We have plenty of illustrations in the Old and New Testaments. We often read of the darkening of the sun and moon, and the falling of the stars. If the purpose of the poet required that the figure be varied, so as to make the sun and moon to stand still, there would be no more violation of the poetic license, than in the figure as it is.

It is common for prose writers, not excepting writers of history, to embellish their writings with quotations from standard authors of poetry; nor is it necessary that they should decide, whether the book they quote from is true or fictitious. It might be sufficient to say that Joshua did this; and that would remove all difficulty. But we have reason to believe that the quotation was not made by Joshua.

It is susceptible of the fullest proof, that the passage from Jasher is an interpolation introduced into the book of Joshua more than four hundred years after the battle at Gibeon.

It was probably introduced with a good design, but long after the original record of the battles of Canaan was written. The proof of this is found in the fact that the book of Jasher was not written till the time of David, and after the death of Saul. In the Lament of David over the death of Saul and Jonathan, 2 Sam. ch. 1st, there is a reference to the book of Jasher, implying that the author had written something on the same subject; and of course the date of the book belongs to that period. It is not difficult to see that a book can not be written before the events which it describes, unless it be a book of prophecies; and no one has claimed this for Jasher.

The conclusion then is, that the passage in Joshua, quoted from this book, must have been inserted by some transcriber after the time of David, more than four hundred years from the conquest of Canaan !

It may be added that the quotation, though doubtless well intended, is an unfortunate one; since the language

made use of to exalt Joshua, throws discredit on all the other wonderful records of sacred history. A part of the quotation is, that "there was no day like that, before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man." This in a single breath blots out and destroys all the claims of the Bible to the divine interposition of Jehovah. If we accept it as true, we accept it both as history and prophecy. The history denies all revelation prior to the battle of Gibeon; and the prophecy denies all subsequent revelations. For revelation consists mainly in the record of instances wherein the Lord listened to the voice of a man. One would think Christian people would have little hesitation in rejecting as spurious such a passage as this. It is sometimes remarked, that, if we reject this account of the sun and moon, we may as well reject all the statements of the Bible. The converse is the fact if we accept this passage, we must reject all the rest of revelation.

It is not denied by any well informed theologian, that this part of the sacred history, has a considerable number of spurious passages. One will see this statement verified by reading the commentary of Dr. Clarke, or any other respectable commentary on the Bible.

Fortunately, it is not in general difficult to separate the spurious from the genuine. The passage under consideration interrupts the regular course of the narrative. Leave it out and the sense will be improved.

Again, it can be shown that the passage implies what can not be true. A single instance may be pointed out. If one will read the chapter (the 10th) containing this passage, he will see that it describes a battle that began at Gibeon, a few miles north-west of Jerusalem. Joshua and his army had marched all night from Gilgal to Gibeon, and arrived at the place early in the morning. It is reasonable to presume that the battle at once commenced, as the enemy were encamped around that city. After a severe contest in which many were slain, the Canaanites began a retreat westward. In the meantime,

the fighting continues till both armies reach Beth-horon the upper, four miles west of Gibeon. The Canaanites then turn south, and pass over a very rough and stony tract of country, that lies between Beth-horon the upper and Beth-horon the nether, and descends toward the latter place. This was "the going down to Beth-horon." At this point in the retreat, a severe hail-storm comes upon both armies, destroying many of the Canaanites by the confusion it occasions, with the chariot horses, chariots and men.

It was about this time, or a little after, that our interpolater makes Joshua to address Jehovah, and command the sun and moon to stand still. From the circumstances, it must have been in the afternoon; and the passage itself implies that it was near night; for Joshua would not desire the day to be prolonged, unless it was necessary to finish the work in hand. In the morning or early part of the day, he could not know that he would need any such favor.

Admitting then that it was late in the day, the question becomes important, Where was the sun in the heavens? The sun must have been in the west; and Gibeon, where the battle began in the morning, was in the east. What propriety, then, in the command, "Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon." Equally unfortunate is the command to the moon, to stand still, in the valley of Ajalon. If seen at all, it would probably be just rising in the east, and seen over Gibeon, while Ajalon was in the west. This shows that the interpolater did not understand the astronomical part of his subject, or the geographical. The position of the sun and moon is directly the reverse of what it should be; or the position of Gibeon and Ajalon is so. It matters not which view we take; the one is as fatal to the claims of the passage, as the other. For some valuable suggestions on the above subject, we are indebted to an article by Rev. T. M. Hopkins, of Westfield, N. Y., published in the Bib.

Repos. Vol. I. p. 97. We earnestly recommend the perusal of the whole article.

A few words more concerning the book of Jasher seem necessary to a complete and harmonious view. The word jasher has several different meanings. It means the just, and has been interpreted by some as denoting some good man who acquired that title; and a book of his is therefore called the book of Jasher or of the Just. But the word is also a verb, and has the meaning of he sung, and was a suitable one to stand at the beginning of a poem. And as the Hebrews were accustomed to name books from the first word, Jasher would be the name of any poem that began in this way.

That the author wrote what he expected others to believe, as literally true, no one can presume for a moment. The poetry of the ancients, especially the Orientals, dealt in the wildest and most extravagant imagery.

Our Bible is full of examples, both in the poetical books, and in passages taken from them. Let the reader consult portions of Isaiah, Ezekiel, etc., and the Gospels and Epistles where their imagery is quoted: "The sun shall be darkened, the moon shall not give her light, the stars shall fall from heaven," &c., &c. "The heavens shall pass away with a great noise; and the elements shall melt with fervent heat," &c.

No

Surely the standing still of the sun and moon does not excel this. Such passages as this have been introduced, by persons of imaginative tendencies, who, in an early day, had "the handling of the word of God." one need fear that the grand and beautiful edifice of divine revelation will be thrown down, by the removal of any of these spurious props. It receives no real support from them, while its beauty, symmetry and order, are greatly impaired.

For Geographical references, let the reader consult the Geographical Index, which will enable him to turn to any locality in this part of the Bible.

SECTION IX.-CITIES TAKEN AND DESTROYED.

JOS. X.