The
events of Joshua 9 and 10 are likely well-known to all readers of
this page. After the Israelites entered Canaan and captured Jericho
and Ai, the inhabitants of Gibeon acted craftily to deceive the
Israelites into making an alliance with them. Even though Israel
had been deceived they kept their end of the bargain when the Gibeonites
were threatened. Adoni-zedek, king of Jerusalem, headed up a group
of Amorite kings to fight against Gibeon.
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The
Valley of Aijalon
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The
LORD helped Israel by sending large hailstones upon the enemy. Joshua
spoke to the LORD in the presence of Israel: "O sun, stand
still at Gibeon, And O moon in the valley of Aijalon" (Josh.
10:12). Gibeon sits on the central mountain range about 6 miles
north, and slightly west, of Jerusalem. As one makes the descent
from Gibeon westward toward the coastal plain he goes through the
valley of Aijalon.
When we travel on the modern highway from Jerusalem down to the
Ben Gurion Airport we cross over the valley of Aijalon. Our photo
of the valley is made below Emmaus (Nicopolis) looking northwest.
The terrain shows the Shephelah, or as many English versions indicate,
the lowland. To the right is the way up to Gibeon. To the left one
continues past the towns of Aijalon and Gezer down to the coastal
plain.
Three east-west valleys divide the Shephelah and provide access
between the plain and the mountains. To the north is the valley
of Aijalon. Further south is the valley of Sorek, and then the valley
of Elah. Significant battles took place in the valley of Aijalon
and the valley of Elah.
The town of Aijalon which overlooks the valley was allotted to the
tribe of Dan (Josh. 19:42), but Dan moved to the northern part of
the country and Aijalon was considered one of the cities of Judah
and Benjamin (2 Chron. 11:5-12). In the days of King Ahaz the city
had fallen under Philistine control (2 Chron. 28:16-20).
Have scientists discovered Joshua's long day? In 1969 an
article began to be circulated in church bulletins, and more recently
by Email, claiming that scientists had found evidence of the missing
day of Joshua 10. Harry Rimmer had reported a similar story in The
Harmony of Science and Scripture in 1936. There is no truth
to this claim. I have an article written in response to it available
at both biblicalstudies.info
and bibleworld.com.
Photos
© Ferrell Jenkins 2007.
The photos may be used by others in teaching, but may not be used
commercially or on web sites without permission.