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COLENSO AND JOSHUA: 
 
 OR 
 
 THE MIRACULOUS ARRESTMENT 
 
 
 SUN AND MOON 
 
 CONSIDERED. 
 
 JAMES ALEXANDER MACDONALD, 
 
 Author of " The Principia and the Bible," etc. 
 
 LONDON: 
 WILLIAM FEEEMAN, 102, FLEET STEEET, E.C. 
 
 MDCCCLXIII. 
 
 Price Sixpence. 
 

 .&M 13 
 
"**%, 
 
 OOLENSO AND JOSHUA: 
 
 A P R 
 
 THE MIRACULOUS ARRESTMENT 
 
 OF THE 
 
 SUN AND MOON 
 
 CONSIDERED 
 
 BY 
 
 JAMES ALEXANDER 'MACDONALD, 
 
 Author of "The Piuncipia and the Bible," etc. 
 
 LONDON: 
 WILLIAM FREEMAN, 102, FLEET STREET, E.C. 
 
 MDCCCLXIII. 
 
xJ 
 
COLENSO AND JOSHUA 
 
 The record of the celebrated astronomical miracle of Joshua is 
 given in our authorized version of the Scriptures in the following 
 words : — 
 
 " Then spake Joshua to the Lord in the day ivhen 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. And the sun stood 
 still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged them- 
 selves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the Book of 
 Jasher ? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and 
 hasted not to go down about a whole day" (Jos. x. 12, 13.) 
 
 Since the revival of the Pythagorean System of Astronomy, 
 by Copernicus, this passage has been constantly urged by 
 sceptics as a conclusive disproof of the Divine Inspiration of 
 the Bible. Their argument is, that " the account given of this 
 miracle supposes the earth to be the centre of the system, and the 
 sun moveable; and as this is demonstrably a false philosophy, 
 consequently the history was never dictated by the Spirit of 
 Truth." 
 
4 COLEXSO AND JOSHUA. 
 
 To this the votaries of Inspiration have usually replied, that 
 in reality it was the earth, and not the sun that " stood still," 
 but that Joshua used the language of the vulgar, or the language 
 of appearances, forasmuch as revelation is not given to teach 
 astronomy, but theology : and had he spoken in the more 
 precise language of philosophy, he would have been unintelligible 
 to the people. 
 
 This view is advocated by Archdeacon Pratt, in his " Scripture 
 and Science not at Variance," as the following quotation from 
 page 25 of that work will shew : — ■ 
 
 " The accomplishment of this miracle is supposed by some to 
 have been by arresting the earth in its rotation. In what other 
 words, then, could the miracle have been expressed 1 Should 
 it have been said, ' So the earth ceased to revolve, and made the 
 sun appear to stand still in the midst of heaven 1 ' This is not 
 the language we should use, even in these days of scientific 
 light. Were so great a wonder again to appear, would even an 
 astronomer, as he looked into the heavens, exclaim, ' The earth 
 stands still ! ' 1 Would he not be laughed at as a pedant I 
 Whereas, to use the language of appearances, and thus to imitate 
 the style of the Holy Scriptures themselves, would be most 
 natural and intelligible." 
 
 This explanation, however, is far from being satisfactory to the 
 mind of the Bishop of Natal, who thus handles the argument : — 
 
 " It will be observed that Archdeacon Pratt does not commit 
 himself to maintaining the above view ; he says, ' It is supposed 
 by some to have been accomplished thus. But he argues as if 
 this explanation were possible, and not improbable ; that is to 
 say, he lends the weight of his high position and mathematical 
 celebrity to the support of a view which every natural philosopher 
 will know to be wholly untenable. For, not to speak of the 
 fact that if the earth's motion were suddenly stopped, a man's 
 feet would be arrested while his body was moving at the rate (on 
 the equator) of 1,000 miles an hour, (or rather, 1,000 miles a 
 minute, since the earth's diurnal rotation on its axis must not 
 only be stopped, but also its annual motion through space), so 
 that every human being and animal would be dashed to pieces 
 in a moment, and a mighty deluge overwhelm the earth, unless 
 all this were prevented by a profusion of miraculous interferences 
 — one point is at once fatal to the above solution. Archdeacon 
 Pi; \rr quotes only the words, ' So the sun stood still in the midst 
 
COLENSO AND JOSHUA. 5 
 
 of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day,' and 
 although this is surely one of the most prominent questions, in 
 respect of which it is asserted that ' Scripture and science are at 
 variance,' he dismisses the whole subject in a short note, and 
 never even mentions the moon. But the Bible says, '• The sua 
 stood still and the moon stayed (Jos. x. 13); and the arresting 
 of the earth's motion, while it might cause the appearance of 
 the sun ' standing still,' would not account for the moon 
 'staying.'" 
 
