An extraordinary statement is made: the Lord obeyed Joshua’s command; that is, he caused the sun to stand still in the sky for a whole day.

A day like it most probably means a day such as this, when the Lord responded to a person in such a manner. This meaning may be translated more clearly: “Never before and never since, has the LORD answered a person’s prayer in that way.” Or, if Joshua is conceived of as giving a command to the Lord, “… has the LORD done what a person commanded him to do.”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Newman, Barclay M. A Handbook on Joshua. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1983. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .