Exo 32:1-4 | Clarke | e4.org | CHAPTER XXXII The Israelites, finding that Moses delayed his return, desire Aaron to make them gods to go before them , 1. Aaron consents, and requires their ornaments , 2. They deliver them to him, and he makes a molten calf, 3, 4. He builds an altar before it , 5; and the people offer burnt-offerings and peace-offerings , 6. The Lord commands Moses to go down, telling him that the people had corrupted themselves , 7, 8. The Lord is angry, and threatens to destroy them , 9, 10. Moses intercedes for them , 11-13; and the Lord promises to spare them , 14. Moses goes down with the tables in his hands , 15, 16. Joshua, hearing the noise they made at their festival, makes some remarks on it , 17, 18. Moses, coming to the camp, and seeing their idolatrous worship , is greatly distressed, throws down and breaks the two tables , 19. Takes the calf, reduces it to powder, strews it upon the water , and causes them to drink it , 20. Moses expostulates with Aaron , 21. Aaron vindicates himself , 22-24. Moses orders the Levites to slay the transgressors , 25-27. They do so, and 3000 fall , 28, 29. Moses returns to the Lord on the mount, and makes supplication for the people , 30-32. God threatens and yet spares , 33. Commands Moses to lead the people, and promises him the direction of an angel , 34. The people are plagued because of their sin , 35. NOTES ON CHAP. XXXII Verse 1. When the people saw that Moses delayed ] How long this was before the expiration of the forty days, we cannot tell; but it certainly must have been some considerable time, as the ornaments must be collected, and the calf or ox, after having been founded , must require a considerable time to fashion it with the graving tool; and certainly not more than two or three persons could work on it at once. This work therefore, must have required several days. The people gathered themselves together ] They came in a tumultuous and seditious manner, insisting on having an object of religious worship made for them, as they intended under its direction to return to Egypt. See . As for this Moses, the man that brought us up ] This seems to be the language of great contempt, and by it we may see tho truth of the character given them by Aaron, , they were set on mischief . It is likely they might have supposed that Moses had perished in the fire, which they saw had invested the top of the mountain into which he went.

‏ Exodus 32:1-4

CHAPTER XXXII

The Israelites, finding that Moses delayed his return, desire Aaron to make them gods to go before them, 1.

Aaron consents, and requires their ornaments, 2.

They deliver them to him, and he makes a molten calf, 3, 4.

He builds an altar before it, 5;

and the people offer burnt-offerings and peace-offerings, 6.

The Lord commands Moses to go down, telling him that the people had corrupted themselves, 7, 8.

The Lord is angry, and threatens to destroy them, 9, 10.

Moses intercedes for them, 11-13;

and the Lord promises to spare them, 14.

Moses goes down with the tables in his hands, 15, 16.

Joshua, hearing the noise they made at their festival, makes some remarks on it, 17, 18.

Moses, coming to the camp, and seeing their idolatrous worship,

is greatly distressed, throws down and breaks the two tables, 19.

Takes the calf, reduces it to powder, strews it upon the water,

and causes them to drink it, 20.

Moses expostulates with Aaron, 21.

Aaron vindicates himself, 22-24.

Moses orders the Levites to slay the transgressors, 25-27.

They do so, and 3000 fall, 28, 29.

Moses returns to the Lord on the mount, and makes supplication for the people, 30-32.

God threatens and yet spares, 33.

Commands Moses to lead the people, and promises him the direction of an angel, 34.

The people are plagued because of their sin, 35.

NOTES ON CHAP. XXXII

Verse 1. When the people saw that Moses delayed] How long this was before the expiration of the forty days, we cannot tell; but it certainly must have been some considerable time, as the ornaments must be collected, and the calf or ox, after having been founded, must require a considerable time to fashion it with the graving tool; and certainly not more than two or three persons could work on it at once. This work therefore, must have required several days.

The people gathered themselves together] They came in a tumultuous and seditious manner, insisting on having an object of religious worship made for them, as they intended under its direction to return to Egypt. See Ac 7:39, 40.

As for this Moses, the man that brought us up] This seems to be the language of great contempt, and by it we may see tho truth of the character given them by Aaron, Ex 32:22, they were set on mischief. It is likely they might have supposed that Moses had perished in the fire, which they saw had invested the top of the mountain into which he went.

Verse 2. Golden ear-rings] Both men and women wore these ornaments, and we may suppose that these were a part of the spoils which they brought out of Egypt. How strange, that the very things which were granted them by an especial influence and providence of God, should be now abused to the basest idolatrous purposes! But it is frequently the case that the gifts of God become desecrated by being employed in the service of sin; I will curse your blessings, saith the Lord, Mal 2:2.

Verse 3. And all the people brake off the golden ear-rings] The human being is naturally fond of dress, though this has been improperly attributed to the female sex alone, and those are most fond of it who have the shallowest capacities; but on this occasion the bent of the people to idolatry was greater than even their love of dress, so that they readily stripped themselves of their ornaments in order to get a molten god. They made some compensation for this afterwards; see Ex 35:22, and See Clarke on Ex 38:9.

Verse 4. Fashioned it with a graving tool] There has been much controversy about the meaning of the word cheret in the text: some make it a mould, others a garment, cloth, or apron; some a purse or bag, and others a graver. It is likely that some mould was made on this occasion, that the gold when fused was cast into it, and that afterwards it was brought into form and symmetry by the action of the chisel and graver.

These be thy gods, O Israel] The whole of this is a most strange and unaccountable transaction. Was it possible that the people could have so soon lost sight of the wonderful manifestations of God upon the mount? Was it possible that Aaron could have imagined that he could make any god that could help them? And yet it does not appear that he ever remonstrated with the people! Possibly he only intended to make them some symbolical representation of the Divine power and energy, that might be as evident to them as the pillar of cloud and fire had been, and to which God might attach an always present energy and influence; or in requiring them to sacrifice their ornaments, he might have supposed they would have desisted from urging their request: but all this is mere conjecture, with very little probability to support it. It must however be granted that Aaron does not appear to have even designed a worship that should supersede the worship of the Most High; hence we find him making proclamation, To-morrow is a feast to the LORD, (;) and we find farther that some of the proper rites of the true worship were observed on this occasion, for they brought burnt-offerings and peace-offerings, Ex 32:6,7: hence it is evident he intended that the true God should be the object of their worship, though he permitted and even encouraged them to offer this worship through an idolatrous medium, the molten calf. It has been supposed that this was an exact resemblance of the famous Egyptian god Apis who was worshipped under the form of an ox, which worship the Israelites no doubt saw often practised in Egypt. Some however think that this worship of Apis was not then established; but we have already had sufficient proof that different animals were sacred among the Egyptians, nor have we any account of any worship in Egypt earlier than that offered to Apis, under the figure of an OX.

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