Tafsiran Keluaran 32:18: Rashi, Alshekh, Ramban & Ibn Ezra

אין קול ענות גבורה IT IS NOT THE VOICE OF THE CRY OF MASTERY —This sound does not seem to be the sound of the utterance of victors who cry, “Victory!” nor is it the sound of the defeated who cry, “Alas — let me flee!”.

He saw the calf. Moshe was only moved to break the Tablets when he beheld the calf with his own eyes because seeing is more powerful than hearing. Alternatively, what aroused his anger was the sight of the joyous dancing.

THE NOISE OF THEM THAT SING DO I HEAR.³⁵⁵In the Tur it is correctly marked as a new paragraph. In all Hebrew editions of Ramban, however, it is connected with the above. As the subject is clearly independent of the preceding matter, I have followed here the order of the Tur for the sake of clarity. The meaning of this is not that Moses knew the matter to be so, for in that case he would have said, “It is the noise of them that sing” [instead of saying, “do I hear”]. Rather, its meaning is that since Moses was the father of wisdom,³⁵⁶Sifre Devarim 1. See also in Vol. I, pp. 9-10. and recognized the musical character of all sounds, he said that it was a noise of singing which was being heard by him. The Rabbis have likewise said in an Agadah³⁵⁷Koheleth Rabbah 9:11. that Moses told Joshua, “Is it possible that one who is destined to be the leader of Israel cannot distinguish between the different kinds of sounds?” Now Moses in his great humility did not tell Joshua the cause of the noise, as he did not want to speak of the disgrace of Israel, and so instead he told him that it was a noise of merriment.

קול ענות means, the sound of blasphemy and cursing (Shemot Rabbah 41:1) which distress (עַנֵּה to vex, to grieve) the soul of him who hears them — even when they are only related to him.