Why did Yehoshua not see what was happening in the camp?
Rashi: Because he was at the foot of Har Sinai, (where he had pitched his tent - Rashi in Mishpatim, 24:14), awaiting Moshe's return. 1
Refer to 24:13:1:1*.
What did Yehoshua eat during the forty days that he waited for Moshe?
"VayishmaYehoshua es Kol ha'Am be'Re'o". What are the connotations of "be'Re'o"?
Rashi and Targum Yonasan: It means that he heard the people gleefully blowing trumpets, reveling and calling out joyfully.
R. Bachye #2: The word can also be read 'be'Ra'ah', which is another name for the star 'Ma'adim'(Mars) 3 - whose powers they harnessed for the Eigel. 4 5
Targum Onkelos: It means that he heard the people blowing trumpets,
R. Bachye: Hence the extra 'Hey' in "be'Re'oh".
R. Bachye: Like we find in Daniel 3:7, which they played in front of the image of Nevuchadnetzar - 'the horn, the whistle, the drum, the tambourine and the cymbals'.
R. Bachye: Which will also explain why, in Pasuk 19, the Torah mentions "Mecholos" - since Machol (a flute) is the instrument that is associated with Mars. See R. Bachye in Pasuk 19 who elaborates.
See R. Bachye who elaborates further,
What did Yehoshua mean when he told Moshe that he heard "Kol Anos"?
Targum Onkelos and Targum Yonasan: He meant that he heard the sounds of battle.
