aa r X i v : . [ phy s i c s . h i s t - ph ] F e b I N ORIGINAL FORM PUBLISHED IN :Habilitation at the University of Heidelberg arXiv:****.***** [physics.hist-ph]
Date: 18th February 2021
Joshua’s Total Solar Eclipse at Gibeon
Emil Khalisi
D–69126 Heidelberg, Germanye-mail: ekhalisi[at]khalisi[dot]com
Abstract.
We reanalyse the solar eclipse linked to the Biblical passage about the military leader Joshua whoordered the sun to halt in the midst of the day (Joshua 10:12). Although there is agreement that the basicstory is rooted in a real event, the date is subject to different opinions. We review the historical emergence ofthe text and confirm that the total eclipse of the sun of 30 September 1131 BCE is the most likely candidate.The Besselian Elements for this eclipse are re-computed. The error for the deceleration parameter of Earth’srotation, ∆ T , is improved by a factor of 2. Keywords:
Solar eclipse, Earth’s rotation, Gibeon, Palestine, Book of Joshua.
Eclipses provide magnificent natural spectacles, but onlythe type of a total solar eclipse produces darkness as deepas in the night, almost instantly, with stars appearing. Othertypes of eclipses (annular or partial) may be great events,but they would not compete with those total ones that leavebehind a breathtaking once-in-a-lifetime experience to theobserver. Such an eclipse occurs rarely at a given place,about three times in a millennium on average, though thetime interval between two subsequent occurrences varies alot in specific cases.The cause of an eclipse remained unknown for mostpeople in ancient times, and so it was for the composers ofthe Old Testament. In particular, spiritual persons took it asa sign of supernatural power or messages from God. Vari-ous prophets, most of whom never had the vaguest notionof astronomical cycles, intensified the superstitious fear ofdivine dissatisfaction with the human practices. The totaldarkness at an unexpected time of day was terrifying somuch that the affected changed their behaviour.The best known example of a positive aftermath was theso-called “Thales’ eclipse”, in 585 BCE, when Medes andLydians hurried to make peace in Asia Minor after havingcombated for years. More than a half millennium beforethere was another battle near Gibeon in Palestine foughtbetween the Jewish army and an alliance of five Amoritekings. This account is handed down in the scriptures of theOld Testament, but heavily steeped in religious propaganda.In this paper, we will present the example how a totalsolar eclipse gave rise to taking advantage of the enemy’sconfusion during that moment. We will sum up the rootsof the Jewish history and then unfurl the relevant passageabout the eclipse. Additionally, we use it to confine the de-celeration parameter of the Earth’s rotation, ∆ T , more pre-cise than previously. The whole Book of Joshua comprises 24 chapters, and it ap-pears as a work of many anonymous authors, but attributedto Joshua himself. Almost all scholars agree that the first 11chapters were written in late 7th century BCE. They werenot completed until after the capture by the Neo-BabylonianEmpire in 586 BCE, and incorporated into the Bible in a re-vised version possibly after the return from the Babylonianexile in 538 BCE [2]. The story was intended to readersof the 7th and 6th century BCE when old traditions fromthe time of Exodus were revived. Furthermore, the beliefin god, social stratification as well as ethnic groups werepolitical issues at that time [11].From the archaeological point of view, the Jewish cul-ture starts in the 12th century BCE. The oldest known ref-erence to the word “Israel” is given on the victory stele ofthe Egyptian pharaoh Merneptah discovered at Thebes, nowin Cairo (Fig. 1). It is the sole non-Biblical note until the9th century BCE belonging to an Assyrian inscription [5].The reign of Merneptah lasted from ≈ . Khalisi (2021): Joshua’s Total Solar Eclipse at Gibeon Figure 1: Upper part of the Merneptah Stele in the EgyptianMuseum in Cairo [17]. to Christianity: after the execution of Jesus it took morethan 100 years till Eastern was celebrated. This “celebra-tion” was nothing more than just a commemoration day fora group split off from the Jews calling themselves Christi-ans. It was only in 313 CE, when the Edict of Milan byConstantine the Great (ca. 272–337) appointed all religiousminorities equal, and the small community of Christians be-nefited most from this Edict. Also, Buddhism began to dis-seminate about 100 to 150 years after the death of its teacher(5th century BCE), and Confucianism was elevated to statereligion in China during the Han dynasty, four centuriesafter the lifetime of the philosopher Confucius (551–479BCE). Islam too expanded in the first decades geographic-ally, but it achieved its cultural prosperity during the seconddynasty, the Abbasids, from the mid-8th century onwards.Many prophet-based religions gain their momentum a con-siderable time after the flourishing of their founder. Espe-cially, a “miracle” would boost legends about him: the moremysterious, the greater the effect. Judaism makes no excep-tion.According to the Old Testament, the “Israelites” be-came a unity during their stay in Egypt. Historical researchrates all early descriptions about that very critical [14].Scholars agree that history takes notice of them at the endof the Bronze Age after the collapse of the Hittite and theEgyptian Empires. Sea peoples were ravaging the EasternMediterranean then, destabilising the whole region whichis now called Palestine. It was a period of tremendousviolence in the Eastern Mediterranean. Thereafter, the Is-raelites still remained a local minority. Evidence for thelater Biblical Empires of the Kings David and Solomon atabout 1000 BCE could never be found [5]. These couldhave been local princes, at best, who attained a certain de-gree of self-government inside that region. The first king ofNorthern Israel is said to be Jeroboam (reign ca. 926–907),but the historicity relies on interpretations of one or twoindications rather than on archaeological evidence.In all, we just do not know when the Jewish religioncame into being and formed an ideological community.Moses, who is said to have led a large group of people outof Egypt, is not datable. He is not affirmed as a historicalperson at all, since he is nowhere mentioned in contem- porary records outside those holy scriptures. Furthermore,he would not be the real author of the starting chapters ofthe Bible, anyway. All statements about his life are annex-ations of much later times. Many small elements of thewhole Jewish story show motives from legends of diverseMesopotamian cultures and seem to be “borrowed”.
The five Books of Moses are succeeded by the Book ofJoshua. The author is unknown, too. While Moses is saidto have died before the arrival in Canaan, it was Joshua whoconquered it. Joshua, the son of Nun, is depicted as Moses’servant who was appointed his successor and military leaderlater on. The entire book is very likely a compilation fromvarious eras, because Joshua could not have taken part in allthe combats attributed to him [13]. Most important here isthe Battle of Gibeon that contains a clear report of a solareclipse.The narrative stands in the context of the conquest ofthe land after the Exodus from Egypt. The backstory is thatthe ancient city of Gibeon, about 10 km to the northwest ofJerusalem made peace with the foreign settlers who arrivedsome time before. Thereupon five Amorite kings under thelead of the Canaanite king of Jerusalem laid siege to Gibeon.The defenders asked their ally Joshua for help. He ordereda nocturnal march through rough terrain and led his army tothe gates of that city. The assault began in the early morn-ing. Joshua succeeded in overcoming the five kings. Thedefeated fled to the nearby settlement of Beth-Horon, andthe Jews chased them.The eclipse miracle is said to have occurred at noontime. According to the account in Chapter 10:11–14,Joshua’s army benefited from the confusion to commit amassacre among the enemies [1]:(11) As they fled before Israel on the roaddown from Beth Horon to Azekah, the Lordhurled large hailstones down on them, andmore of them died from the hail than werekilled by the swords of the Israelites. (12) Onthe day the Lord gave the Amorites over toIsrael, Joshua said to the Lord in the presenceof Israel: “Sun, stand still over Gibeon, andyou, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.” (13)So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped,till the nation avenged itself on its enemies,as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sunstopped in the middle of the sky and delayedgoing down about a full day. (14) There hasnever been a day like it before or since, aday when the Lord listened to a human being.Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel!The technical term “eclipse” is never used. The eventsare rather described from the viewpoint of a believer in mir-acles. The writer seems not to have experienced a totalsolar eclipse himself. He writes about the happenings from . Khalisi (2021): Joshua’s Total Solar Eclipse at Gibeon hearsay. It seems obvious that he would hardly know howto put the strange phenomenon in a correct expression, es-pecially, when not being aware of the mechanism behind it.Instead, priority is given to the theological message: faithin God would be the reason for the victory. The interpretations of the standing still are variegated: a lit-eral understanding, a meteorite, a cult related to the sun andmoon, a description of “opposition” in astrological terms,or a storm blotting out the sun and moon [3]. It has alsobeen taken as a “prayer” that the sun not dissipate the morn-ing mist so that surprise could be preserved [11]. All theseviews are, simply said, not tenable.The first to interpret the expression “the sun stood still”as an eclipse was the linguist Robert Wilson (1856–1930)[18]. He grasped the strange line that the sun “delayedgoing down about a full day” that the day decayed in twoparts: after the usual sunrise in the morning the loss of lighthappened at midday. When the light returned after the ec-lipse, a second day began while the sun did not move for-ward. The weird day was “cut” in two parts.When imagining the scene today, the unprepared ob-server will be petrified, and his full attention will be fixed tothe black sun in the sky. Those few minutes of totality leavebehind such a hypnotising effect that the duration of eventsis overrated. In a state of trepidation minutes appear likehours. The subsequent transmission will stretch the storyand modify the comprehension. These fallacious percep-tions of an extreme duration have been documented morethan a dozen times in history, even in our modern era, cf.the eclipse of 1860 at Dongola (Dunqula) in Sudan, whenlocals alleged the darkness would have lasted for 2 hours [9].Passing on such information, an uninvolved understands thedescription as a separation between two different days: thesun was still standing in the sky where “it went down” andre-appeared from that same spot [13]. Thus, the passagein Joshua 10 looks very much like one of these numerousexamples and should be taken as an evidence for totality.Before turning to the selection of suitable eclipses forthe battlefield, it may be noteworthy that the writer of thetext in Joshua 10 does not relate the role of the moon dir-ectly to the sun. Both luminaries are treated as separateobjects. There is no indication that he understood their in-teraction when the phenomenon occurred. This arouses thesuspicion that the moon was added at another time to mag-nify the importance of Joshua’s miracle. In our extensivestudy on eclipses we never found any clues from any culturethat someone prior to the 7th century BCE comprehendedthat the moon was responsible for a solar eclipse [7].
The total phase of the eclipse is preceded by a partial phase,but the sun’s disc is of such great luminousness that its un-obscured portion does not leave a noticeable effect. A cas-
Table 1: List of all eclipses between 1300 and 1000 withmag > h m ). Types: A =annular, T = total, H = hybrid. Date [BCE] LT Type Magn. ⊙ -height1281 Apr 14 07:18 A 0.803 21.5 ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ual observer would discern changes in the illumination onlywhen the sun is covered more than 75% or so, i.e. in the final ≈
15 minutes before totality. For an impenetrable darknessa full coverage would be necessary.Table 1 lists all eclipses with magnitude larger than0.8 that principally could have been visible in Palestinebetween 1300 and 1000 BCE. Not all of them must havebeen really noticed because of weather conditions. It is agross error to assume that a particular eclipse was seen justbecause its path is sketched on a map. Thick clouds wouldnot change the ambient light level much from an eclipseof mag = 0.99. Thus, from statistical considerations onethird of the candidates could be abandoned, in principle, notknowing which. It is more instructive to look for specificcircumstances like season of the year, height of the sun inthe sky, or features of the landscape.In search for a feasible solar eclipse for Joshua’s “mir-acle” we single out only three being intriguing: 19 August1157, 30 September 1131, and 23 November 1041 BCE(Fig. 2). The first eclipse rolled by 50 kilometres south ofGibeon and had its maximum at 8:35 a.m. local time. Onthe supposed battlefield it would have reached a magnitudeof 0.986. Because of the track running along the line of lat-itude in west-east direction, it could never reach as far northas 31.5 ◦ N whatever displacement of ∆ T is used. . Khalisi (2021): Joshua’s Total Solar Eclipse at Gibeon Figure 2: Three suitable eclipses for the Battle of Gibeon.
The second event was more impressive: total in Gibeonwith a duration of 2 min 47 sec for the implemented ∆ T inEspenak’s eclipse catalogue [4]. Shifting the totality zonejust a few seconds to the east, it could provide a maximumduration of 4 minutes at the central line. Moreover, thiseclipse occurred when the sun was at its summit at noontime. The culmination would give a broader meaning forthe phrase “the sun stood still”, but it is very doubtful thatthe author of the ancient text could have considered an as-tronomical understanding.The third notable event happened on 23 November 1041BCE, however, the time of day was immediately after sun-rise. It does not support the logic, see arguments by JohnSawyer below.Two recent publications claim the annular eclipse of 30October 1207 BCE be the one in question [6, 16]. We dis-regard the arguments proposed there, because a good num-ber of items concerning the historic facts turn out incon-clusive. Both papers get their most important pillar fromthe Merneptah Stele as a “proof” for the Israelites havingalready entered Canaan. Other issues get lost in trifling mat-ters comparing linguistical parallels from “Biblical poetry”.The perception of eclipses or the aftermath of the battle arenot addressed within the historical context. The only eclipse that merits consideration is that of 30September 1131 BCE, as John Sawyer and Richard Steph-enson realised earlier [13, 15]. The exact location of thecourse can be adjusted to the width of the totality zone.Its hard margins confine the tolerance for determining the clock error ∆ T .We base our calculation of the Besselian Elements onthe ephemeris JPL DE406 for the time of greatest eclipse(TT = 18:03:30.7). This starting point is the same as usedby Fred Espenak [4]. Our mathematical formulae to obtainthe results will be published in a supplement to the mainwork soon [7]. The computation produces slightly differentvalues (Table 2). The deviations may be owed to constantsfor the sun, moon, and earth (radii, distance data, flatten-ing factor of earth’s body, atmospheric refraction). Further-more, Espenak seems to prefer the polynomial form of theElements while ours originate from direct computation ofthe ephemeris. However, the disparity affects the outcomeless than 1 minute of time and can be neglected.Without a priori fixing the acceleration parameter forthe earth’s rotation, we find that totality passed by the site ofBeth Horon when ∆ T lies in the range of 27,644 s < ∆ T < ∆ T = ±
897 sfor this eclipse. Our values narrow down the uncertainty bya factor of 2.The important aspect is that the average ∆ T is still in ac-cord with the extrapolation of the parabolic formula givenby Morrison & Stephenson [10]: ∆ T = − + · t ,with t being the number of centuries before 1800, i.e. t = (1820 − year)/100. As explained in earlier papers publishedon arXiv (e.g. [8]), the extrapolation gives excellent resultsfor many other eclipses in the past. Of course, this is noproof for those historical eclipses having happened at ex-actly that location in question, but a strong argument in theirfavour. The formula gives a mean long-term trend from thelatest fixpoints found from Babylonian and Chinese eclipse . Khalisi (2021): Joshua’s Total Solar Eclipse at Gibeon Table 2: Comparison of Besselian Elements for the eclipseof 1131 BCE at Terrestrial Time (TT) of the maximum.
Bess. El. this work [4]TT = x = y = d = µ = f = f = l = l = -0,009 15 -0,008 96timings. So far, the oldest secured record on totality is of 17July 709 BCE. Accepting the eclipse of Gibeon as secured,too, it would shift the earliest fixpoint by more than fourcenturies back in time.Unfortunately, there is no independent source about to-tality for the eclipse at Gibeon. Since the scriptures werecompiled hundreds of years later, there is the possibility thatthe information was taken from another report elsewhereand added to emphasise the importance of the battle. Thisis the weak point of the account: the writer was neither wit-ness of the events nor contemporary. In fact, the eclipsecould have been seen at the battlefield and it did change thebalance of powers, but a very high magnitude of obscura-tion would do the same job, too. Totality itself cannot fullybe verified as long as the Biblical record remains the solekind of “evidence”. There are suggestions that the eclipse itself has nothing todo with the battle at Gibeon. However, John Sawyer givesthree arguments for its historical feasibility [13]:1. The time at noon fits well into the account. The at-tack began in the morning, and, after several hoursof combating, the eclipse occurred redounding thepowers to the advantage of the Israelites.2. Military campaigns were avoided in the months ofmid-summer (as the first possible eclipse of 1157BCE was) for fear of drought. The event of 1131BCE points to an assault in autumn which seemsmore reasonable from the strategic point of view.3. Archaeological evidence shows that substantial re-mains at Gibeon belong to the Iron Age of the late12th century, when it became a “large, fortified city,governed by elders, and allied with three other cities”[12]. It was a thorn in the side of its neighbours thatsuch a wealthy city like Gibeon made peace with theJews, so the five kings laid siege to it. The kingswould not campaign for it, if the site was of lesservalue.The third eclipse of 1041 BCE occurred right after sun-rise in late November. The time of day does not agree witha battle, as the warriors would not even have begun the com-bat. All other events in Table 1 we rate poor. After the eclipse of 1131 BCE there was no totality tobe observed in Jerusalem and its vicinity for the next 700years. That long interval may foster the explanation whythis particular event left a lasting memory for the Jews andcame to be re-iterated very often till it entered the statusof a “miracle far back in time”. For example, the eclipsementioned in Amos 8:9 could refer to that same incident,though the eclipse of 15 June 763 BCE, visible as a partialobscuration in Palestine (mag = 0.902), would match thelifetime of Amos better [15]. Another passage is found inJoel 2:31, but the line does not seem to relate to a concretesighting but rather give a general scenario of divine power.As hinted in the historical foreword, substantial parts ofthe text were composed in the 7th century and rearrangedduring the Babylonian exile between 586 and 538 BCE.This might open up the option that the author was locatedin Babylon and interwove an eclipse from there. Our checkdoes not deliver an appropriate totality during the whole 6thcentury BCE though. The closest match would be 28 May585 BCE (Thales’ eclipse) with a mag = 0.998 occurringshortly after the sun has set: the maximum would havehappened below the horizon. The possibility of involving a“contemporary eclipse” from Babylon must be ruled out.The cessation of the sun is mentioned three times in thelines quoted above. There is a remark between the secondand the third mention. The writer gives reference to anotherancient source: the Book of Jashar. This awkward passagestands without a connection to the incident or any other mir-acle by God, thus, it remains unclear how much of the verseis just part of a quote and whether it refers to this battle atall [2]. The Bible contains a second reference to that Jashar(2. Samuel 1:18), where he is deemed “upright”. However,such a book does not exist [17]. It is completely unknown toliterature. The interposed comment must be a later amend-ment, and it serves like a justification for the slaughter per-formed by the Jewish army among the defeated.Apart from many allusions to strange happenings in thesky, this report at Gibeon seems to represent a more authen-tic record of a historic kernel. Some elements of the storywere altered and embellished to cover criminal acts. Suchan adornment might be the falling stones in verse 11, whichcould be taken for meteors or a severe hailstorm. However,nobody will ever be injured by them. The meteor showermust have been seen on a different day, anyway. It supportsthe idea that the anonymous writer combined various eventsinto one great spectacle to be preserved as a “cultural herit-age” of a people. The verses in Joshua 10 were never meantas a thorough reflection of facts.
We gave a resume on the Jewish history and pointed outthe fakes entering many religious narrations. A historicalkernel is often modified and embellished with “miracles”.The eclipse of 30 September 1131 BCE came as a surpriseduring the Battle of Gibeon in Palestine and affected theoutcome. . Khalisi (2021): Joshua’s Total Solar Eclipse at Gibeon The eclipse would serve as a fixpoint for investigatingthe deceleration of the Earth’s rotation. On recalculatingthe Besselian Elements, the value of this parameter can beconfined to an error of ≈
400 seconds (6,5 minutes) centredon ∆ T = 27,840 s. The account could be the oldest accountof secured events unless some doubts restrain us from sodeclaring: in the 6th century BCE it was rewritten to ad-monish the contemporaries to stick to older traditions. Theentire story is not supported by independent sources, and to-tality is not compelling for the confusion during the battle.After the experience of 1131 BCE no totality was recordedin Palestine for more than 700 years. Acknowledgements
This article is a revised chapter of the author’s Habilitationsubmitted to the University of Heidelberg in February 2020.The author expresses his deep thankfulness to his familymembers and friends for their support against the obstaclescaused to his life for many, many years.
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