The last time I got involved in a discussion of this incident it occurred
to me to wonder how Joshua knew the sun didn't go down for "about a whole
day"? I presume the primary means of telling time in those days was the
sun. Perhaps hour glasses or similar devices were used, but it's not
likely they would be used by nomads in the midst of a battle. Is it
possible that God simply granted Joshua and his men extraordinary success
in their fighting, so that they got about a day and a half's worth of
fighting done between noon and sunset?
Alternatively, I suppose God may have adjusted the air density profile (and
therefore the index of refraction profile) to keep the apparent position of
the sun higher in the sky for longer.
Bill Hamilton
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William E. Hamilton, Jr, Ph.D. | Staff Research Engineer
Chassis and Vehicle Systems | General Motors R&D Center | Warren, MI
William_E._Hamilton@notes.gmr.com
810 986 1474 (voice) | 810 986 3003 (FAX) | whamilto@mich.com (home email)