Exodus 32:4

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Exodus 32:4

Exodus 32:4. He made it a molten calf He melted it down, and, having a mould prepared, poured the melted gold into it, and then produced it in the shape of an ox or calf giving it some finishing strokes with a graving tool. “They made a calf,” says David, “in Horeb, and worshipped the molten image: they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass.” It is probable that the origin of this idolatry was from Egypt. The Scriptures inform us that the Israelites in Egypt... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Exodus 32:1-35

32:1-34:35 COVENANT BROKEN AND RENEWEDThe golden bull (32:1-35)Although they were God’s people and had been delivered by his mighty power from slavery in Egypt, the Israelites were still very much Egyptian in their feelings, thinking and habits. They made an animal idol as a visible symbol of their unseen God, then developed a ritual to go with it, complete with priest, altar, sacrifices and feasting. And, as often happened with the pagan religions, drunkenness and immoral sex-play accompanied... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Exodus 32:4

calf . The chief Egyptian god, with which they were familiar in Egypt. These be thy gods . Expounded in Nehemiah 9:18 as meaning "This is thy god". Compare Psalms 106:19 . read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Exodus 32:1-6

"And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods which shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we know not what has become of him. And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden rings which are' in the ears of your wives, of your sons and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. And all the people brake off the golden rings which... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Exodus 32:4

Exodus 32:4. And he received them, &c.— And he received it at their hand, and tied it in a bag: (Bochart.) Or, cast it into a mould, and made of it a molten calf. See 2 Kings 5:23.Judges 8:24-25; Judges 8:24-25. Either of the translations given above may be very well justified, and wholly remove the objection which some have raised from our version. Houbigant renders it, "Aaron reduced to form the gold received at their hands, and made it a molten calf." See Psalms 106:20. It is very common... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Exodus 32:4

4. fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf—The words are transposed, and the rendering should be, "he framed with a graving tool the image to be made, and having poured the liquid gold into the mould, he made it a molten calf." It is not said whether it was of life size, whether it was of solid gold or merely a wooden frame covered with plates of gold. This idol seems to have been the god Apis, the chief deity of the Egyptians, worshipped at Memphis under the form... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Exodus 32:1-6

Israel’s apostasy 32:1-6Apostasy means "to stand away from" something (Gr. apostasis). This word describes a departure. An apostate is someone who has departed from something. In the religious sense the word refers to extreme departure from God’s will. "Apostate" is not necessarily a synonym for unbeliever. The person who departs from God’s will may be a believer or an unbeliever. The term refers to obedience, not salvation. Most of the apostates in Israel were apparently believers since the... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 32:1-35

The Idolatry of the People1-6. The historical narrative is here resumed from Exodus 24:18. Becoming impatient at the prolonged absence of Moses on the mount (forty days, Exodus 24:18), and despairing of his return, the people prevail upon Aaron to make a god to go before them. From the earrings of the men and women he accordingly makes a golden bull, to which divine honours are paid.1. Unto Aaron] Aaron and Hur had been left in charge by Moses; see Exodus 24:14. Make us gods] RM ’a god.’ The... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Exodus 32:4

(4) And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool.—Rather, and he received it (i.e., the gold) at their hand, and bound it in a bag. So Gesenius, Rosenmüller, Fürst, Knobel, Kurtz, Maurer, Seröder, Cook, &c. “Fashioned it with a graving tool” is a possible rendering of the Hebrew words, but will not suit here, since the next clause tells us that the image was a molten one, and if it had been intended to say that the image was first molten and then finished with a... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - Exodus 32:1-35

Exodus 32:2 Who would not have been ashamed to hear this answer from the brother of Moses, 'Pluck off your earrings'? He should have said, 'Pluck this idolatrous thought out of your hearts'. Bishop Hall. Exodus 32:3 Unless reason be employed in ascertaining what doctrines are revealed, humility cannot be exercised in acquiescing in them; and there is surely at least as much presumption in measuring everything by our own fancies, feelings, and prejudices, as by our own reasonings. Such voluntary... read more