The men of Gibeon sent to Joshua to the camp to Gilgal, saying, Don't slack your hand from your servants; come up to us quickly, and save us, and help us: for all the kings of the Amorites that dwell in the hill-country are gathered together against us.
The difficulty of Joshua's all-night march should be noted.  It was some 25 miles distance, UPHILL all the way, a climb of 2,000 feet vertical from the camp at Gilgal.  Their climb was almost the equivalent of ascending the Grand Canyon by climbing from the half-way point to the rim! Anyone who has ever made that climb can testify to its difficulty.  Plummer said that much of the distance covered by Joshua in that 25 miles was so steep that steps had been chiseled into the rock to provide footholds![22] It is to Joshua's eternal credit that he did not hesitate to OBEY God's order to strike!