Joshua 10:27
And it came to pass at the time of the going down of the sun, that Joshua commanded, and they took them down off the trees, and cast them into the cave wherein they had been hid, and laid great stones in the cave’s mouth, which remain until this very day.
At the going down of the sun Joshua ordered the executed kings taken down from the trees, cast back into the cave where they had hidden, and sealed inside with great stones that remained as a lasting memorial. Evening and the going down of the sun are the same, and the taking down of the bodies at sunset marks the close of one day and the beginning of the next, proving the biblical reckoning of each day from sunset to sunset. Since all days commence at even and Leviticus 23:32 commands the Sabbath from even unto even, the Sabbath is a twenty-four-hour day kept from sunset to sunset. The burial was completed before sunset, paralleling the burial of Christ which likewise occurred before the Sabbath began at sunset, for the day begins locally at sunset in keeping with the creation days that begin with evening. The chapter's account of all the souls slain means all the persons were slain, proving that soul means the whole living person who can be killed and that human life is mortal.
Conquest Narrative Details
The book containing this verse was largely written by Israel's leader whose name means saviour, as Jesus in Greek. He was one of the two of his generation who wholly followed the Lord during the forty years of wilderness temptation, and he entered his greatest work when about eighty years old. That work was leading Israel through the Jordan, dividing the land, and setting them in the way to conquer foes and find the promised rest. The Captain of Jehovah's hosts was with him in victory, where trust brings triumph as at Jericho when God's invisible army leveled the walls, and failure to trust brings defeat as at Ai, delaying possession of the land and turning prosperity into adversity.
At the time of the going down of the sun Joshua commanded that the executed kings be taken down off the trees. They were cast back into the cave wherein they had been hid, and great stones were laid in the cave's mouth. Those stones remained there as a lasting memorial. This belongs to the account of Israel's battles and conquest of several petty kingdoms. The people of those kingdoms were not spared, because allowing them to continue would have propagated a like seed.
Day Begins at Sunset
Evening and the going down of the sun are the same, for the five kings hung upon the trees until the evening and were taken down at the time of the going down of the sun, so even means sunset and evening begins with the setting of the sun. Hanging until the evening is hanging until sunset, when command was given for the bodies to be taken down. God's ancient people began the day at that time, with each day beginning with the evening. The taking down of the executed kings from the trees at sunset marked the close of the day, proving the biblical sunset-to-sunset reckoning in which each day of the week begins and ends at sunset. The day was reckoned as ending at sunset when the condemned kings were taken down and placed in the cave, and the command given at the going down of the sun supports reckoning the biblical day from sunset to sunset.
Since the day begins and ends at evening at sunset, and Leviticus 23:32 commands celebration of the Sabbath from even unto even, and all days commence at the same point of time at even, the Sabbath as a twenty-four-hour day beginning with evening begins at sunset and ends at sunset the next day, celebrated from sunset to sunset. At even means at the setting of the sun, so the Sabbath begins and ends at the setting of the sun. What was done at the time of the going down of the sun is evening, therefore the Sabbath beginning with evening begins at sunset.
The biblical day begins in the evening locally at sunset rather than at one identical moment around the world. The taking down and burial of the bodies at sunset shows evening begins when the sun goes down, as an example of a day beginning with evening in keeping with the creation days that begin with evening. The removal of the bodies from the trees at sunset and their placement in the cave with its mouth blocked with stones shows a burial completed before sunset, paralleling the burial of Christ which likewise occurred before the Sabbath began at sunset.
Soul Means Mortal Person
In Joshua 10 soul is used to mean a whole person, with people described as souls who were destroyed. It means a person, a living creature, and not a separate man within a man. It means the entire man, and the expression living soul used there is the same as in man became a living soul.
The verse records the death of the defeated kings, whose bodies were taken down from the trees and placed in the cave. Where the chapter says all the souls were slain in the various cities it means all the persons were slain. The souls repeatedly spoken of there as slain are persons put to death, called in the original dead souls, which proves a soul can be lifeless and can be killed. In the account of the towns' destruction this shows that souls means living people, who can be killed, and that human life is mortal.