| 32:1 |
There is nothing improbable about Moses withdrawing to the mountain for so long. Here it says 'a long time' but in Exodus 24:18 it states 'forty days'. This is a symbolic 'round number', often used in the Bible to imply a long time rather than a precise length of time. The absence of Moses led Israel to deny its new faith, the Presence of God and to resort to substitutes.
'Make us a god...'. The Hebrew could read 'some gods'. The same applies in verses 4,8,23. The Greek text of Acts 7:40 also has the plural. This request breaks the 2nd commandment (Exodus 20:4-6).
Moses was not involved in the pagan activities of the Israelites. The Israelites initiate the rebellion and Aaron is an accomplice.
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| 32:2 |
Jewellery would be the only source of gold in the desert. The Israelites had taken jewellery from the Egyptians (Exodus 11:2; 12:35ff). Gold was very plentiful in Egypt.
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| 32:3 |
Popular participation indicates that all the people were involved.
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| 32:4 |
The bull was the popular symbol of Canaanite religion because of the association with strength and fertility. The two chief gods of Canaanite mythology, El and Baal, were closely associated with the bull as the divine symbol. The fact that it is a bull calf is a derogatory allusion to the size of the figure. In some cases the bull was thought of as the pedestal on which the invisible god stood. There was in fact no protest before the time of Hosea 8:5ff to Jeroboam's bull-images.
'These are your gods' - this statement is in the plural in the Hebrew. It seems odd because there is only one image here. The author has probably been influenced by 1 Kings 12:28-29, in which Jeroboam 1 introduces two bull-calf images at Bethel and Dan. Thus the author subtly condemns the later worship at the shrines of Bethel and Dan which continued in his own day. Aaron becomes the leading worshipper of the new god, building an altar and establishing a festival in its honour. Aaron's part is puzzling because he is usually connected with the Ark and its priesthood at Shiloh and Jerusalem and not with Bethel. It could be conjectured that at one time there was an image of YHWH in the form of a calf in the Temple and its construction was attributed to Aaron, the connection being regarded as honourable to him and the image. The present narrative takes a different view but does its best to excuse him. He acted under compulsion, hardly knowing what he was doing. Aaron in consenting to the people's demand, is abandoning the principle of charismatic leadership for something more immediately apprehensible. Cf 1 Samuel 8:5 where the people demand an earthly king.
The graving tool was probably used on the bull after it was cast.
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| 32:5 |
'...to honour the LORD' implies that Aaron did not consider the golden bull calf to be a pagan god, but a representation of the God of Israel.
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| 32:6 |
The sacred symbol of the bull was associated in Canaanite practice with orgy and sexual immorality. See Numbers 25:1-9; 1 Kings14:24; Amos 2:7. Pagan rites often involved drinking and sexual acts, especially with temple prostitutes, but were condemned in Israel (Deuteronomy 23:17-18). See also 1 Corinthians 10:7 for similar problems in the New Testament.
'Fellowship offering' refers to a sacrifice offered to restore or keep a right relationship with God. Only a part of the animal was burnt on the altar; other parts were eaten by the worshippers and the priests. It is often referred to as the 'peace offering'.
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| 32:7-14 |
This is a late addition to show God's awareness of events at the bottom of the mountain. It highlights the theme of intercession. The concern of the intercession is whether Israel is to continue as God's people. Moses is able to persuade God not to abandon Israel. The same motif occurs in verses 31-34a and perhaps verses 9-14 was the successful culmination of verses 31-34a. In each place, the choice is Moses or Israel.
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| 32:7 |
The material is complicated. Here God tells Moses of the Israelites' apostasy. In verses 17-19 he learns of it as he leaves the mountain.
'your people' implies they are no longer God's people.
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| 32:9 |
The Hebrew for 'stubborn' is literally 'stiff-necked'.
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| 32:10 |
Israel broke the 1st and 2nd commandments (Exodus 20:3-6), and therefore the Sinai covenant, through its false worship.
'God's anger' is also translated 'wrath'. (See section on 'Theological Issues').
'I am going to destroy them' - the reason for God's anger is his people's unfaithfulness to their covenant with him (See Amos 9:8). But he will make a great people of Moses, who has no part in the apostasy.
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| 32:11 |
The greatest sign of Moses' spiritual stature is his willingness to intercede on behalf of Israel (see Numbers 14:13-19; Deuteronomy 9:25-29). (See section on 'Theological Issues').
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| 32:12 |
The main argument against God destroying Israel is that the Egyptians and Gentiles would not recognise him as the true God if he did so. God's name would be profaned (Ezekiel 36:20).
'Your people' shows that Moses insists Israel is still God's people and should not be destroyed.
The mountains are the Sinai peninsula.
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| 32:13 |
God's promise to Abraham - see Genesis 12:1-3; 17: 8; 22:16-17 and Exodus 2:24.
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| 32:14 |
Not infrequently in the Old Testament / Hebrew Bible, having listened to his people God changes his mind and plans or repents. See especially Jeremiah 18:5-11, Psalm 106:23 and Jonah 3:6-10. (See section on 'Theological Issues').
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| 32:15 |
Inscribed tablets are normally written on one side only. These are unusual because of the divinely given contents and form.
