Exodus 32:18
in Exodus 32But Moses replied: “It is neither the cry of victory nor the cry of defeat; I hear the sound of singing!”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he said, It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome; but the noise of them that sing do I hear.
KJV
And he said, It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome: but the noise of them that sing do I hear.
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This verse in Exodus 32
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Moses turned, and went down from the mount--The plain, Er-Raheh, is not visible from the top of Jebel Musa, nor can the mount be descended on the side towards that valley; hence Moses and his companion, who on duty had patiently waited his return in the hollow of the mountain's brow, heard the shouting some time before they actually saw the camp.
This site's exposition
when Joshua heard the noise of the people
on Exodus 32:17-18
Joshua hears a camp under attack and Moses hears singing, and the two men are listening to the same sound. Singing entered Scripture at 15:1 with the song at the sea, which was sung after a deliverance and to the God who gave it. Moses corrects Joshua before either of them can see anything, because he already knows from verse 7 what he is walking down into.
This site's exposition
I hear the sound of singing
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown place the camp on the plain of Er-Raheh, which cannot be seen from the top of Jebel Musa. Matthew Henry has Joshua waiting on the mountain through all forty days until Moses came down. Adam Clarke calls Joshua's reading the natural thought of a soldier.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And he said,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
And he said - That is, Moses returned this answer to the observations of Joshua.
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֗אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵ֥ין | ʾein | there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| קוֹל֙ | kol | [is] a sound of | H6963 → | 506 times |
| עֲנ֣וֹת | anot | singing of | H6030 → | 331 times |
| גְּבוּרָ֔ה | gevurah | strength | H1369 → | |
| וְאֵ֥ין | veein | and there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| ק֖וֹל | kol | [is] a sound of | H6963 → | 506 times |
| עֲנ֣וֹת | anot | singing of | H6030 → | 331 times |
| חֲלוּשָׁ֑ה | chalushah | weakness | H2476 → | |
| ק֣וֹל | kol | a sound of | H6963 → | 506 times |
| עַנּ֔וֹת | anot | singing | H6030 → | 331 times |
| אָנֹכִ֖י | ʾanokhi | I | H595 → | 359 times |
| שֹׁמֵֽעַ׃ | shomea' | [am] hearing | H8085 → | 1159 times |
וַיֹּ֗אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֵ֥יןthere not
ʾeinH369 →789 times
קוֹל֙[is] a sound of
kolH6963 →506 times
עֲנ֣וֹתsinging of
anotH6030 →331 times
גְּבוּרָ֔הstrength
gevurahH1369 →
וְאֵ֥יןand there not
veeinH369 →789 times
ק֖וֹל[is] a sound of
kolH6963 →506 times
עֲנ֣וֹתsinging of
anotH6030 →331 times
חֲלוּשָׁ֑הweakness
chalushahH2476 →
ק֣וֹלa sound of
kolH6963 →506 times
עַנּ֔וֹתsinging
anotH6030 →331 times
אָנֹכִ֖יI
ʾanokhiH595 →359 times
שֹׁמֵֽעַ׃[am] hearing
shomea'H8085 →1159 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Daniel 5:23Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. The vessels from His house were brought to you, and as you drank wine from them with your nobles, wives, and concubines, you praised…
it leads to
- Job 12:10
The life of every living thing is in His hand, as well as the breath of all mankind.
- Daniel 4:37
Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, for all His works are true and all His ways are just. And He is able to humble those who walk in…
- Jeremiah 10:23
I know, O LORD, that a man’s way is not his own; no one who walks directs his own steps.
- Isaiah 37:23
Whom have you taunted and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes in pride? Against the Holy One of Israel!
- Isaiah 2:12
For the Day of the LORD of Hosts will come against all the proud and lofty, against all that is exalted—it will be humbled—
- Job 12:10
Through
Daniel 5:4As they drank the wine, they praised their gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone.
it leads to
- Daniel 5:23
Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. The vessels from His house were brought to you, and as you drank wine from them with your nobles, wives, and concubines, you praised…
- Habakkuk 2:19
Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Awake!’ or to silent stone, ‘Arise!’ Can it give guidance? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, yet there is no breath in it at all.”
- Psalms 135:15–18
The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by the hands of men.
- Daniel 5:23
Where this verse is studied
About Exodus
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.