Bible Commentaries
Joshua 10

Verses 1-43

When the king of Jerusalem learned that Ai had fallen and the even more powerful city of Gibeon had made a treaty with Israel, he called upon four other kings to join with him in an attack on Gibeon. Gibeon called for Joshua to defend them, as may have been required by the treaty made with them. Joshua commanded the army to march all night and was reassured by God of the victory. God is given full credit for the victory over the five kings ( Jos_10:1-10 ). As they descended the almost 800 feet from upper to lower Beth-horan, God caused large hailstones to fall on and kill more of the enemy than Israel killed with the sword ( Jos_10:11 ).

When Joshua asked God to cause the sun to stand still, it must have still been morning since the sun was in the east over Gibeon and the moon had not quite set to the west over Aijalon. The people took advantage of the Lord's answer to the prayer and routed their enemies. The five kings were caught and kept in a cave until they got back from pursuing those fleeing. At which time, they were killed, hung on trees and then thrown into a cave and covered with stones. On the day they returned to camp and the days following, Joshua led Israel against many of the surrounding cities in the southern region and conquered them all because God fought for them ( Jos_10:12-43 ).