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| 32:17 |
In Exodus 24:13 Joshua appears as a companion of Moses. He seems to have gone half way up the mountain (Exodus 24:1; 24:13). He is appointed as Moses' successor in Deuteronomy 31:7-8,14-29. His failure to understand what is going on here indicates that, like Moses, he did not participate in the idolatrous revelry.
In verse 7 God informed Moses of Israel's sin. Here he learns for himself on the way down the mountain.
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| 32:18 |
This reflects the Canaanite fertility cults.
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| 32:19 |
The broken tablets are replaced by new ones in Exodus 34:1ff. (See section on 'Theological Issues).
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| 32:20 |
The water would be from the stream flowing down from Mount Sinai (Deuteronomy 9:21). The 'water of cursing' ritual is also found in Numbers 5:16-22. The expectation is that those who are guilty will suffer when they drink the mixture. This punishment is like the test imposed on a married woman suspected of adultery (Numbers 5:16-31). The people have been similarly unfaithful to God and must be punished. So Exodus 32:35 refers to a mysterious illness as the form of punishment.
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| 32:21ff |
Aaron takes full blame for the people's idolatry, although he seems to semi-excuse himself by claiming the people were evil (verse 23). He claims that he only threw the gold into the fire and there miraculously was the bull-calf (32:24). This is the only place in the Old Testament / Hebrew Bible where Aaron appears unfavourably. His behaviour here is even more surprising in view of the fact that his family was given the exclusive privilege of ministering as Israel's priests.
Verses 21-24 are an addition included in a (somewhat lame) attempt to rehabilitate Aaron.
Judges 20:28 gives an account of the founding of the bull cult at Bethel and records that a grandson of Aaron ministered before the Ark when it was at Bethel: the priesthood of that sanctuary traced its origins back to Aaron.
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| 32:25-29 |
This comes from the J source. It is likely that this narrative once belonged to another context, to the stories of the tribes of Levi or to stories belonging to Kadesh rather than Sinai. It is difficult to reconcile the story with verse 14. This cannot be seriously considered to be the historical origin of the priesthood of the Levites. It is an aetiological ('giving explanations') narrative which is not particularly in place here. Since they, and they only, remained faithful, and had even disregarded the closest natural ties in their loyalty, they are ordained to the priesthood. But contrast Numbers 8:15-22.
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| 32:25 |
'in front of their enemies' seems to indicate there were groups of hostile people near to the Israelite camp. The people had broken loose from their loyalty and obedience to God.
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| 32:26 |
This is a demonstration of exceptional loyalty by the Levites - the tribe of Levi. The Levites appear initially as a secular tribe (Genesis 34) but later they receive the exclusive right of ministering as Israel's priests (Deuteronomy 33:8-11). Eventually they become inferior Temple servants unable to perform priestly offerings at Israel's sanctuary.
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| 32:28 |
The Levites are represented in all early traditions as unusually violent and cruel e.g. Genesis 34:25. Levi and Simeon kill all the males in the family of Hamor to avenge the rape of their sister, Genesis 49:5-7. Simeon and Levi are cursed for their anger and cruelty (Deuteronomy 33:9). Here, their priestly disregard for family ties is demonstrated by their willingness to inflict God's punishment upon their own kin.
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| 32:29 |
The Levites attain a blessing through their violence. It is seen as showing the degree of loyalty they have to God and as a cleansing of the people from pollution. A blessing was seen as God's willingness to make someone prosper. Here, God's blessing of the Levites is their right to priesthood. This verse seems to imply that at some time in Israel's history, all men of the tribe of Levi served as priests (Deuteronomy 18:6-8) Eventually, only the descendants of Aaron were priests and the Levites were their helpers.
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| 32:32 |
Moses' prayer, envisages the names of all living people as recorded by God (Psalm 69:28). There are further references to this heavenly record in Psalm 69:28; Daniel 12:1; Malachi 3:16; Philippians 4:3; Revelation 3:5; 21:27. This probably stemmed from the practice of keeping a register of citizens (Ezekiel 13:9). When they died, their name was erased from the book: the blotting out of a name signifies death. If God will not forgive the Israelites, Moses is ready to die on their behalf cf Numbers 11:15.
The Old Testament / Hebrew Bible 'book of the living' is different from the New Testament 'book of life' (Luke 10:20; Philippians 4:3; Revelation 3:5; 13:8) which was a book in which the names of those destined for eternal life were inscribed.
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| 32:33 |
God will only punish the culprits, not the whole nation.
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| 32:34 |
See Exodus 23:20-23; 33:2. God's judgement is held in suspense. The author expected that Israel would one day suffer judgement and be punished for all past sins by which it had broken God's covenant. The text may recall the fall of the Northern Kingdom of Israel in 721BCE, which was interpreted to have resulted from the sins of Israel, especially apostasy.
'My angel' refers to Exodus 14:19 where it was protecting Israel from their Egyptian enemy. It seems to have come in from 33:2 and anticipates 33:12ff. It should be omitted as a gloss.
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| 32:35 |
In spite of Moses' prayer and the suspension of God's judgement, people did not get off scot-free. A disease hits them. This records a different interpretation of God's punishment of Israel for the sin of idolatry from verse 34.
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