 The prelate then concludes his observations by moralizing as 
 follows : — 
 
 "It is impossible not to feel the force of Archdeacon Pratt's 
 own observation (page 30), ' The lesson we learn from this 
 example is this : — How possible it is that, even while we are 
 contending for truth, our minds may be enslaved to error by 
 long-cherished prepossessions ! ; " 
 
 We observe here, — 
 
 1. That 1 r. Colenso does not dispute the possibility of a 
 miracle. There is no intimation to this effect in the foregoing 
 observations, or indeed in any part of his book ; but on the 
 contrary he explicit] y states, (page 10) that "The notion of 
 miraculous or supernatural interferences does not present to 
 his mind the difficulties which it seems to present to some." 
 
 2. Nor does he appear to object to the assumption of Arch- 
 deacon Pratt, viz., That, abstractedly considered, there would 
 be no impropriety in Joshua using the language of appearances. 
 Indeed, this could scarcely be seriously disputed, forasmuch 
 as this language is commonly adopted in our ephemerides and 
 scientific works, without in anywise misleading those by whom 
 they are consulted. 
 
 3. The real point of his objection seems to be, that the suppo- 
 sition of the .vrchdencon necessitates a prodigious multitude of 
 secondary miraculous interferences. Thus, — 
 
 (1.) Were the motions of the earth to be suddenly arrested 
 so as to cause the apparent motion of the sun to cease, millions 
 of interpositions would be necessary to preserve the inhabitants 
 of the earth from being knocked about and dashed to pieces, and 
 to keep the sea from flowing over the land — in fact, to neutralize 
 or suspend the vis inert ice of everything upon the surface of the 
 planet. 
 
 (2.) Then seeing that the " moon stayed," a further inter- 
 
COLEXSO AND JOSHUA. 
 
 ference would be necessary, for, having an excursory motion of 
 her own, the arrestment of the motions of the earth would not 
 make her appear to " stay." It would therefore be necessary to 
 arrest the motion of the moon as well as that of the earth. 
 
 (3.) But forasmuch as every body in the solar system in- 
 fluences every other body, with a force ' directly as their masses 
 and inversely as the squares of their distances,' disturbances 
 must inevitably be introduced into the system unless prevented 
 by further miraculous interference. The arrestment of the 
 earth and moon, therefore, would involve the simultaneous 
 arrestment of every planet and satellite related to our sun. To 
 prevent these disturbances by any other means would neces- 
 sitate interferences equally stupendous and universal. 
 
 (4.) Finally, the arrestment of the projectile motion of the 
 planets and satellites would also require the suspension of gravi- 
 tation, else the satellites must drop down upon their primaries, 
 and the primaries with their satellites all find their way to a 
 common centre in the sun. 
 
 These are the consequences apparently legitimately involved 
 in the explanation espoused by the Archdeacon, in considera- 
 tion of which Dr. Colenso regards the miracle as not only 
 "improbable," but "impossible," and such that "every natural 
 philosopher will know to be wholly untenable." 
 
 The question, however, does not properly belong to the 
 " natural philosopher," but to the theologian ; for an individual 
 may be an admirable physicist, yet an unscrupulous sceptic in 
 matters of religion. And we venture to affirm that no sound 
 theologian would for a moment maintain the " impossibility" 
 of any exertion of Divine j,ower which does not involve con- 
 tradiction or absurdity. Dr. Colenso himself acknowledges that 
 " the notion of miraculous or supernatural interferences does 
 not present to his mind the difficulties which it seems to present 
 to some." He does not dispute the possibility of a miracle, ab- 
 stractedly considered ; the stupendousness of the miracle in the 
 present case, then, apparently, is that which to his mind renders 
 it "impossible." But surely, to employ the expressions of Dr. 
 Adam Clarke, " God is such an infinitely free agent that He 
 can, when His unerring wisdom sees good, alter, suspend, or even 
 annihilate all secondary causes and their effects : for it would 
 be degrading to the perfections of His nature to suppose that 
 He had so hound Himself by the laws which He has given for 
 
COLENSO AND JOSHUA. 7 
 
 the preservation and direction of universal nature, that He could 
 not change them, alter their effects, or suspend their operations 
 when greater and better effects, in a certain time or place, might 
 be produced by such temporary change or suspension." It may 
 be fairly argued that a miracle upon the most stupendous scale 
 would be as easy to Omnipotence as one upon a platform the 
 most circumscribed. Therefore if the possibility of a miracle, 
 under any circumstances, be admitted, there can be no miracle 
 against which "impossibility" can be logically objected, providing 
 only that contradiction and absurdity be avoided. 
 
