that he was from the tribe of Judah. According to Rabbinic tradition, Hur was the son of Miriam, thus Moses and Aaron's nephew. The Talmud (Sanhedrin 69b & Sotah 11b) states that Caleb, a descendant from Judah, married Miriam and fathered Hur. This is based on the Targum to I Chron. 2:19: "...and Caleb took for himself Ephrath and she bore him Hur". Ephrath was another name for Miriam. Rashi's Bible commentary justifies this position on the two other locations in Exodus where Hur is mentioned: 17:10 & 24:14. However, Josephus in Antiquities of the Jews states that Hur was the husband of Moses' sister Miriam. In Talmudic tradition the sudden disappearance of Hur from the narrative of Exodus is explained by the claim that Hur was killed when he tried to prevent the making of the Golden Calf. The murder of Hur intimidated Aaron into complying with the popular demand to create the idol. Hur's faithfulness was rewarded by God by granting his grandson the role of making the Tabernacle. Other Hurs It is the traditional view that Hur the companion of Moses is the same as the grandfather of Bezalel, but this is not certain. Other persons named Hur include: Hur, a King of the Midianites He was killed with four other Midianite kings during the time of Moses by an Israelite expedition led by Phinehas, son of Eleazar. Balaam, son of Beor, was also slain by the Israelites in this expedition (Num. 31:8; Joshua 13:21). Hur, the Father of Rephaiah He is only mentioned in his relationship to Rephaiah (Nehemiah 3:9); there are no other biographical data regarding him. While it is possible it could refer to one of the other persons by the name of Hur (other than the King of Midian) if "Rephaiah the son of Hur" means Hur was an ancestor and not a biological father, it is extremely unlikely. References Book of Exodus people Books of Chronicles people Moses Golden calf Tribe of Judah