Comentário sobre Êxodo 17:10

AND MOSES AND AARON AND HUR — From this we may infer as regards a public fast that three men must pass before the Holy Ark (i. e. must officiate at prayer) — we may infer this because they (the Israelites) were then engaged in fasting (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 17:12:5).

ומשה אהרן וחור, “and Moses, Aaron as well as Chur, etc.” according to Rashi, Chur was a son of Miriam, although in Exodus 24,14 he describes Chur as being a son of Miriam and Calev. This is based on Chronicles II 19 where Calev is described as having married Efrat, another name for Miriam, as stated in the Talmud tractate Sotah, folio 11. Why then was she called עזובה, when according to the Talmud quoted, Calev is described as having married Efrat after Azuvah, his first wife had died? How could Chur have been the son of Miriam seeing that he was the son of Efrat? I believe that Rashi’s commentary is correct and that there is no contradiction here at all. The verse in Chronicles I 2,18 described Calev the son of Chetzron siring Azuvah, “Ishah” [as if she were his wife, Ed.] and Yeriot, who in turn gave birth to Yashar, Shovav and Ardon before Azuvah had died. Thereupon Calev married Efrat who gave birth to Chur for him. Chur in turn became the father of Uri, etc. In the Talmud Sotah, Rashi states that Calev was the son of Chetzron, something that needs explaining, seeing that the Torah describes him as being the son of Yefuneh. (Numbers 13,6) Rashi considers the name “Yefuneh” as an acrostic praising the bearer of that name as not having made common cause with the spies. Still, he is also described as the son of K’naz in Joshua 15,17) According to Rava in the Talmud Sotah, folio 11, he was an adopted son of K’naz. This makes sense when we compare it with what is written in Numbers 32,12 where the name Yefuneh is linked to a member of the house of K’naz. Azuvah is identified as the same person that also appears with the name of Miriam. The reason that she was also known as Azuvah, “the abandoned one,” is because of the traumas she had experienced in her personal life. She had been afflicted with the dread disease tzoraat, as a result everyone abandoned her while she was thus afflicted. Her son had been murdered by the mob demanding to worship the golden calf. Another question concerning her is that the Torah described her as הוליד “he sired!?” She was his wife! How could she have sired anyone? Our sages say that if one marries a woman for religious reasons, in order to have G–d fearing children from her, one is considered as if one had physically sired such children.

ומשה ואהרן וחור, and Moses Aaron and Chur; seeing that the Torah will tell us about what Aaron and Chur did during that time, Chur was introduced to us here. Aaron and Chur would support Moses’ arms while Moses was standing on the summit of the hill.

חור HUR was the son of Miriam and her husband was Caleb (Sotah 11b).

ואת יריעות, “and Yeriot.” According to Rashi, Miriam also gave birth to Yeriot, though many years later, when she was already eighty years old. The commentators on Chronicles suggest that some of the names should be read as if spelled slightly differently so as to give additional meaning to them.

עלו ראש, “went up to the top.” The reason the Torah chose the word ראש, instead of פסגה, “summit,” or a similar word, is to tell the reader that they appealed to G–d to remember the merits of the nation’s spiritual founding fathers, the patriarchs, when helping them against Amalek.

The choice of the feminine noun: גבעה, “hill,” implies a reminder to G–d of the matriarchs and their merits.