 The whole subject is now narrowed down to the question of 
 
 PEOBABILITY. 
 
 It will be argued that " It scarcely seems to quadrate with our 
 ideas of probability, that the whole universe should be arrested, 
 and all its gigantic forces suspended, simply that a Hebrew army 
 upon a particular occasion might crush an army of idolaters." 
 
 But after all, " our ideas of probability" may be very erroneous ; 
 and the purposes of the miracle were doubtless of far greater con- 
 sequence than simply the "crushing of an army of idolaters." 
 "I consider," says Dr. Adam Clarke, "that the miracle wrought 
 on this occasion served greatly to confirm the Israelites, not 
 only in a belief of the being and perfections of God, but also in 
 the doctrine of an especial providence, and in the nullity of the 
 whole system of idolatry and superstition." And if these views 
 are legitimate, as we can scarcely dispute that they are, surely 
 here were ends sufficiently noble to justify the probability of 
 almost any miracle. 
 
 Forasmuch, however, as the Divine proceedings everywhere 
 evince an economy of power, and as these purposes, however 
 noble (and eternity alone can reveal the magnitude of their im- 
 portance) might, for ought we know to the contrary, be effected 
 without interrupting the motions of the whole cosmos, it may be 
 proper carefully to review the entire question in quest of a yet 
 more satisfactory solution. 
 
 What if it should appear, after all, that Joshua never com- 
 manded either the " sun" or the " moon" to stand still, but simply 
 the solar and lunar light to remain ? 
 
 The record of the miracle, as rendered in our English version 
 of the Bible, certainly represents the Hebrew captain as com- 
 manding the " sun" and the "moon" to " stand still ; " but this 
 may be satisfactorily proved to be an error in the translation. 
 
8 C0LENS0 AND JOSHUA. 
 
 The original expresses no snck thing, but simply that Joshua 
 commanded the light of the sun and the light of the moon to 
 shine on. This may have escaped our translators, they not being 
 in quest of philosophy, but divinity ; they were also doubtless 
 prepossessed in favour of the Ptolemaic system of the world, 
 that being in the ascendant in the days of King James I. But 
 if we can make this point clear, the usual objections will be com- 
 pletely met. For in that case it is evident that nothing whatever 
 is predicated respecting the motion either of the " sun" or of the 
 "earth"; for the light might be biipernaturally sustained in 
 Gibeon, and in the valley of Ajalon, and the motions of the 
 universe proceed without interruption. Any objection which 
 prejudice may urge against the use of the u language of ap- 
 pearances," will also be obviated in this explanation. 
 
 There are three distinct Hebrew words, viz., shemesh (t#ft£f), 
 cham ah (HDn), and cheres (DIPT), which are in our version 
 promiscuously translated sun. There are also tico words, viz., 
 yarach (m 1 ), and levanah (njn^)? which are indiscriminately 
 rendered moon. Kow there is no reason to imagine thaC 
 Revelation gives us two or three distinct words for precisely the 
 same idea. And though there is no distinction made by the 
 translators, there is a very marked distinction observed by the 
 Hebrew writers ; for they invariably couple the same pairs of 
 these words. Thus, shemesh and yarach are constantly asso- 
 ciated, and so are chamah and levanah ; but we never find 
 shemesh associated with levanah, nor do we find chamah 
 associated with yarach. This circumstance is so significant that 
 it suggests at once that while one couple denotes the bodies of 
 the sun and moon, the other expresses the light which emanates 
 from them. And this hint will be found to receive abundant 
 confirmation from a careful consideration of the places in which 
 the words occur. 
 
