אִתּוֹ קִרְבוּ שִׂימוּ אֶת־רַגְלֵיכֶם עַל־צַוְּארֵי הַמְּלָכִים הָאֵלֶּה וַיִּקְרְבוּ וַיָּשִׂימוּ אֶת־רַגְלֵיהֶם עַל־צַוְּארֵיהֶם׃ - And it was, when they brought out these kings to Yehoshua, that Yehoshua called to all the men of Yisrael and said to the chiefs of the men of war who had gone with him: Come near, place your feet on the necks of these kings. And they came near and placed their feet on their necks.
The Ralbag says: it was the way of warriors to humiliate the enemy in order to prevent enemies from returning to do the same, and by humiliating the king, fear falls into the heart of the nation. Here too there was a need to deter the rest of the enemies from coming to fight against us, and for the same reason he also hung them on five trees, to cast fear into the hearts of those thinking to go out and fight. There is a further reason, that this serves as a symbol and remembrance of the miracles of the war. The Malbim explains that the placing of the feet was a sign that thus would they all fall beneath their feet, and to strengthen them through this. And what is "hehalechu ito," with an aleph at the end, a rare word in Tanach? The Malbim explains: it is like "asher halechu ito" (who had gone with him).
וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵיהֶם יְהוֹשֻׁעַ אַל־תִּירְאוּ וְאַל־תֵּחָתּוּ חִזְקוּ וְאִמְצוּ כִּי כָכָה יַעֲשֶׂה יְהֹוָה לְכׇל־אֹיְבֵיכֶם אֲשֶׁר אַתֶּם נִלְחָמִים אוֹתָם׃ - And Yehoshua said to them: Do not fear and do not be dismayed; be strong and courageous, for thus will Hashem do to all your enemies against whom you are fighting.
וַיַּכֵּם יְהוֹשֻׁעַ אַחֲרֵי־כֵן וַיְמִיתֵם וַיִּתְלֵם עַל חֲמִשָּׁה עֵצִים וַיִּהְיוּ תְּלוּיִם עַל־הָעֵצִים עַד־הָעָרֶב׃ - And Yehoshua struck them afterward and put them to death, and hung them on five trees, and they remained hanging on the trees until evening.
The hanging took place after the killing, and it was not done as the court's method of execution but for public display of the death. And why did he hang them on five separate trees and not on one tree? To show that their unity did not help them, and in the end each one was hanged alone.
וַיְהִי לְעֵת בּוֹא הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ צִוָּה יְהוֹשֻׁעַ וַיֹּרִידוּם מֵעַל הָעֵצִים וַיַּשְׁלִכֻם אֶל־הַמְּעָרָה אֲשֶׁר נֶחְבְּאוּ־שָׁם וַיָּשִׂמוּ אֲבָנִים גְּדֹלוֹת עַל־פִּי הַמְּעָרָה עַד־עֶצֶם הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה׃ - And it came to pass at the time of the setting of the sun that Yehoshua commanded, and they took them down from the trees and cast them into the cave where they had hidden, and they set great stones over the mouth of the cave, until this very day.
The Radak says: since it is stated "and you shall not defile your land," and a corpse that is not buried brings impurity to the land, therefore he commanded to take them down from the tree and bury them. And so it will also be in the future, that Israel will bury the slain over the course of six months.
וְאֶת־מַקֵּדָה לָכַד יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא וַיַּכֶּהָ לְפִי־חֶרֶב וְאֶת־מַלְכָּהּ הֶחֱרִם אוֹתָם וְאֶת־כׇּל־הַנֶּפֶשׁ אֲשֶׁר־בָּהּ לֹא הִשְׁאִיר שָׂרִיד וַיַּעַשׂ לְמֶלֶךְ מַקֵּדָה כַּאֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה לְמֶלֶךְ יְרִיחוֹ׃ - And Makkedah Yehoshua captured on that day, and he struck it with the edge of the sword, and its king he utterly destroyed, them and every soul that was in it he left no survivor, and he did to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the king of Yericho.
The king of Makkedah he killed among the slain, and not in the manner in which he had dealt with the five kings, whom he captured alive, hanged, and afterward buried, but rather he killed him as part of the battle. And the Malbim asks: why did they not fight against Makkedah immediately, until they had found the kings? And he answers: at first Yehoshua thought the kings were alive and feared to fight against Makkedah, for then he would have the battle both in front and behind him. But now that they had been captured, he captures Makkedah.
וַיַּעֲבֹר יְהוֹשֻׁעַ וְכׇל־יִשְׂרָאֵל עִמּוֹ מִמַּקֵּדָה לִבְנָה וַיִּלָּחֶם עִם־לִבְנָה׃ - And Yehoshua passed on, and all Israel with him, from Makkedah to Livnah, and he fought with Livnah.
וַיַּעֲבֹר יְהוֹשֻׁעַ וְכׇל־יִשְׂרָאֵל עִמּוֹ מִלִּבְנָה לָכִישָׁה וַיִּחַן עָלֶיהָ וַיִּלָּחֶם בָּהּ׃ - And Yehoshua passed on, and all Israel with him, from Livnah to Lachish, and he encamped against it and fought against it.
The Malbim notes the differences in wording: in Livnah "and he fought with Livnah," in Lachish "and he fought against it," and in the rest "and they fought upon it." There is a difference between "fighting with," "fighting against," and "fighting upon." "Fighting with" means that the two sides provoke one another in battle, and so it was in Livnah, that they came out to attack him, so that the battle was from both sides. "And he fought against it" in Lachish, that he entered into the city and fought within it. "And they fought upon it" in the rest, since they were walled cities and he fought to seize the fortresses in order to conquer them.
אָז עָלָה הֹרָם מֶלֶךְ גֶּזֶר לַעְזֹר אֶת־לָכִישׁ וַיַּכֵּהוּ יְהוֹשֻׁעַ וְאֶת־עַמּוֹ עַד־בִּלְתִּי הִשְׁאִיר־לוֹ שָׂרִיד׃ - Then Horam king of Gezer went up to help Lachish, and Yehoshua struck him and his people, until he left him no survivor.
The king of Gezer went up to help Lachish because they had no king, for Yehoshua had killed their king among the five kings.
וַיִּלְכְּדוּהָ וַיַּכּוּהָ־לְפִי־חֶרֶב וְאֶת־מַלְכָּהּ וְאֶת־כׇּל־עָרֶיהָ וְאֶת־כׇּל־הַנֶּפֶשׁ אֲשֶׁר־בָּהּ לֹא־הִשְׁאִיר שָׂרִיד כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה לְעֶגְלוֹן וַיַּחֲרֵם אוֹתָהּ וְאֶת־כׇּל־הַנֶּפֶשׁ אֲשֶׁר־בָּהּ׃ - And they captured it and struck it with the edge of the sword, along with its king and all its cities and every soul that was in it. He left no survivor, just as he had done to Eglon. He utterly destroyed it and every soul that was in it.
Here there is a great difficulty: it is written that he struck down the king of Chevron, and the Radak asks, but the king of Chevron was among the five kings who had already been killed? He answers that they hurried and crowned a new king for themselves. The Malbim adds a further explanation: perhaps there were two kings there, for the place was divided into two districts, each with its own king.
The Malbim raises another difficulty: here it seems that Yehoshua captured Chevron, whereas in chapter 14 it is told that Calev captured Chevron in the fifth year after their entry into the land. Likewise it is written here that Yehoshua captured Devir, and in Sefer Shoftim it is told that Otniel ben Kenaz captured Devir. He resolves this: Yehoshua captured the city itself, and Calev afterward conquered the city's outskirts and its surrounding villages, for Chevron itself was not given to Calev since it was a city of the Levi'im. So too with Devir: Yehoshua conquered the settlement, and the villages and fields around it were conquered afterward by Otniel ben Kenaz.
The Malbim offers another possibility: that the account appearing in chapter 14 regarding the capture of Chevron belongs here. Yehoshua gave Chevron to Calev, and Calev fought over the city and cut off the giants who were there. Here the matter is attributed to Yehoshua because it was done under his command, for he was the commander over the entire war, and later it is revealed to us that in practice it was Calev ben Yefuneh who conquered it. So too Devir, which Otniel ben Kenaz struck down, is attributed to Yehoshua because he was the general. Here the verse speaks in a general way, that Yehoshua conquered, and relies on what will be explained afterward in the matter of the inheritances as to the manner in which the conquest took place.
