John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 17:9
And Moses said unto Joshua ,.... The son of Nun, who was his minister, and was a man of war from his youth, trained up in the art of war, and afterwards succeeded Moses, and was captain of the armies of Israel, and fought at the head of them, and subdued the Canaanites. Moses knew he was a fit person for the present purpose, and therefore gave him the following orders: choose us out men ; the stoutest and most courageous, best able to bear arms, and engage in war; for the multitude in... read more
Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Exodus 17:8-16
We have here the story of the war with Amalek, which, we may suppose, was the first that was recorded in the book of the wars of the Lord, Num. 21:14. Amalek was the first of the nations that Israel fought with, Num. 24:20. Observe, I. Amalek's attempt: They came out, and fought with Israel, Exod. 17:8. The Amalekites were the posterity of Esau, who hated Jacob because of the birthright and blessing, and this was an effort of the hereditary enmity, a malice that ran in the blood, and perhaps... read more