 (1.) In the overwhelming majority of the passages in which 
 the shemesh is mentioned, it is described in our version as rising 
 and setting ; but the terms in the original convey a widely 
 different sense. The first is zerah (lilt), and literally signifies 
 to spring out, or be diffused abroad; and the second, boa 
 (Mli), properly denotes to go in, or go off. This criticism will 
 be found abundantly sustained by reference to the lexicon of 
 the truly learned Mr. Parkhurst. Forasmuch, then, as the 
 shemesh is in scores of passages said to "spring out" or, "be 
 
COLEXSO AND JOSHUA. 9 
 
 diffused abroad," viz., in the morning upon the face of the earth, 
 and to " go in," or " go off" in the evening, it is obvious that the 
 term must denote the solar light. For it will scarcely be con- 
 tended that the sacred writers believed that the body of the 
 sun "springs out" and "diffuses itself'* every morning, and 
 collects again its scattered substance every evening. 
 
 It is further worthy of observation that while the shemesh is 
 said to " spring out" and " diffuse itself" in the morning, and to 
 "go off" again, viz., at the evening edge of the earth, this is 
 never said of the chamah — the second Hebrew term in our 
 version translated sun. 
 
 Of the cheres, the third term, and which is properly rendered sun, it 
 is explicitly asserted that it " riseth not " — "He comniandeth the sun, 
 and it riseth ?iot," or more literally, is not diffused, or dissipated. (Job ix. 
 7.) And this is truly wonderful, that whereas common fuel is soon con- 
 sumed, the body of the sun has for thousands of years supported the solar 
 flame, and yet retains its magnitude undiminished. 
 
 And if the shemesh is thus proved to denote the light of the 
 sun, its companion term, yaeach, will be naturally understood to 
 denote the light of the moon. 
 
 (2.) Moses speaks of the shemesh, tarach, and cocabeem, 
 which the Lord " hath divided unto all nations under the whole 
 heaven." (Deut. iv. 19.) Nothing can be more evident than 
 that the fluxes or rays of the sun, moon, and stars, are expressed 
 by these terms. "Moses surely never could have meant that the 
 bodies of the " sun, moon, and stars " were thus " divided," as 
 our translation would teach. There is no difficulty when the rays 
 of light emanating from those bodies are understood ; but the 
 other interpretation makes palpable nonsense of the passage. 
 
 (3.) Speaking of the manna in the wilderness, Moses says, 
 " When the shemesh waxed hot, it melted." (Exod. xvi. 21.) 
 Saul said to the men of Jabesh Gilead, " To-morrow by that 
 time the shemesh be hot, ye shall have help." (1 Sam. xi. 9.) 
 And Neheniiali said to the Jews, " Let not the gates of Jerusalem 
 be opened until the shemesh be hot." (Neh. viii. 3.) Now it 
 must be evident that the shemesh in these passages denotes the 
 rays of the sun. These are heated by friction when they fall 
 perpend' cularly upon the earth at noon. It will scarcely be 
 imagined that the sacred writers dreamt that the solar orb itself 
 "waxed hot" as it mounted to its meridian altitude. 
 
 (4) The Psalmist says, " The shemesh shall not smite thee by 
 day, nor the tarach by night." (Psalm cxxi. 6.) In Isaiah 
 
10 
 
 COLENSO AND JOSHUA. 
 
 also we read, " Neither shall the heat nor the shemesh smite 
 them." (Isa. xlix. 10.) And we are informed that "the 
 shemesh beat upon the head of Jonah." (Jon. iv. 8.) Surely 
 nothing can be more evident than that the shemesh and yarach 
 in these passages designate the rays of the sun and of the moon. 
 For while there is the greatest propriety in understanding that 
 these might " smite " the inhabitants of the earth, it would be 
 most unnatural and incongruous to understand this of the solar 
 and lunar orbs. 
 
 (5.) In blessing Joseph, Moses mentions " the precious fruits 
 brought forth by the shemesh, and the precious things put 
 forth [Marg. thrust forth] by the yarechim." (Deut. xxxiii. 
 ] 4.) Few would be simple enough to contend that the bodies 
 of the sun and moon exerted any influence upon the growth of 
 vegetables ; but that the solar and lunar rays enable the earth 
 to " put forth, " or " thrust forth " its foliage, will not be con- 
 tested. The shemesh and yarechim here, therefore, obviously 
 denote not the bodies of the sun and moon, but their fluxes. 
 And it is a most significant fact that the latter term is in the 
 plural form (DTT'T), and is therefore rendered moons in the 
 margin of our Bible. In commenting on this expression, the 
 learned Spearman well observes : — " This shows that it cannot 
 be the body or orb of the moon ; for this is but one and singular ; 
 but the fluxes or streams of reflected light are several, and are 
 severally reflected to us from the several phases of the moon." 
 
 (6.) The Psalmist says, " Thou hast prepared the matjr ("yiND) anii the 
 shemesh (Psa. lxxiv. 16). Here it is evident that the shemesh is some- 
 thing different from the maur. But the luminaries upon the fourth day 
 of the Creation week made to rule over the day and over the night, and to 
 give light upon the earth, are by Moses styled maureth. (Gen. i. 14—19.) 
 What then can the shemesh be in contradistinction to the maur, but the 
 light, for the production of which the solar orb is the instrument ? 
 
 "(7.) Again the Psalmist speaks of a '■ tabernacle," or tent set in the 
 heavens for the shemesh whence it issues forth as a bridegroom from his 
 chamber, to make its excursions to the extremities of the heavens. (Psalm 
 xix. 4 — 6.) The heavens themselves are not the tabernacle of the 
 shemesh, but something " set in them," which is compared to a "chamber." 
 If then this is the solar orb, the shemesh issuing from it can be nothing 
 else than the solar light. 
 
 (8.) It is also remarkable that the yarach is said to have no fixed tent in 
 the heavens. — "Behold the yarach, and He hath not fixed its tent. (Job 
 xxv. 5.) For the orb which reflects the lunar light revolves in company 
 with the earth round the sun, and from this complex motion is to the inhabi- 
 tants of the earth sometimes luminous, sometimes partly dark, and 
 sometimes totally so. Therefore, unlike the shemesh, the yarach has no 
 fixed tabernacle. 
 
COLENSO AND JOSHUA. II 
 
 (9.) The etymology of the words under consideration will 
 also be found to strengthen and confirm the argument.* 
 
 Having now fully shown that the s hemes h and yarach 
 properly denote the light of the sun and the light of the moon, 
 it will be time to observe that these were what Joshua com- 
 manded to " stand still." The solar and lunar light, therefore, 
 and not the " sun" and "moon," were concerned in the miracle. 
 What Joshua required was light, that he might push his victory 
 to a complete issue, and render it impossible for the enemy to 
 rally and meet him again in the field. The light, accordingly, 
 was supernaturally sustained in Gibeon and in the valley of 
 Ajalon, without in any way necessitating the arrertment of 
 motion either in the earth or sun. The motions of the universe 
 might proceed in the same orderly succession during the con- 
 tinuance of the miracle as before its commencement. 
 
 Sufficient has been said to show that the normal meaning of 
 the terms shemesh and yarach is solar light and lunar light • 
 and, therefore, should these terms appear in any passage to 
 denote the solar and lunar orbs, it must be understood as in 
 metonomy. I have examined every place in which the words 
 occur, and deem it right to say that in a few passages out of 
 about one hundred and twenty they appear to be so applied. 
 But even were the occurrences in this sense considerably more 
 numerous, that would in nowise conclude that the terms should 
 be so construed in the history before us. It is sufficient for our 
 argument that the terms are commonly used to denote the light 
 of the sun and moon, which we have amply proved, and the 
 onus lies upon those who impeach the inspiration of the 
 Scriptures to show that this is not the sense in which they are 
 employed by Joshua. 
 
 There happens, however, to be a circumstance distinctly noted 
 
 * The following comprehensive note is taken from the lexicon of Mr. 
 Parkhurst, under the root QJf: — "As a N. fern. rjDn> tne solar flame, 
 or fire, as distinguished both from DIPT' ^e oro °f tne bUU > an( ^ from t^£Dt£^> 
 the light flowing from it. And from this latter reason it is, in the only 
 thre* 1 passages where it is used in this sense, constantly joined with 
 j"73^7, the white of the moon, never with fTT- f he stream from it Occ. 
 Cant. vi. 10.; Isa. xxiv. 23 ; xxx. 26. And "")")ftn> the light n?37i"T, of 
 the white illuminated disc of the moon shall be as the light, nQHiT °f the 
 solar fire, and the light, nDnn> of the solar fire shall be seven-fold.'' 
 
 We nowhere read of the light of the shemesh. Such an expression 
 would be manifestly tautological, and therefore improper. 
 
12 COLEXSO AND JOSHUA. 
 
 in the record which surely ought to set this question at rest for 
 ever. "We read that Joshua commanded the shemesh to "stand 
 still " in Gibeon, and the yarach in the valley of Ajalon. What 
 he arrested, therefore, clearly, was in those specified places,* and 
 not removed millions or hundreds of thousand of miles away in 
 the heavens. It will scarcely be pleaded that Joshua imagined 
 that the solar orb was in " Gibeon," and the lunar orb was " in 
 the valley of Ajalon." The rays of those luminaries, indeed, 
 were in those places ; these, therefore, and these only, he, under 
 the Divine afflatus, commanded to remain. 
 
 It may be proper here to observe that, beside the obvious 
 theological reason for arresting the lunar light as well as the 
 solar, viz., to confound idolaters who worshipped the moon and 
 her fluxes as well as the sun and his rays, there may also have 
 been a reason of utility. For it would seem that if the body of 
 the sun was visible at all, it was on the point of disappearance 
 behind the hills of Gibeon. and therefore the lunar light would, 
 probabty, be of considerable service to the combatants in the 
 vale of Ajalon. The rendering in our version of the expression 
 bachatsi hashamayim (D\!2ttfn ^fQ), "in the midst of heaven," 
 would suggest that the sun was in the meridian of Gibeon. 
 But, to quote again from Dr. Adam Clarke : " If, with Mr. Bate, 
 we translate (n^PT) chatsah, to part, divide asunder, it may refer 
 to the horizon, which is the apparent division of the heavens 
 into the upper and lower hemisphere ; and thus the whole verse 
 has been understood by some eminently learned men, who have 
 translated it thus : And the sun stood still in the (upper) hemis- 
 phere of heaven, and hasted not to go down when the day was com- 
 plete ; that is, though the day was then complete, the sun being 
 on the horizon — the line that to the eye constituted the mid -heaven, 
 yet it hastened not to go down — was miraculously sustained in 
 its almost setting position ; and this seems still more evident 
 from* the moon appearing at that time, which it is not reasonable 
 to suppose could be visible in the glare of light occasioned by a 
 noon-day sun." 
 
 # The same objection brought against the miracle of Joshua has also 
 been urged against the miracle upon the sun-dial of Ahaz (Isa. xxxviii. 8 ) ; 
 and the fame answer will serve in both cases. It was the shemesh or solar 
 light which "went back ten degrees upon the dial/' and nothing whatever 
 is predicted of the motion either of the sun or earth. The bhkmesh was 
 "05 the dial,'' that is, the light of the sun; for the solar okb certainly was 
 not there. 
 
COLENSO AND JOSHUA. 13 
 
 "We shall now proceed to confirm the foregoing argument by- 
 proving that the system of the universe accepted by the inspired 
 writers, was precisely that recently recovered, and now uni- 
 versally received, viz., that the sun is the great central orb, and 
 that the earth is a planetary body. 
 
 (1.) The planetary nature of the earth is expressed in the 
 meaning of its usual and most ancient Hebrew name aeetz, 
 (Y")N)» whence probably our English earth is derived. This is 
 traced to the root retz (yv by the Eev. Benjamin Hol- 
 lo way, LL.D., the author of a work entitled, "Originals, 
 Physical and Theological, Sacred and Profane/' in which he 
 examines and elucidates a variety of Hebrew terms with singular 
 and various learning. The Pev. Alex. Pirie, the author of a 
 very curious and able treatise on Hebrew roots, also traces it to the 
 same radix. Now retz is a verb which expresses the idea of 
 running, so that the runner would be the primitive name of the 
 earth, which obviously would be singularly inappropriate should 
 that body have been regarded as stationary. 
 
 (2.) The figure of the earth is in Scripture described as round, 
 which is the proper figure of a body made to move. Wisdom, 
 speaking of the Creator, says, " When He prepared the heavens, 
 I was there ; when He set a compass (marg. circle) over the face 
 of the depth," or chaos. (Prov. viii. 27.) And Isaiah speaks 
 of the most High as sitting " upon the circle " circumference, or 
 sphere "of the earth." (Isa. xl. 22.) And the word chug 
 OH) rendered compass and circle, may, with the greatest pro- 
 priety, be rendered orb or sphere. 
 
 In those passages which speak of " tlie ends of the earth," 
 it may be demonstrated that the shores are intended q. d., 
 where the earth or dry land ends by running into the sea, unless 
 in those places where they are put by metonomy for the in- 
 habitants of those countries separated from Palestine by the 
 sea. 
 
 (3.) The planetary nature of the earth is further expressed 
 under the phrase, " wings of the earth," which twice occurs in 
 the margins of our Bible, where the original is truly rendered. 
 The passages are these : — " His light is upon the wings ot the 
 earthT (Job xxxvii. 3.) " Hast thou considered the morning 
 since thy days, or caused the day-spring to know his place, to 
 take hold on the wings of the earth, that the wicked might be 
 shaken out of it ]" (Job xxxviii. 12, 13.) Now, "wings" are 
 
14 COLENSO AND JOSHUA. 
 
 instruments of motion, and unless the earth was regarded as 
 moving or flying in the heavens, it would he difficult to discern 
 any propriety in the figure. 
 
 (4) In two places we read, " Let the heavens rejoice, and the 
 earth will he glad." (1 Chron. xvi. 31 ; Psalm xcvi. 11.) This 
 translation is figurative, and, as such, sufficiently just, but a 
 literal rendering would be preferable, as the connection speaks of 
 physical phenomena. Literally it is, " Let the heavens shine" — 
 vibrate, move backwards and forwards, — " and the earth shall 
 revolve," or roll round., Here, not only is the motion of the earth 
 declared, but the cause of that motion is also indicated. 
 
 (5.) Speaking of the admirable works of God, Job says, "He 
 shaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof 
 [viz., the ethereal pillars upon which it is supported in its 
 positions, elsewhere called by Job, the ' pillars of heaven/ or 
 pillars of the heavens] tremble. He commandeth the sun, and 
 it riseth not." (Job ix. 6, 7.) The patriarch is not here dis- 
 coursing of anything miraculous, but of the ordinary procedure 
 of Deity in his manifold wonderful works. The only super- 
 natural event to which these words could be conceived to have 
 the remotest allusion, is the miracle of Joshua as now vulgarly 
 interpreted. But this is out of the question, as Job is acknow- 
 ledged to have flourished long before the captain of Israel. 
 Here, therefore, is asserted, not only that the earth is a planet, 
 but also that the sun is at rest. 
 
 (6.) Moses says, "But it shall be that when it," (the part of the 
 earth in which the person addressed was located) " turneth 
 towards the evening," &e. (Deut. xxiii. 11.) The men of Tim- 
 nath said to Samson, " On the seventh day when it," (the part 
 of the earth on which the city stood) " turneth towards the 
 sun," &c. (Jud. xiv. 18.) The original in these passages is here 
 faithfully rendered. ISTow, observe, it is not said that the 
 evening turned towards the segment of the earth, as it should 
 have been to express motion in the heavens ; neither is it said 
 that the sun turned towards the segment of the earth, as it 
 should have been to express motion in the sun. The reverse in 
 both cases is expressed, whence the inference is irresistible that 
 in the opinion of the inspired authors, motion resides in the 
 earth. And the word peneh (n23)» 1EL Dotn ^ ne foregoing pas- 
 sages, translated " turned," properly signifies "to obvert suc- 
 cessively, or turn up a new face or segment," which is admirably 
 descriptive of the axial motion in our planet. 
 
COLENSO AND JOSHUA. 15 
 
 (7.) The orbital motion of the earth is also expressed in the 
 phrase "revolution of the year." (Exod. xxxiv. 22 ; 2 Chron. 
 xxiv. 23.) And should it be objected that " the revolution of 
 the year " might be conceived by the sacred writers to be in the 
 heavens, the reply is that the year is not in the heavens, but in 
 the earth. 
 
 The " foundations of the earth," which the psalmist informs 
 us are so " established" that "they cannot be moved," are the 
 inner parts of its spherical crust, so that their stability cannot 
 interfere with the motions of the globe. The reader will find 
 this fully elucidated in the second part of my work, entitled 
 " The Principia and the Bible," from which much of the fore- 
 going argument is drawn. 
 
 Since, then, it appears that the planetary nature of the earth, 
 and the fixed position of the sun in the centre of the system, 
 was the physical creed of the Biblical writers, we may reasonably 
 conclude that this also was the physical creed of Joshua ; and 
 if so, it may well be seriously doubted that he commanded the sun 
 to "stand still." But we have already shown, by proving that 
 it was the solar light and lunar light that he arrested, that the 
 question is not started whether he believed the sun or the earth 
 to be the centre of the system. The defence of the miracle 
 set forth by Archdeacon Peatt, so unsatisfactory to Dr. Colenso, 
 therefore, is altogether unnecessary : and the objections drawn 
 from modern science, of which the Bishop has so adroitly 
 availed himself, are completely irrelevant. 
 
 To apprehend the true nature of the miracle of Joshua, it is 
 only necessary to assume the existence of a subtile ether uni- 
 versally diffused through space, which becomes luminiferous 
 when thrown into particular vibrations or waves. The heavenly 
 bodies are the most stupendous agents in nature for exciting 
 these vibrations ; but the fluid can be artificially excited and 
 light produced, by means of any description of flame, by elec- 
 trical agency, and otherwise in a variety of ways. But in the 
 present case the vibrations of this ether were miraculously 
 sustained over the localities mentioned in the history, and the 
 motions of the solar system, of course, continued as usual . 
 
 It will be no impeachment of the miracle, as now interpreted, 
 that it is favourable to the undulatory theory of light, in refer- 
 ence to which the late Professor Baden Powell has the 
 following expressions: — ' ' Propounded in the first instance to 
 
16 COLENSO AND JOSHUA. 
 
 explain a limited range of optical phenomena then known, this 
 theory, with a few modifications, has been found in the hands of 
 subsequent philosophers to afford by far the most complete and 
 satisfactory representation of nearly all the varied and compli- 
 cated results which optical experiments have disclosed." " It is 
 a theory," says Herschel, " which, if not founded in nature, is 
 certainly one of the happiest fictions that the genius of man has 
 yet invented to group together natural phenomena, as well as 
 the most fortunate in the support it has received from all classes 
 of new phenomena, which, at their discovery, seemed in irre- 
 concilable opposition to it. It is, in fact, in all its applications 
 and details, one succession of felicities, insomuch that we may 
 almost be induced to say, if it be not true it deserves to be so." 
 
 The redoubtable philosophical argument against the miracle 
 of Joshua, usually regarded as one of the most stubborn diffi- 
 culties with which the votaries of inspiration have to deal, has 
 been fairly examined and refuted. May we not reasonably 
 presume that all kindred arguments only require to be tested in 
 order to be exploded ; for the celestial origin of the Bible is 
 triumphantly established by the ever accumulating independent 
 evidence of PEOPHECY. 
 
 We cannot better conclude this essay than with the prayer of 
 the illustrious Bacox : — 
 
 " This also we humbly and earnestly beg — that human things 
 may not prejudice such as are divine ; — neither that from the 
 unlocking of the gates of sense, and the kindling of a greater 
 natural light, anything may arise of incredulity or intellectu;.l 
 night towards Divine mysteries ; but rather that by our minds, 
 thoroughly purged and cleansed from fancy and vanity, and yet 
 subject and perfectly given up to the Divine oracles, there may 
 be given unto faith the things that are faith's." 
 
 London : Jrnu & Glass, rrinters, New Bridge Street, E.C. 
 
BY THE SAME AUTHOR, 
 
 A CRITIQUE AND AN ARGUMENT. 
 
 * # * By unveiling the incongruities of the received Philosophy 
 exhibiting the truth of the Biblical, the credulity of Infidelity is expr, 
 and a link supplied in the chain of evidence for the Divine Inspira 
 of the Scriptures. 
 
 Crown 8vo., Cloth, Lettered, Diagrams, Price 4s. 
 
 May be had Post Free of the Author, 11, North Marine Ec 
 Scarborough. 
 
 N.B. — The following are extracts from communications received f 
 learned friends : — 
 
 From J. D. M., Esq., R.N., F.R.S, F.L.S., &c., &c. 
 
 " I have read your book with great pleasure. The first part is very clevi 
 managed, and as conclusively subverts the views of the great Newton as 
 could wish. Ycur method is very pleasing, and evidences deep thinL 
 combined with the simplest form of expression. 
 
 " Gregory has read your book, and agrees with it in every particular, 
 is delighted with the style and close reasoning. I hope you have not got 
 of all the copies. I should like to have a half-dozen at least reserved 
 myself/' 
 
 From the Rev. J. P., D.D., Manchester. 
 " I like your book very much. It is a monument of immense labour ; 
 extraordinary skill. It is also well ' got up.' I am proud of the book." 
 
 From the Rev. B. G, Waterloo, kear Liverpool. 
 "You have accomplished the first part of your work thoroughly ; 
 triumphantly. You have to my satisfaction shown the futility of the N> 
 tonian physics. Your style is, to my taste, exquisite, and, in myjudgmt 
 enviable. I have introduced your book to the ablest mathematician : 
 astronomer in these parts. He says it is the most masterly book he has e 
 read. Your superiority as a thinker and writer you have made very clear." 
 
rnmrnitt BINDER 
 
 Z^T Syracuse, N. Y. 
 Stockton, Calif. 
 
 
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BS1295.8.M13 
 
 Colenso and Joshua : or, The miraculous 
 
 Princeton Theological Seminary-Speer Library 
 
 1 1012 00037 1825 
 
 
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