But Moses replied: “It is neither the cry of victory nor the cry of defeat; I hear the sound of singing!”
Joshua, trained in war, feared battle at the noise. But Moses, fresh from God's presence, distinguished the sound more truly: it was the voice of singers, not soldiers. Those whom God advances are not puffed up, nor too distant to attend freely to their servants' concerns, nor careless of the camp below.
AI summary
Commenting on Exodus 32:15-20
And it came to pass, as soon, as he came nigh unto the camp,.... To the bottom of the mountain, and pretty near where the people were encamped: that he saw the calf, and the dancing; the golden image of the calf, and the people dancing about it, in honour of it, and as glad they had got a symbol and representation of God to...
And he said - That is, Moses returned this answer to the observations of Joshua.