Exodus 32:18Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

The populace was astonished by their own malice.

Yet, when the whisper of sin reached us—referred to in the initial scripture as the whisper of the serpent, and in the narrative of the tablets as the song of those entangled in indulgence—our being was shattered as we fell.

Joshua was present on the mountain alongside Moses, yet he did not receive any divine revelation. He seemed to be at a distance, unaware of Israel's apostasy, mistakenly believing that the camp was under attack. Doctor Stanley, a theologian who has personally observed the Sinai group, noted that there exists a mountain path descending from the peak of Raz-Sufsafeh. This path winds its way through gorges to a platform that overlooks the northern side of the mountain, situated near its base. While travelers walk this path, they cannot see the expanse of the Sinai desert (Yer-Rah), but the sounds of the desert are audible. A sharp turn on this path leads to a viewpoint where the entire valley becomes visible, lying directly beneath the towering black rock of Raz-Sufsafeh, which ascends to an impressive height.