The Israelites engaged the enemy after a nighttime march. Joshua told the sun
to stand still over Gibeon. Gibeon was in the hills to the east of the battle
site (near where the sun would rise) indicating that this incident may have
occurred around sunrise. Also, the word translated `stand still' in verse 12
is actually the Hebrew word for `be silent'. This has led some commentators to
suggest that Joshua may have wanted the darkness to be prolonged rather than
the daylight.
Gordon Brown
Department of Mathematics
University of Colorado
Boulder, CO 80309