Exodus 32:5

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Exodus 32:1-6

While Moses was in the mount, receiving the law from God, the people had time to meditate upon what had been delivered, and prepare themselves for what was further to be revealed, and forty days was little enough for that work; but, instead of that, there were those among them that were contriving how to break the laws they had already received, and to anticipate those which they were in expectation of. On the thirty-ninth day of the forty, the plot broke out of rebellion against the Lord.... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 32:5

And when Aaron saw it ,.... In what form it was, and what a figure it made, and how acceptable it was to the Israelites. The Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem paraphrase it,"and Aaron saw Hur slain before him;'for reproving them for their idolatry, as the Midrash F5 So Pirke Eliezer, c. 45. , quoted by Jarchi, says: and Aaron fearing they would take away his life if he opposed them: he built an altar before it ; that sacrifice might be offered on it to it: and Aaron made... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 32:5

To-morrow is a feast to the Lord - In Bengal the officiating Brahmin, or an appointed person proclaims, "To-morrow, or on - day of -, such a ceremony will be performed!" read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 32:5

Verse 5 5.And, when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. When he sees the people so infuriated, that he despairs of being able to resist their conspiracy, in perfidious cowardice he gives way to compliance. And this end awaits all those who do not dare ingenuously and firmly to maintain what is right, but who bargain, as it were, and descend to compromises; for, after they have vacillated for a while, (332) they at length succumb altogether, so as to shrink from nothing, however unworthy... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 32:1-6

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 32:1-6

The hankering after idols, and its consequences. There is a war ever going on in human nature between the flesh and the spirit ( Romans 7:23 ; Romans 8:1-13 ). The two are "contrary the one to the other." From the time of their leaving Egypt, the Israelites had been leading a spiritual life, depending upon an unseen God—following his mandates—reposing under the sense of his protection. But the strain was too much for them. So long as they had Moses with them, to encourage them by his... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 32:1-6

The Golden Calf. I. THE PEOPLE 'S REQUEST TO AARON . 1 . The cause of the request . There are really two causes to be considered here, first, a cause of which they were conscious, and then, secondly, a deeper cause of which they were not conscious. The delay of Moses to return was the reason they put forward. We must do them the justice of noticing that they seem to have waited till the forty days were well-nigh expired before preferring their request; and an absence of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 32:1-7

The sin of the golden calf. Disastrous effects followed in the camp of Israel on the withdrawal of Moses' to the mount. Moved as by a common impulse, the people "gathered themselves together," and demanded of Aaron that he should make them "a god," i.e. an idol, that it might go—be carried in procession—before them (cf. Amos 5:26 ). It was a case of "hand joined in hand" to do iniquity ( Proverbs 11:21 ). Many, doubtless, looked on the movement with dismay and horror (cf. Exodus... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 32:5

He built an altar before it . Aaron thus proceeded to "follow a multitude to evil" ( Exodus 23:2 ), and encouraged the idolatry which he felt himself powerless to restrain. Still, he did not intend that the people should drift away from the worship of Jehovah, or view the calf as anything but a symbol of him. He therefore made proclamation and said, Tomorrow is a feast to the Lord (literally, "to Jehovah "). read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Exodus 32:1-6

In all probability these three chapters originally formed a distinct composition. The main incidents recorded in them follow in the order of time, and are therefore in their proper place as regards historical sequence.The golden calf - The people had, to a great extent, lost the patriarchal faith, and were but imperfectly instructed in the reality of a personal unseen God. Being disappointed at the long absence of Moses, they seem to have imagined that he had deluded them, and had probably been... read more

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