And why did Yehoshua return to Devir only after Chevron? The Radak says: when he went up from Eglon to Chevron he passed by Devir and did not fight it, because he first wished to fight Chevron, and after he captured Chevron he returned to Devir and fought against it.
וַיַּכֶּה יְהוֹשֻׁעַ אֶת־כׇּל־הָאָרֶץ הָהָר וְהַנֶּגֶב וְהַשְּׁפֵלָה וְהָאֲשֵׁדוֹת וְאֵת כׇּל־מַלְכֵיהֶם לֹא הִשְׁאִיר שָׂרִיד וְאֵת כׇּל־הַנְּשָׁמָה הֶחֱרִים כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוָּה יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ - And Yehoshua struck the entire land, the hill country, the Negev, the lowland and the slopes, and all their kings. He left no survivor, and he utterly destroyed every living being, as Hashem, the God of Israel, had commanded.
"The slopes" Rashi explains: a place into which the waters of the hills pour. The Radak says it is like "the slopes of the Pisgah," an incline from the mountain or from the peak, a place of the flow of the streams where the waters pour and rush. The Malbim explains that "the entire land" here means the whole southern border, and that the verse enumerates pairs of opposites: the Negev is the south, the parched and dry place, and the opposite of the hill country is the lowland, and the opposite of the dry Negev is the slopes, the flow of the streams, the place that is moist because of the streams.
וַיַּכֵּם יְהוֹשֻׁעַ מִקָּדֵשׁ בַּרְנֵעַ וְעַד־עַזָּה וְאֵת כׇּל־אֶרֶץ גֹּשֶׁן וְעַד־גִּבְעוֹן׃ - And Yehoshua struck them from Kadesh Barnea to Azza, and all the land of Goshen up to Giv'on.
"From Kadesh Barnea to Azza" Rashi says: from the southern side of the Land of Israel, from east toward west. He did not manage to conquer from the direction of Azza up to the sea, and as we will see further on in "the land that remained," the people of Azza and the people of Ashdod, who caused them trouble all the days of their dwelling in the land. The Malbim explains: in this war the southern region was conquered from east to west, and in the hill country he struck from the land of Goshen, which was in the portion of Yehuda, up to Giv'on, which was in the portion of Binyamin.
וְאֵת כׇּל־הַמְּלָכִים הָאֵלֶּה וְאֶת־אַרְצָם לָכַד יְהוֹשֻׁעַ פַּעַם אֶחָת כִּי יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל נִלְחָם לְיִשְׂרָאֵל׃ - And all these kings and their land Yehoshua captured at one time, for Hashem, the God of Israel, fought for Israel.
"At one time" means that he did not need to return and lay siege to a city he had already fought, and the days of the war were not drawn out; rather, at one stretch they captured them all without any interruption. The Malbim emphasizes: this does not mean all the kings of the land, for the other kings in the remaining parts of the land were conquered in stages, as we will see in the next chapter; rather, it was the southern flank that was conquered at one time.
וַיָּשׇׁב יְהוֹשֻׁעַ וְכׇל־יִשְׂרָאֵל עִמּוֹ אֶל־הַמַּחֲנֶה הַגִּלְגָּלָה׃ - And Yehoshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.
Now they actually return to the camp at Gilgal, which had been the plan beforehand. And what is said, "he and all Israel with him," comes to teach that nothing was missing from them, but rather all of Israel returned whole and healthy.
Chapter 10 opens with a coalition of five kings going out against Givon, which had made peace with Israel, and it concludes with the conquest of the entire south of the land all at once. In between, a great principle is revealed which the Malbim established: Yehoshua is not asking here for a miracle for the sake of rescue, for the battle had already been decided by the hailstones, but rather he is demanding the fulfillment of the covenant written in Sefer HaYashar, in which the Holy One, Blessed be He, promised Moshe, "Before all your people I will perform wonders such as have not been created." Therefore this is the only miracle in history that was performed in the heavenly bodies by the decree of a human being, without prayer and without request, and its entire purpose was only to make known and to publicize throughout all the land and among all the nations that Hashem fights for Israel. The sun, which fell silent from saying song, merited that Yehoshua would say song in its place, and this song, in which all the systems of the heavens halt for the sake of the people of Israel, is more wondrous than the natural song of the sun and moon in their courses.