Exodus 32:8 - Exposition

They have turned aside quickly . A few weeks have sufficed to make them forget their solemn pledges ( Exodus 19:8 ; Exodus 24:3 ), and fly in the face of a plain unmistakable commandment. A molten calf. In the contemptuous language of Holy Scripture when speaking of idols, such an emblematic figure as the Babylonion man-bull would be a mere "calf." That the figure made by Aaron is called always "a molten calf"—literally, "a calf of fusion"—disposes of the theory of Keil, that it was of carved wood covered with gold plates hammered on to it. These be thy gods, which have brought thee. Rather, "This is thy god, which has brought thee." The plural must be regarded as merely one of dignity.