Joshua 10:7

Ascended. This expression and the “went up” of verse 9 are geographically correct, because the line of march from Gilgal to Gibeon is an ascent all the way. The distance from Gilgal to Gibeon was 16 1/2 miles (26.7 km.). Marching all night up the Wadi Kelt and through the Wadi Suweinit, Joshua arrived early in the morning in the neighborhood of the city of Gibeon before the Amorites were aware that he had left camp at Gilgal. In going to the defense of Gibeon, Joshua also helped the cause of Israel. The city commanded important passes to central and southern Palestine and needed to be held.

And all the mighty men. The LXX and the Vulgate omit the “and.” The Hebrew word translated “and” may also be translated “even,” which seems to express better the meaning intended here. The passage, then, would imply that Joshua went up with an army of picked men, men of valor and courage, and skilled in warfare. The Syriac agrees with the idea thus expressed, reading, “and all of them [were] mighty men of valor.”