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Jozua 10:11

- -, Institute for Biblical & Scientific Studies, [], Joshua 10:11 says, "the Lord hurled large hailstones down on them from the sky, and more of them died from the hailstones than were killed by the swords of the Israelites" (NIV).
Hittites
In the Ten Year Annals of Mursili it says, "So I marched, and as I arrived at Mt. Lawasa, the storm-god, my lord, showed his godly miracle. He hurled a meteor. My army saw the meteor; (and) the land of Arzawa saw (it). And the meteor went; and struck the land of Arzawa. It struck Apasa, the capital city of Uhhaziti, Uhhaziti fell on (his) knees; and became ill" (Younger 1990, 208).
Assyrians
In Sargon's Letter to God it says, "Adad, the violent, the son of Anu, the valiant, uttered his loud cry against them; and with a flood cloud and hailstones (lit. 'the stone of heaven'' [NA, An-el]), he totally annihilated the remainder" (Younger, 210). Omen 261 states, "When it thunders in Sebat, heaven will rain with stones" (Thompson 1900, lxxxi).
Egyptians
The Gebal Barkal Stele of Thutmose III says, "It was not known that you might learn/witness the miracle of [Amun-Re] before the face of all the Two Lands (Egypt). [It was evening, when the enemy troops came near]. [The guards] were about to come to meet in the night to make the regular (change of) watch. There were two hour-watchers; then a star came from the south of them. The like had never happened. It beamed towards them from its position. Not one remained standing there" (Younger, 217).

- -, ANE: DISCUSSION LIST FOR THE STUDY OF THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST, [], March 2006 [ANE-2] Any Israeli Meteorites ? (Joshua 10:11):
Walter Reinhold: Some have suggested that Joshua 10:11 might have been describing a meteorite shower
Doug Petrovich: As far as the location of the meteorites, or whatever else fell from the sky down upon the soldiers of the coalition forces, I would cancel Gibeon out of the equation. I just finished teaching an Exposition of Joshua course a few weeks ago, and it was overwhelmingly clear that the "shower" took place between the Beth-horon Ridge and Azekah.
Jane Waldbaum: Rare artifacts possibly of meteoritic iron are more a product of the Bronze Age than the Early Iron Age. They are found sporadically in a number of regions including Iran, Turkey, Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Syria. See J. Waldbaum, "The Coming of Iron in the Eastern Mediterranean: Thirty Years of Archaeological and Technological Research," pp. 27-57 in V. C. Pigott, ed., The Archaeometallurgy of the Asian Old World, (Philadelphia 1999).
Walter Reinhold: I thank all for their contributions. Apparently _no investigations_ have ever been made of the vicinity of the "ascent of Beth-Horon" (Arabic Beit-Ur) by competent authorities to establish whether or not a meteorite shower ever took place. I realize that even if evidence of shower was found, it still could not be dated as a pottery context would be neccessary and finding pottery in open fields near meteorites would be highly unlikely (I am aware that this area was subjected to a field survey searching for pottery shards to establish settlements from the Stone Age to Arab times in the 1970s-80s). Of course if the Canaanites or Israelites were superstitious enough to regard Meteorites as "sacred stones from heaven" worthy of veneration, some could have been taken and set up in a local shrine of some sort, and if found in a shrine with pottery debris then a date could be established. I am not aware of any excavations reporting meteorites as sacred stones or massebah in Canaan. Does anyone know differently ? Are archaeologists trained in knowing the difference between a meteorite and a local stone set up as a massebah ? I just finished reading a fascinating book on searching for meteorites, Harvey H. Nininger, Find A Fallen Star (1972). Nininger was convinced that the lack of documentation for meteorites worldwide was because people were ignorant of what to look for in identifying a meteorite. He launched his own program in Kansas and elswehere in the Southwest, giving free talks with meteorites to pass out to the audience and encouraging them to contact him if they found anything. He reasoned that the most likely people to come into contact with meteorites were not PhD Scholars, it would be "the people who worked the land", farmers and ranchers. His hunch paid off over the years, he was flooded with stones, and new meteorite showers where identified (he personally would go to the site and confirm it). So, it is just possible, _if_ a metorite shower did take place near the ascent of Beth-Horon, that the local farmers have encountered these stones in the course of plowing up their fields and removed them to build stone fences about their fields or deposited them in some nearby rock heap, unaware they were plowing up meteorites. This would be a nice assignment for the Israeli Geological Survey to undertake- educate the farmers like Nininger did, show them what to look for and check up on what the farmers find. Nininger made an interesting observation, despite the educating of the ranchers and farmers, he discovered that it was neccessary to make REPEATED visits to these people inquiring about "finds." He had discovered that yes the people did find meteorites but they were just too busy getting on with life and its daily struggle to bother contacting him about what they found. It was his repeated visits that jogged the memories and flushed up from the ranchers and farmers the meteorites they had set aside and never bothered to alert him about ! Just a thought.
Vertaling Bijbel, Kanttekeningen SV, [], Het geschiedde nu, toen zij voor het aangezicht van Israel vluchtten, zijnde in den afgang van Beth-horon, zo wierp de HEERE [10]grote stenen op hen van den hemel, tot Azeka toe, dat zij stierven; daar waren er meer, die van de hagelstenen stierven, dan die de kinderen Israels met het zwaard doodden.
10. Te weten, hagelstenen, gelijk straks in vs.11 volgt.

Encyclopedie, Jewish Encyclopedia, [2002], HAIL, Frozen rain falling in pellets of various sizes and shapes. The Hebrew words for "hail" are: , the most usual term: (Ezek. xiii. 11, 13; xxxviii. 22); and (Ps. lxxviii. 47), the meaning of which is only conjectural. Hailstones were regarded as proofs of God's might (Ecclus. [Sirach] xliii. 15); they are spoken of as being kept in God'sstorehouses or treasuries (Job xxxviii. 22). The best known hail-storm in the Bible is the seventh plague which God inflicted on the Egyptians immediately before the Exodus (Ex. ix. 13-35; Ps. l.c.). On another occasion hail served as God's destroying agent; and it is said that those who died from hailstones were more than those who died by the sword of Israel (Josh. x. 11). For this reason hail is often mentioned as a punishment (Isa. xxviii. 17; Ezek. xiii. 11, 13). Once hail occurs in a description of the appearance of God (Ps. xviii. 13). Hail is very often coupled with fire (Ex. ix. 23, 24; Ps. xviii. 13 [A. V. 12]), and it is also mentioned in connection with thunder (Ex. ix. 23, 28; Ps. xviii. 14).

John Gill, Exposition of the Entire Bible, [], the Septuagint version calls them hailstones; and so they are called in the next clause; and that such sometimes have fallen as to kill men and cattle, is certain from the plague of hail in Egypt, Ex 9:19; and some in very late times {Vid. Louthorp. Abridg. Philosoph. vol. 2. p. 144, 146.} have been known to fall, which were from eight, nine, and twelve inches about, some bigger than the eggs of turkeys, and some half a pound weight, See Gill on "Re 16:21"; but these seem to be proper stones, such as did not melt away as hailstones do; though so called, because they fell from heaven, as they do, but remained, and still remain, according to the notion the Jews have of them; for they say {T. Bab. Betacot, fol. 54. 1.} whoever sees these great stones, in the going down to Bethhoron, is bound to bless; and frequent mention is made by historians of showers of stones being rained. Livy {L. 1. p. 17.} speaks of such a shower when King Tullus conquered the Sabines; and of another {L. 30. c. 30.}, when Scipio succeeded at Carthage; and Pomponius Mela {De Orbis Situ, l. 2. c. 5.} relates, that when Hercules fought with the sons of Neptune, and darts failed him, he obtained of Jupiter to rains shower of stones, which lay spread in great abundance; and some {Vossius de Origin. Idol. c. 1. sect. 16.} think it refers to this fact in Joshua's time, who is supposed to be the same with the Tyrian Hercules {See Gale's Court of the Gentiles, l. 2. c. 5.}, from hence also called Saxanus {Dickins. Delph. Phoenic. c. 4. p. 42.}; and in memory of this there are stony camps in various places, called by his name {Sanford de Descens. Christi, l. 1. sect. 20. p. 35.}.
Keil & Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament, [], Joz 10:11 The large stones which the Lord threw upon the flying foe at the slope of Bethhoron were hail-stones (see Isa_30:30), not stone-hail, or a shower of stones, but a terrible hail-storm, in which hail fell upon the foe in pieces as large as stones (see Wis. 46:6), and slew a greater number of them than the swords of the Israelites. This phenomenon, which resembled the terrible hail in Egypt (Exo_9:24), was manifestly a miraculous occurrence produced by the omnipotent power of God, inasmuch as the hail-stones slew the enemy without injuring the Israelites, who were pursuing them. By this the Israelites were to be made to see that it was not their own power, but the supernatural help of their God, which had given them the victory; whilst the enemy discovered that it was not only the people of Israel, but the God of Israel, that had devoted them to destruction.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, [], Joz 10:11 Great stones - That is, hailstones of extraordinary greatness, cast down with that certainty, as to hit the Canaanites and not their pursuers the Israelites. Josephus affirms, that thunder and lightning were mixed with the hail, which may seem probable from Hab_3:11. They had robbed the true God of his honour, by worshipping the host of heaven, and now the hosts of heaven fights against them, and triumphs in their ruin. Beth - horon lay north of Gibeon, Azekah and Makkedah, south, so that they fled each way. But which way soever they fled, the hailstones pursued them. There is no fleeing out of the hands of God!