Can Stones Fall from the Sky? A Fascinating Historical Perspective

Can stones fall from the sky? The answer lies in the Book of Joshua: "As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, Hashem threw large stones down on them from the sky, and more of them died from these stones than were killed by the swords of the Israelites" (Joshua 10). We can see the descent from Beth Horon to our right as we ascend to Jerusalem on Route 443. There are several identifications of these stones, but what did the world think about this throughout history?

"It is impossible," wrote Aristotle. Aristotle was unfamiliar with the Book of Joshua, but he referred to a report of his time asserting that stones fell from the sky in the city of Aegospotami. According to Aristotle, the heavens contained no stones or rocks; all celestial bodies were made of a unique material unlike anything on Earth. Why? Because, in his reasoning, if they were made of rocks or another earthly material, they wouldn't be able to float in the air but would fall.

Whilst theories are nice, for many years Aristotle's words were considered truth. Various reports persisted stating that stones indeed fell from the sky, but the scholarly world ignored them. On November 7, 1492, Emperor Maximilian and his entourage were in Ensisheim, in French Alsace. Before their eyes, stones rained down from the sky—but scholars dismissed this testimony, attributing it to stones blown by the wind.

On July 24, 1790, a shower of stones fell from the sky in southwestern France. The Paris Academy of Sciences declared it a "physically impossible phenomenon" and therefore said it never happened.

The taboo was only broken in 1803 when another shower of stones fell from the sky and was personally investigated by Biot from the French Academy of Sciences. Scholars had no choice but to acknowledge: out in the skies, stones wander and float, capable of reaching Earth in the form of rain.

Yet in ancient texts, dating around the time of Joshua ben Nun, we find descriptions of stones falling from the sky. An ancient text called “Vizodkhim Magah” describes a rain of "rocks as large as trees." Another text named "Coahuititlan" depicts "a rain of fire and burning stones."

If we want to date these events, it would be quite easy, considering that in the Book of Joshua it's described that on that day the sun and the moon stood still. Such an event would affect the entire Earth, not just the place where the battle occurred. Indeed, descriptions from around the world at that time describe the sun and moon standing still.

In the history of Culhuacan in South America, in present-day Mexico, it's recorded that in the distant past the night did not end for a long time. Light was withheld from the world equivalent to an additional night. If we compare this to what's described in the Book of Joshua, where the sun extended the day in Israel ("and there was no day like that"), it indicates that the other hemisphere experienced an extra night. In other parts of America, the same account is preserved: the Spanish scholar Bernardino de Sahagún provides traditions from indigenous American tribes that at that time the moon also stood still.

These traditions are significant, as they come from tribes unfamiliar with the Bible and its stories. They narrated tales from ancient inscriptions of their ancestors, which surprisingly align with what’s recounted in the Book of Joshua.