He had uttered these words with eyes and hands uplifted, then turning to the other, he said with solemn earnestness: 

“So I ask thee Hosea, son of Nun, dost thou remember the vow which thou and I made before the stones in Succoth?”

“I do,” was the reply.  “And in sore disaster and great peril I perceived what the Most High desired of me, and am resolved to devote to Him all the strength of body and soul with which He has endowed me, to Him alone, and to His people, who are also mine.  Henceforward I will be called Joshua . . . nor will I seek service with the Egyptians or any foreign king; for the Lord our God through the lips of thy wife bestowed this name upon me.”

Then Hur, with solemn earnestness, broke in:  “That is what I expected to hear and as, in this place also, the Most High is a witness between me and thee and hears this conversation, let the vow I made in His presence be here fulfilled.  The heads of the tribes and Moses, the servant of the Lord, appointed me to the command of the fighting-men of our people.  But now thou dost call thyself Joshua, and hast vowed to serve no other than the Lord our God.  I am well aware thou canst accomplish far greater things as commander of an army than I, who have grown grey in driving herds, or than any other Hebrew, by whatever name he is known, so I will fulfil the vow sworn at Succoth.  I will ask Moses, the servant of the Lord, and the elders to confide to thee the office of commander.  In their hands will I place the decision and, because I feel that the Most High beholds my heart, let me confess that I have thought of thee with secret rancor.  Yet, for the welfare of the people, I will forget what lies between us and offer thee my hand.”

With these words he held out his hand to Joshua and the latter, grasping it, replied with generous candor: 

“Thy words are manly and mine shall be also.  For the sake of the people and the cause we both serve, I will accept thy offer.  Yet since thou hast summoned the Most High as a witness and He hears me, I, too, will not withhold one iota of the truth.  The Lord Himself has summoned me to the office of commander of the fighting-men which thou dost desire to commit to me.  It was done through Miriam, thy wife, and is my due.  Yet I recognize thy willingness to yield thy dignity to me as a praiseworthy deed, since I know how hard it is for a man to resign power, especially in favor of a younger one whom he does not love.  Thou hast done this, and I am grateful.  I, too, have thought of thee with secret rancor; for through thee I lost another possession harder for a man to renounce than office:  the love of woman.”

The hot blood mounted into Hur’s cheeks, as he exclaimed: 

“Miriam!  I did not force her into marriage; nay I did not even purchase her, according to the custom of our fathers, with the bridal dowry—­she became my wife of her own free will.”

“I know it,” replied Joshua quietly, “yet there was one man who had yearned to make her his longer and more ardently than thou, and the fire of jealousy burned fiercely in his heart.  But have no anxiety; for wert thou now to give her a letter of divorce and lead her to me that I might open my arms and tent to receive her, I would exclaim: