Exodus 17:10

10 So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Am'alek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.

Exodus 17:10 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 17:10

So Joshua did as Moses had said to him
He singled out some proper persons for the battle, and arrayed them with armour, and led them forth out of the camp, and went forth at the head of them:

and fought with Amalek;
upon both armies meeting, a battle ensued:

and Moses, Aaron, and Hur, went up to the top of the hill;
to the top of Mount Sinai or Horeb, not so much to see the battle fought, as to be seen by Joshua and the people of Israel, especially Moses with the rod in his hand lifted up, that they might behold it, and be encouraged through it to hope for and expect victory; and the other two went up with him to assist him in holding up his hands with the rod, as appears by what follows. Aaron, it is well known, was his brother, but who Hur was is not so clear, though no doubt a very eminent and principal man. There was an Hur, the son of Caleb, who descended from Judah in the line of Phares and Hezron, and which Hur was the grandfather of Bezaleel ( 1 Chronicles 2:5 1 Chronicles 2:9 1 Chronicles 2:19 1 Chronicles 2:20 ) , but whether the same with this cannot be said with certainty; it is most likely that he was the husband of Miriam, as Josephus says F23, and so the brother-in-law of Moses and Aaron; though some Jewish writers say F24 that he was their sister's son, the son of Miriam.


FOOTNOTES:

F23 Antiqu. l. 3. c. 2. sect. 4.
F24 Pirke Eliezer, c. 45. Shalshalet Hakabala, fol. 7. 1.

Exodus 17:10 In-Context

8 Then came Am'alek and fought with Israel at Reph'idim.
9 And Moses said to Joshua, "Choose for us men, and go out, fight with Am'alek; tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand."
10 So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Am'alek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.
11 Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed; and whenever he lowered his hand, Am'alek prevailed.
12 But Moses' hands grew weary; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat upon it, and Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; so his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.