Exodus 32:17

When Joshua heard. In his descent Moses met Joshua, who remained where Moses had left him six weeks previously (see ch. 24:12-18). Together they made their way down to camp. Being a soldier, Joshua thought the sound they heard from the encampment was that of war, but Moses, having been warned by the Lord that something was wrong, suspected the true nature of the noise. The latter part of the descent from Mt. Sinai denies a view of the plain below, so that any sound coming from the plain would be heard before its cause could be seen. Perhaps the mounds at the foot of the mountain provided a barrier to the sight (see on ch. 19:1).