Did the Sun and moon really stand still?

Question

Josh 10:12 Then spoke 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.
Josh 10:13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves 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.

I know the answer to this I just want to see what answers I would get from all of you and make you think. Earth perhaps?

Answer 1

That's the Word of the Lord.
If you believe the Word of the Lord then, yes, it did happen.
BTW....yes, it did happen.

Here come the flames...

Answer 2

I think that maybe you have a bad translation.

God could have stoped the sun if he wanted to; God invented physics, so why not? However, an alternative translation and the explanation is perhaps found in this cut and paste:

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...So, if these views do not explain the long day of Joshua, how should we understand what happened? The following explanation, I believe, is a better understanding of Joshua’s request. I also believe that it explains the text without doing damage to the events related by the biblical writer.
In Hebrew, the word translated “stand still” literally means “be silent.” In this context, Joshua was commanding the sun “to be silent,” that is, to keep from shining. Since the sun was rising in the east, his command to the sun was that it refrains from shining.

When Joshua came to fight against the Amorites, he came at night and caught them by surprise. Joshua was aided by the darkness caused by a huge storm that produced hail so big that it killed many people. In fact, the biblical text says that more people died from the hailstones than the people of Israel killed with the sword.

Since the hailstorm did not affect the army of Israel, Joshua needed the storm to last so that the hail could continue decimating the army of the Amorites. Consequently, Joshua’s prayer was for more darkness (the continuation of the storm) and not for more light. The reason Joshua’s army did not kill many soldiers was because the storm prevailed most of that day.

The view that Joshua prayed for more darkness is in agreement with the biblical text because the sun stood still (was silent, did not shine) for a whole day. This view also allows for a better understanding of the text without forcing upon it an interpretation that would require the reversal of the laws of physics.
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***edit****

Here is another explanation

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,,,Joshua gave the command for the sun to "stand still." There have been a number of ways in which commentators have sought to understand what occurred:

1. The passage is poetical and not to be understood literally.

2. The sun "standing still" refers to an eclipse of the sun.

3. The earth actually stopped its rotation around the sun for almost twenty-four hours per Joshuas request.

4. The earths rotation was slowed down, not stopped. This lengthened the day by almost twenty-four hours.

5. The sun and moon appeared to be out of their regular place by a supernaturally given mirage.

6. The sun stopped shining during the latter half of the day.

7. Rather than the day being prolonged, God prolonged the previous night.

We will look at each of these explanations and examine their strengths and weaknesses....

...We have seen that there are a variety of explanations to Joshuas long day without having to admit to scientific error. Although several of these views are possible, the theory that the sun actually slowed down its movement seems to be the best way of looking at the evidence. Leon Wood writes:

The traditional view must be maintained, however, for these alternate explanations do not do justice to the language of the text. Though it is true the verb dum (translated stand still in Joshuas call) means basically "be silent" and so could refer to being silent in other ways than retardation of movement, still the verb amadh is also used (twice in v. 13) and it definitely indicates a change in pattern of movement. Further, verse 13 closes with the expression "and hasted not to go down," where the word "hasted" (uz) again speaks of motion, and the phrase "to go down" (labho) is normally in reference to the sun setting. Still further, verse 14 states that this day was unique in history which suggests a major miracle occurred such as to the prolongation of a natural day. The extent of the prolongation can also be estimated. Since the hour was noon when Joshua voiced the call, and it was stated that the sun did not go down for "about a whole day" (keyom tamin), it is likely that the afternoon hours until sunset were prolonged twice their normal length. In other words, the total daylight hours of the day were one and one-half times normal (Leon Wood, A Survey of Israels History, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1970, p. 181)...
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Answer 3

no. the sun and the moon move from east to west. i got that on Koran (Islam's holy book).

that war was probably happen in daylight, all day long. that's what i think. no offense intended.

Answer 4

Maybe the moon standing still is what caused the Flood?

Answer 5

it was daylight savings hour so they got some extra time

Answer 6

YES