her second quarter^ and nearly full. The miracle^ he observes^ 
could not have occurred exactly at full moon^ because in that 
case the moon would have been below the horizon when the 
sun was above it. This^ I may observe_, is not strictly accu- 
rate ; for in consequence of the inclination of the moon^s orbit 
to the ecliptic, the moon, even when full, might be above the 
horizon at the same time with the sun, provided that she were 
at a considerable distance from either node. But the inclina- 
tion of her orbit beiug only about five degrees, this could only 
last for a very brief time — so brief as not practically to invali- 
date CalmeBs reasoning. The miracle, then, could not have 
taken place at full moon. Nor, again, could it have taken 
place at new moon, because then the moon does not shine at 
all. Again, if we suppose it to have occurred shortly after 
new moon, the moon would set very soon after the sun ; 
and, moreover, her light would be very feeble, as would be the 
case all through her first quarter. The only time, therefore, 
at which she would be of use towards the accomplishment of 
Joshua^s object, would be when she was in her second quarter; 
probably when nearly, but not quite, full moon. Taking the 
moon^s age to be in accordance with this conjecture, the 
miracle cannot be supposed to have occurred soon after sunrise, 
as the moon would not then be visible. She would, in fact, 
only become visible a short time previously to sunset, and would 
then continue to shine all through the night. This confirms 
the conclusion before arrived at, namely, that the miracle took 
place about, or near, the setting of the sun. If it had been 
in the morning, as some suppose, it is difiicult to believe that 
Joshua should be under any apprehension lest daylight should 
not last suflSciently long to enable him to complete his pursuit 
of the enemy. 
19. The probable time of the year leads also to the belief that 
a not very large increase in the refraction of the atmosphere 
would be sufficient for the miracle. There is reason to suppose 
that it was not far from midsummer, at which time the sun is 
at a shorter distance below the horizon at midnight than at any 
other time of the year. Joshua had crossed the Jordan on the 
tenth day of the first month, i.e., about the 5th of April. If 
we allow a little more than two months from this for the taking” 
of Jericho and Ai, and the ceremonies at Ebal, we are brought 
to about midsummer, as we have just said. And at that 
time of the year in Judea (which is at about 35° 30' north 
latitude) the longest day, including the morning and evening 
twilights, lasts about eighteen hours. If, then, the light pro- 
ceeding from the sun could be maintained during the remaining 
six hours, the object of the miracle would be attained. And 
