שמש בגבעין דום
וירח בעמק אילון
Shemesh, be-Gibêon dom:
Vyareach, beèmek Aiyalon.
Sun! upon Gibêon be dumb:
And the moon on the vale of Aiyalon.
“The effect of this command is related in the following words: וידם השמש וירח עמד vayiddom ha-Shemesh ve-Yareach âmad; And the sun was dumb, or silent, and the moon stood still. And it is added, And the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.
“I consider, that the word דום dom, refers to the withholding or restraining this influence, so that the cessation of the earth’s motion might immediately take place. The desire of Joshua was, that the sun might not sink below the horizon; but as it appeared now to be over Gibeon, and the moon to be over the valley of Ajalon, he prayed that they might continue in these positions till the battle should be ended; or, in other words, that the day should be miraculously lengthened out.[115]
“Whether Joshua had a correct philosophical notion of the true system of the universe, is a subject that need not come into the present inquiry; but whether he spoke with strict propriety on this occasion, is a matter of importance, because he must be considered as acting under the Divine influence, in requesting the performance of such a stupendous miracle: and we may safely assert, that no man in his right mind would have thought of offering such a petition, had he not felt himself under some Divine afflatus. Leaving, therefore, his philosophical knowledge out of the question, he certainly spoke as if he had known that the solar influence was the cause of the earth’s rotation, and therefore, with the strictest philosophic propriety, he requested, that that influence might be for a time restrained, that the diurnal motion of the earth might be arrested, through which alone, the sun could be kept above the horizon, and the day be prolonged. His mode of expression evidently considers the sun as the great ruler or master in the system; and all the planets, (or at least the earth) moving in their respective orbits at his command. He therefore desires him, (in the name and by the authority of his Creator) to suspend his mandate with respect to the earth’s motion, and that of his satellite, the moon. Had he said, Earth, stand thou still—the cessation of whose diurnal motion was the effect of his command, it could not have obeyed him; as it is not even the secondary cause either of its annual motion round the sun, or its diurnal motion round its own axis. Instead of doing so, he speaks to the sun, the cause (under God) of all these motions, as his great archetype did, when, in the storm on the sea of Tiberias, he rebuked the wind first, and then said to the waves, Peace, be still! Σιωπα, πεφιμωσο, be silent! be dumb! And the effect of this command was, a cessation of the agitation in the sea, because the wind ceased to command it, that is, to exert its influence upon the waters.
“The terms in this command are worthy of particular note: Joshua does not say to the sun, Stand still, as if he had conceived him to be running his race round the earth; but, be silent, or inactive; that is, as I understand it, restrain thy influence; no longer act upon the earth, to cause it to revolve round its axis; a mode of speech which is certainly consistent with the strictest astronomical knowledge: and the writer of the account, whether Joshua himself, or the author of the Book of Jasher, in relating the consequence of this command, is equally accurate, using a word widely different, when he speaks of the effect, the retention of the solar influence had on the moon: in the first case, the sun was silent, or inactive, דום dom; in the latter, the moon stood still, עמד âmad. The standing still of the moon, or its continuance above the horizon, would be the natural effect of the cessation of the solar influence, which obliged the earth to discontinue her diurnal rotation, which, of course, would arrest the moon; and thus both it and the sun were kept above the horizon, probably for the space of a whole day. As to the address to the moon, it is not conceived in the same terms as that to the sun, and for the most obvious philosophical reason: all that is said is simply, and the moon on the vale of Ajalon, which may be thus understood: ‘Let the sun restrain his influence, or be inactive, as he appears now upon Gibeon, that the moon may continue as she appears now over the vale of Ajalon.’ It is worthy of remark, that every word in this poetic address is apparently selected with the greatest caution and precision.