A question about Aaron and the Golden Calf?

[jcrichton]

Friend I **assume **this is true?

On THAT basis I would strongly suggest you find a different resource [YES I do know what the USCCB “stands for.”]

What did Yahweh get angry and whay did Moses have to beg forgivness for the people if what you sare is correct?

God Bless,
Pat

I cuncur, Pat!

I know that my skills are pedestrian… but I often wonder how these scholars/theologeans make such grave errors in judgment… even more confusing is the fact that “Catholic Bishops” approve of these “findings” and theological exegeses (i.e.: paraphrased from a local Misal: “Jesus read from the Bible…”).

It simply defies logic!

Maran atha!

Angel

 

[patrick457]

Friend I **assume **this is true?

On THAT basis I would strongly suggest you find a different resource [YES I do know what the USCCB “stands for.”]

What did Yahweh get angry and whay did Moses have to beg forgivness for the people if what you sare is correct?

God Bless,
Pat

Personally I think that what the USCCB footnote is a possibility. After all, as is probably mentioned, the bull and its horns was a symbol of strength and virility and thus was the animal of choice for many gods (especially storm deities) in Ancient Near Eastern religions: they were thus represented as either riding on bulls, as having horns, or as bulls themselves. Aside of course from the Egyptians the Israelites also had this problem of their native ancestry. In which case, the sin of the Israelites IMHO would be trying to make a visible, illegal image of Yhwh (I could be wrong though). It always puzzled me at least when translations rendered hinneh 'eloheyka as ‘here are your gods’ in Aaron’s speech (at least) when there is only one calf present.

As for Jeroboam, his situation also goes both ways. Either the calves he erected are supposed to be wholly new gods, or are symbolic representations of Yhwh (in keeping with ANE iconography) and/or His heavenly mount (i.e. the cherubim). If the latter options are the case, his sin is actually more about building illicit places of worship other than what Yhwh had chosen, all in the name of preventing his subjects from going to Jerusalem.

 

[Huiou_Theou]

Chapter 32 was the 2nd trip down the mountain 20:4 was the first, in other words the warnings should have been fresh in their minds…

I agree; God doesn’t punish for things truly unknown on the first offense.
cf: John 15:22, 24 ; Hebrew 12:6, psalm 49:16-17 etc. So I too expect they had warning of something; At the time of the mountain they already had the Law of the Patriarchs ( Abraham, Adam, Genesis); and there is indication that they held accountable for it as Adam only allowed “two” to become one flesh – but Abraham took another woman sexually to act as wife; so the First law is still holier, and Moses commands :

Exodu 19:15 He said to them: Be ready against the third day, and come not near your wife(S). (The LXX says γυναικι WIFE), if I am not mistaken…
(Just as the command against coveting omits “concubines” – “παλλακη” and only has a singular “wife” )

Many Egyptian servants came with the Israelites, and there were undoubtedly some second wives among them. And since Moses requires two or more witnesses to acquit a person of sin; God appears to specify in agreement with Moses the washing for two full days before the third in connection with “wives”.

Exodu 19:10 And he[God] said to him: Go to the people, and sanctify them to day, and to morrow, and let them wash their garments.

The bible itself is not chronological in every aspect; My point about quoting it from the commandments is that we know that he was bringing down the commandments from the mountain when the sin occurred; so the commentary is not really clear concerning WHY they were commanded not to make an image of God, or when.

Claiming two climbings is reasonable; but it doesn’t clearly show that the people understood Gods words; presuming they heard ten thunders in a row is another possibility; In the new testament, some people heard the voice of God – others just heard thunder – at the same incident. Notice also: The commands are added as an afterthought with “God” speaking all of them – but we know that with the first thundering the people begged NOT to hear God’s voice; so it is also reasonable to entertain the doubt about when they heard the rest or understood the words.

That is the reason Moses had to climb the mountain and have a personal conversation at the people’s request.

Notice the order Deuteronomy puts it in:

Deute 4:12 And the Lord spoke to you from the midst of the fire. You heard the voice of his words, but you saw not any form at all.
Deute 4:13 And he shewed you his covenant, which he commanded you to do, and the ten words that he wrote in two tables of stone.
Deute 4:14 And he commanded me at that time that I should teach you the ceremonies and judgments which you shall do in the land, that you shall possess.
Deute 4:15 Keep therefore your souls carefully. You saw not any similitude in the day that the Lord God spoke to you in Horeb from the midst of the fire:

Which also suggests the thundering were a separate event from bringing down the commandments;

Idolaty, harlotry, and Adultery, are all forbidden in the commands; This part of the scriptures is equivalent to a marriage between God and his people; The very first command is not to take a second God-husband “before” God. And we know that he doesn’t just mean we can have idols as secondary concubine God’s… But to the people, the discussion about second wives clearly had not taken place yet.
This, I think, is the climate of the event in which the Golden calf was made; “do the people understand what was really said?”

 

[patrick457]

Claiming two climbings is reasonable; but it doesn’t clearly show that the people understood Gods words; presuming they heard ten thunders in a row is another possibility; In the new testament, some people heard the voice of God – others just heard thunder – at the same incident. Notice also: The commands are added as an afterthought with “God” speaking all of them – but we know that with the first thundering the people begged NOT to hear God’s voice; so it is also reasonable to entertain the doubt about when they heard the rest or understood the words.

I would address this first due to lack of time. There is indeed a Jewish legend that says that God had only managed to say a single word ('anokhi “I am”) before the Israelites found His voice too unbearable.

 

[jcrichton]

I have to disagree with every post and commentary that suggest that the poeple of Israel wanted to venerate Yahweh God… unless the translation is in error, it idoes not matter what is perceived by us (scholars included) since it is the people’s command to erect a substitute for Moses’ God:

Ex:32:1, 4:
1 And the people seeing that Moses delayed to come down from the mount, gathering together against Aaron, said: Arise, make us gods, that may go before us: For as to this Moses, the man that brought us out of the land of Egypt, we know not what has befallen him. 4 And when he had received them, he fashioned them by founders’ work, and made of them a molten calf. And they said: These are thy gods, O Israel, that have brought thee out of the land of Egypt. (DRV)

Both of these verses demonstrate that the people were conscious of demanding an alternative god to worship–no sooner than the idol took shape did the people attributed to their own creation the Glory that should only have been bestowed upon Yahweh God.

Further, Scriptures, when referencing this incident, does not excuse the event as a misplaced well-intended deed:

Acts:7:39-41:
39 Whom our fathers would not obey: but thrust him away and in their hearts turned back into Egypt, 40 Saying to Aaron: Make us gods to go before us. For as for this Moses, who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is become of him. 41 And they made a calf in those days and offered sacrifices to the idol and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.

Neh:9:18:
18 Yea when they had made also to themselves a molten calf, and had said: This is thy God, that brought thee out of Egypt: and had committed great blasphemies:

Ps:106:19-22:
19 (105-19) They made also a calf in Horeb: and they adored the graven thing. 20 (105-20) And they changed their glory into the likeness of a calf that eateth grass. 21 (105-21) They forgot God, who saved them, who had done great things in Egypt, 22 (105-22) Wondrous works in the land of Cham: terrible things in the Red Sea.

1Cor:10:6-8:
6 Now these things were done in a figure of us, that we should not covet evil things, as they also coveted. 7 Neither become ye idolaters, as some of them, as it is written: The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. 8 Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them that committed fornication: and there fell in one day three and twenty thousand.

Ditto with the case of the two calves:

1Kgs:12:28-31:
28 And finding out a device, he made two golden calves, and said to them: Go ye up no more to Jerusalem: Behold thy gods, O Israel, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt.
29 And he set the one in Bethel, and the other in Dan: 30 And this thing became an occasion of sin: for the people went to adore the calf as far as Dan. 31 And he made temples in the high places, and priests of the lowest of the people, who were not of the sons of Levi. (DRV)

Maran atha!

Angel

 

[patrick457]

And to add further:

Moses actually went up and down Sinai a number of times.

19:3-8 - The first instance of Moses going up the mountain since the burning bush incident. God expresses His wish of making a covenant with the sons of Israel, which Moses relays to the people down below. The people express their agreement.

19:9-15: Moses climbs back up to relay the information to God, at which God announces that He will come down “in the thickness of the cloud” on the third day and orders that the Israelites purify themselves to prepare for this event.

19:20-25: God, who descended on the Sinai “in fire” and was talking with Moses at the mountain base (“and when the voice of the horn grew louder and louder, Moses was speaking and Elohim was answering him with a voice”), summons him back up to order him to fetch Aaron and to warn the people that they must not go up. Moses then goes back down to tell the people this, at which point God starts to give the Ten Commandments (20:1-17).

20:18-23:32: The Israelites, still fearing the various phenomena (the thunder, lightning, and the mountain being covered with smoke) pleads to Moses that he must not let God speak to them, at which Moses answers that it was all a test. He then goes in “the thick darkness” while the people kept their distance. God then gives three chapters’ worth of laws to him in the interval.

24:1-11: Moses is instructed to fetch “Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel,” but these seventy-four were to go up the mountain to a certain point while as Moses went further up into the presence of God. After some sacrifices and a ratification ritual involving the blood of the sacrificial offerings, Moses and the others go up the mountain, where they see God and eat and drink in His presence (usually interpreted as a covenant meal).

24:12-18: God then orders Moses to go further up so he can receive the tablets of the law. Taking Joshua with him, he orders the others to wait for their return. “And Moses went into the cloud and went up into the mountain, and Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.”

32:15-35 - Moses, after receiving the instructions on how to build the Tabernacle and all the necessary furnishings, is ordered to come down the mountain because the Israelites “have corrupted themselves.” After some tablet-smashing, chastisements, destruction of an idol, and death by the sword, Moses decides to go up the mountain again to make atonement.

34:1-35 - Moses is ordered to hew two tablets like the first set and go back up the mountain to receive a replacement. He was once more on the mountain for forty days and forty nights, given reiterations of further laws and a few more besides while carving the commandments on the tablets. He goes down the mountain with something of the divine glory remaining in him, causing his face to shine. This is the last time we hear of Moses going in a trek up and down mount Sinai; in the following chapters, the construction of the Tabernacle commences and the Israelites would move on.

 

[Huiou_Theou]

Personally I think that what the USCCB footnote is a possibility. After all, as is probably mentioned, the bull and its horns was a symbol of strength and virility and thus was the animal of choice for many gods (especially storm deities) in Ancient Near Eastern religions: they were thus represented as either riding on bulls, as having horns, or as bulls themselves. Aside of course from the Egyptians the Israelites also had this problem of their native ancestry. In which case, the sin of the Israelites IMHO would be trying to make a visible, illegal image of Yhwh (I could be wrong though). It always puzzled me at least when translations rendered hinneh 'eloheyka as ‘here are your gods’ in Aaron’s speech (at least) when there is only one calf present.

As for Jeroboam, his situation also goes both ways. Either the calves he erected are supposed to be wholly new gods, or are symbolic representations of Yhwh (in keeping with ANE iconography) and/or His heavenly mount (i.e. the cherubim). If the latter options are the case, his sin is actually more about building illicit places of worship other than what Yhwh had chosen, all in the name of preventing his subjects from going to Jerusalem.

A well thought out response

A minor digression: the plural (behold your Gods) in 1King12:28 should really have been behold your ‘God’ ; A slip of the tongue is possible, however, I would have thought the one compiling the scripture would have been sensitive to the subtle difference.

Also:

Exodu 32:8 [God said] They have quickly strayed from the way which thou didst shew them: and they have made to themselves a molten calf, and have adored it, and sacrificing victims to it, have said: These are thy gods (οι θεοι) , O Israel, that have brought thee out of the land of Egypt.

More importantly:

Exodu 32:4 And when he [Aaron] had received them, he fashioned them by founders’ work, and made of them a molten calf. And they said: These are thy gods, O Israel, that have brought thee out of the land of Egypt.

Exodu 32:4 και ε-δεξα-το (he, himself, received) εκ των χειρων αυτων (out of their hands) και επλασεν αυτα (and molded/formed) εν τη γραφιδι (in the grafiti) και εποιη-σεν αυτα μοσχον χωνευτον (and he-makes[aor] their molten calf) και ειπεν ουτοι οι θεοι σου ισραηλ οιτινες ανεβιβασαν σε εκ γης αιγυπτου (and** they-say**, here [are] the godS of-you israel … )

It’s fairly clear in the LXX that Aaron handled the gold himself; and that there was already an image present that he threw the gold into, for the clause “in the grafiti (image)” immediately explains how he molded which is superfluous otherwise. The particular word used “e-pla-s-en” is only said of God making creatures and idol makers, particularly clay/potters (slip casting?) in scripture. So here, Aaron is trying to act like God in some way. eg: (from DouayRheemsBible)
Wisdo 15:16 For man made them: and he that borroweth his own breath, fashioned them. For no man can make a god like to himself. (a Vulgate variant?)

In any event, Aaron’s reaction showed that he had a different idea about what was to happen tomorrow; singling out “Lord” by Name (YHWH in Hebrew???).

Exodu 32:5 And when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it, and made proclamation by a crier’s voice, saying To morrow is the solemnity of the** Lord**.

I had another thought that might be helpful to you – They had just come from Egypt where Pharaoh was considered a “god”, so that it isn’t inconceivable that “gods” meant Aaron & the calf or ?? some other leader ?? — whereas Aaron meant YHWH (singular). So perhaps they held a different view, or it was trickery on their part – for the LXX suggests very strongly that it wasn’t Aaron’s calf by distinguishing who’s it was.

To me, the hypothesis that Aaron thought HE was making a “throne” is possible; For the condemning statement is that the Israelites “rose up” to “mock”; an uprising is a rebellion – and since that was the day Aaron dedicated to the lord; he undoubtedly was at the altar to offer to YHWH – and was the target of mockery.
Eg: And the people offered their OWN sacrifices to the statue – seems an unavoidable conclusion…

Again, to me – it seems as if someone else made the mold – and Aaron just threw the gold into the fire, himself, not knowing what the people’s intention was.

 

[patrick457]

A well thought out response

A minor digression: the plural (behold your Gods) in 1King12:28 should really have been behold your ‘God’ ; A slip of the tongue is possible, however, I would have thought the one compiling the scripture would have been sensitive to the subtle difference.

Also:

Exodu 32:8 [God said] They have quickly strayed from the way which thou didst shew them: and they have made to themselves a molten calf, and have adored it, and sacrificing victims to it, have said: These are thy gods (οι θεοι) , O Israel, that have brought thee out of the land of Egypt.

More importantly:

Exodu 32:4 And when he [Aaron] had received them, he fashioned them by founders’ work, and made of them a molten calf. And they said: These are thy gods, O Israel, that have brought thee out of the land of Egypt.

Exodu 32:4 και ε-δεξα-το (he, himself, received) εκ των χειρων αυτων (out of their hands) και επλασεν αυτα (and molded/formed) εν τη γραφιδι (in the grafiti) και εποιη-σεν αυτα μοσχον χωνευτον (and he-makes[aor] their molten calf) και ειπεν ουτοι οι θεοι σου ισραηλ οιτινες ανεβιβασαν σε εκ γης αιγυπτου (and** they-say**, here [are] the godS of-you israel … )

It’s fairly clear in the LXX that Aaron handled the gold himself; and that there was already an image present that he threw the gold into, for the clause “in the grafiti (image)” immediately explains how he molded which is superfluous otherwise. The particular word used “e-pla-s-en” is only said of God making creatures and idol makers, particularly clay/potters (slip casting?) in scripture. So here, Aaron is trying to act like God in some way. eg: (from DouayRheemsBible)
Wisdo 15:16 For man made them: and he that borroweth his own breath, fashioned them. For no man can make a god like to himself. (a Vulgate variant?)

In any event, Aaron’s reaction showed that he had a different idea about what was to happen tomorrow; singling out “Lord” by Name (YHWH in Hebrew???).

Exodu 32:5 And when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it, and made proclamation by a crier’s voice, saying To morrow is the solemnity of the** Lord**.

I had another thought that might be helpful to you – They had just come from Egypt where Pharaoh was considered a “god”, so that it isn’t inconceivable that “gods” meant Aaron & the calf or ?? some other leader ?? — whereas Aaron meant YHWH (singular). So perhaps they held a different view, or it was trickery on their part – for the LXX suggests very strongly that it wasn’t Aaron’s calf by distinguishing who’s it was.

To me, the hypothesis that Aaron thought HE was making a “throne” is possible; For the condemning statement is that the Israelites “rose up” to “mock”; an uprising is a rebellion – and since that was the day Aaron dedicated to the lord; he undoubtedly was at the altar to offer to YHWH – and was the target of mockery.
Eg: And the people offered their OWN sacrifices to the statue – seems an unavoidable conclusion…

Again, to me – it seems as if someone else made the mold – and Aaron just threw the gold into the fire, himself, not knowing what the people’s intention was.

 

[patrick457]

Wow, my reply has magically disappeared during posting! :bigyikes:

A minor digression: the plural (behold your Gods) in 1King12:28 should really have been behold your ‘God’ ; A slip of the tongue is possible, however, I would have thought the one compiling the scripture would have been sensitive to the subtle difference.

Actually Aaron’s and Jeroboam’s proclamation are exactly similar save for a single word: 'elleh/hinneh 'eloheicha Yisrael asher he’elucha me’eretz Mitzraim “This (these)/look - your 'elohim, Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.” The confusion rests mainly on how we are supposed to understand the word 'elohim at these instances: was it a normal plural (‘are your gods’) or a majestic plural (‘is your God’)?

And yes, Aaron does say Yhwh in Hebrew.

 

[patrick457]

And something about the calf itself:

Now we go to the calf itself. According to Exodus 32 it was made of gold and fashioned with an engraving tool. Some think that the calf was 100% gold, based on the Hebrew description of it in verse 4 as an 'egel massekah, which many translations render as ‘molten calf’. This of course brings up a problem where the Biblical account notes that an angry Moses burned the statue and pulverized it - neither of which would have been possible with pure gold. It thus could be more probable that rather than being a purely golden statue, it was probably also made of other materials - such as clay or wood or stone or something like that, which in turn was covered with gold. (good news: Mr. DeMille probably got it right in showing the calf as being made of wood plated with gold! )

http://www.bible-archaeology.info/images/gold_leaf_bull_phoenician.jpg
A bronze bull statuette covered in gold leaf, from a Phoenician temple at Byblos.
There are those who point out that there is also no indication in the text that Aaron melted all the golden earrings either; rather, the text just reads “and he received from their hand, and fashioned with an engraving tool and made an 'egel massekah”. The text does not explicitly say anything to the effect that Aaron melted all the gold, though it is obviously not clear how he managed to make a calf out of them using a simple scalpel.

Now as for the term massekah, another theory proposes that the word should be understood in its other sense of ‘libation’ (massekah is derived from the root nsk ‘to pour’): thus, Aaron made a ‘calf of libation’: i.e. the Israelites performed a libation of sorts over the golden calf in their worship.

 

[patrick457]

I’d also include analyses of the cinematic treatments of the incident as an extra:

Here we go. As mentioned, spoiler alert!

The Ten Commandments (1923 silent version): After showing Moses being given the Commandments (no pillars of fire burning off stone here; Moses had to carve the words himself after God flashes the commandment into the screen!), DeMille conveys what happens at the foot of Sinai with an intertitle, a paraphrase of Exodus 32:1-4:

And when the people saw that Moses delayed, they murmured and came unto Aaron, saying: Make us gods which shall go before us! And Aaron took their gold and cast it into the fire and fashioned a golden calf.

We are then shown the Israelites collecting the trinkets and operating a big forge, and Aaron hammering the gold plates into place, with men passing the plates to him using very big tongs.

After another brief interlude showing Moses still engraving the words onto the mountainface (interestingly, he only carves one Hebrew letter for each commandment - which is comparable to depictions showing the tablets as having nothing more than numerals in them. Here’s God using big, flashy letters of fire - in English no less! - and all that Moses can do is carve a single Hebrew letter!* ), we go back to Aaron putting the finishing touches on the Calf while a young Miriam (who acts as the ‘high priestess’ of the calf-cult of sorts) strokes the statue with her hair. After a brief reprimand by Joshua, who has never come up the mountain with Moses unlike in the Biblical story, yet another cut to Moses, and another intertitle emphasizing the gravity of the sin of Israel, the worship proper commences.

And, if you are familiar with the 1956 version, you can already guess how the worship of the Golden Calf would look like in the hands of Cecil B. DeMille, so no further elaboration on my part. