101 Myths of the Bible: how ancient scribes - Conscious Evolution TV

Myths of the Heroes 247
the sun was only on Gibeon while the moon was only in the Valley of Ajalon? From
the point of view of the observer these are meaningless concepts. One can easily see
both bodies from anywhere in Canaan (assuming one could see the moon while the
sun shone brightly.)
Placing the story in an historical and literary context provides a solution to this
puzzling claim. In Joshua’s time, the sun and the moon were major Near Eastern
deities, and rivals of Jahweh. The command for them to remain still simply meant that
the sun and moon deities worshipped by Israel’s enemies were ordered not to intervene
in the fighting or try to take vengeance. Jahweh stood as the more powerful deity
and the enemy gods submitted to his authority. The command for the sun and the
moon to stand still at particular earthly locations meant that the deities should remain
in their cult centers and not assist the people who worship them. The failure of the sun
and moon gods to assist Israel’s enemies proved how much more power the
Hebrew deity exercised.
People who fail to appreciate or understand poetic expressions often take the symbol
for the image hidden behind it. For the biblical scribes deeply entrenched in
monotheistic theology, poetic references to ancient deities were difficult to fathom. As
a result, they confused the poetic description of the sun and moon deities with the sun
and the moon itself.