וַיֹּ֨אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֤ה אֶל־יְהוֹשֻׁ֙עַ֙ בְּחַר־לָ֣נוּ אֲנָשִׁ֔ים וְצֵ֖א הִלָּחֵ֣ם בַּעֲמָלֵ֑ק מָחָ֗ר אָנֹכִ֤י נִצָּב֙ עַל־רֹ֣אשׁ הַגִּבְעָ֔ה וּמַטֵּ֥ה הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים בְּיָדִֽי׃
I rzekł Mojżesz do Jehoszuego: "Wybierz nam mężów i wyjdź, walcz z Amalekiem. Jutro ja stanę na szczycie pagórka, a berło Boże w ręku moim."
Or HaChaim
וידבר משה…החלצו מאתכם, Moses said.. "mobilise from amongst you, etc." The word לאמור in this verse is puzzling. To whom were the people supposed to relay what Moses told them? Furthermore, why did Moses use the expression החלצו instead of the formulation Moses used in Exodus 17,9 when he said to Joshua: בחר לנו אנשים, "choose some men for us, etc.?" Why did he not order Pinchas to do what he had ordered Joshua to do at that time instead of addressing his command to the people at large? Another peculiarity in this verse are the words ויהיו על מדין "so that they will be against Midian." Moses should have said: "so that they will do battle against Midian." Moreover, why did Moses change G'd's instructions? G'd had told Moses נקם נקמת בני ישראל, "avenge the vengeance of the Israelites," whereas Moses told the people to exact "G'd's vengeance," i.e. לתת נקמת השם? Besides, why did Moses not send a large army but selected only 1.000 men per tribe? Who had given him authority to send such a small force of soldiers against a numerically far superior people [governed by 5 kings Ed.]? When you consider that 32.000 girls who were still virgins were left you can arrive at some idea how many there must have been originally.
Rashi
אנשים MEN — righteous men, and similar is, (Exodus 17:9) “Choose men for us”, and so, too, (Deuteronomy 1:13) “men wise and well-known” (Midrash Tanchuma, Matot 3).
Ephod Bad
Then came the fire that burned the staff
Exodus 17:9:
Moses was sequestered in heaven
Without bread or water
While a nation divided in two
Gathered with insolence against Aaron
Violently they grabbed him,
Saying, “Where is your brother, the prophet?”
They cried out like a lion or a lioness:
“We will bring you to justice!
Make us a god of clay.
So that it will guard us.”
Righteous Aaron offered his advice
“Take off your earrings!”
Into the fire the rebellious ones threw them
And out came a calf of gold
God looked down from Heaven
That Israel had turned aside
They defiled themselves with a foreign God
He said to Moses “Go down!
For your people have acted basely.
Your brother Aaron is a witness.”
With fury Moses went down.
For the word of God made him tremble
And in his heart, for the God of all spirits,
He broke the tablets. Then came the fire and burned the staff: of Moses so that Israel returned to their former state before the repairs:
Exodus 17:9:
Moses was sequestered in heaven
Without bread or water
While a nation divided in two
Gathered with insolence against Aaron
Violently they grabbed him,
Saying, “Where is your brother, the prophet?”
They cried out like a lion or a lioness:
“We will bring you to justice!
Make us a god of clay.
So that it will guard us.”
Righteous Aaron offered his advice
“Take off your earrings!”
Into the fire the rebellious ones threw them
And out came a calf of gold
God looked down from Heaven
That Israel had turned aside
They defiled themselves with a foreign God
He said to Moses “Go down!
For your people have acted basely.
Your brother Aaron is a witness.”
With fury Moses went down.
For the word of God made him tremble
And in his heart, for the God of all spirits,
He broke the tablets. Then came the fire and burned the staff: of Moses so that Israel returned to their former state before the repairs: