Bible Strands
Exodus 32:17
When Joshua heard the sound of the people shouting, he said to Moses, “The sound of war is in the camp.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Joshua speaks to Moses upon descending the mountain after hearing the Israelites' commotion below. He identifies the noise as the sound of war occurring within the camp.
The words — The Hebrew קֹל (qol) denotes the "sound" or "noise" Joshua perceives, while בְּרֵעוֹ (bere'o) literally means "in its shouting" or "in its revelry." Joshua interprets this auditory input as martial chaos rather than worship.
The thread — The narrative links Joshua’s role as Moses’ attendant who accompanies him up the mountain (Exodus 24:13) and recalls his prior military appointment against the Amalekites (Exodus 17:9). Moses immediately corrects Joshua’s assessment by identifying the actual sound as singing (Exodus 32:18).
Why it lands — The verse requires a reader to distinguish between sensory perception and accurate interpretation. It demands careful discernment before drawing conclusions about communal behavior.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp.
Cross-references
- Exodus 24:13 So Moses set out with Joshua his attendant and went up on the mountain of God.
- Exodus 17:9 So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on the hilltop with the staff of God in my hand.”
- Exodus 32:18 But Moses replied: “It is neither the cry of victory nor the cry of defeat; I hear the sound of singing!”
- Joshua 6:5 And when there is a long blast of the ram’s horn and you hear its sound, have all the people give a mighty shout. Then the wall of the city will collapse and all your people will charge straight into the city.”
- Joshua 6:10 But Joshua had commanded the people: “Do not give a battle cry or let your voice be heard; do not let one word come out of your mouth until the day I tell you to shout. Then you are to shout!”
- Joshua 6:16 After the seventh time around, the priests blew the horns, and Joshua commanded the people, “Shout! For the LORD has given you the city!
- Joshua 6:20 So when the rams’ horns sounded, the people shouted. When they heard the blast of the horn, the people gave a great shout, and the wall collapsed. Then all the people charged straight into the city and captured it.
- Judges 15:14 When Samson arrived in Lehi, the Philistines came out shouting against him. And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him. The ropes on his arms became like burnt flax, and the bonds broke loose from his hands.
- 1 Samuel 4:5 When the ark of the covenant of the LORD entered the camp, all the Israelites raised such a great shout that the ground shook.
- 1 Samuel 17:20 So David got up early in the morning, left the flock with a keeper, loaded up, and set out as Jesse had instructed him. He reached the camp as the army was marching out to its position and shouting the battle cry.