Commentary on Joshua - Keil & Delitzsch - David Cox

Keil and Delitzsch <strong>Commentary</strong> on the Old Testament
Joshua 10:12-15
Then spake Joshua to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the
Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand
thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon.
In firm reliance upon the promise of God (v. 8), Joshua offered a prayer to the Lord
during the battle, that He would not let the sun go down till Israel had taken
vengeance upon their foes; and the Lord hearkened to the prayer of His servant, and
the sun hastened not to go down till the defeat of the Amorites was accomplished.
This miraculous victory was celebrated by the Israelites in a war-song, which was
preserved in the "book of the Righteous." The author of the book of Joshua has
introduced the passage out of this book which celebrates the mighty act of the Lord
for the glorification of His name upon Israel, and their foes the Amorites. It is
generally admitted, that vv. 12-15 contain a quotation from the "book of Jasher,"
mentioned in v. 13. This quotation, and the reference to the work itself, are analogous
to the notice of "the book of the wars of the Lord," in Num 21:14, and to the strophes
of a song which are there interwoven with the historical narrative; the object being,
not to confirm the historical account by referring to an earlier source, but simply to
set forth before other generations the powerful impression which was made upon the
congregation by these mighty acts of the Lord. The "book of Jasher," i.e., book of the
upright, or righteous man, that is to say, of the true members of the theocracy, or
godly men. yaashaar (OT:3477) ( Jasher , the righteous) is used to denote the
genuine Israelite, in the same sense as in Num 23:10, where Balaam calls the
Israelites "the righteous," inasmuch as Jehovah, the righteous and upright one (Deut
32:4), had called them to be His people, and to walk in His righteousness.
In addition to this passage, the "book of the righteous ( Jasher ) " is also mentioned in
2 Sam 1:18, as a work in which was to be found David's elegy upon Saul and
Jonathan. From this fact it has been justly inferred, that the book was a collection of
odes in praise of certain heroes of the theocracy, with historical notices of their
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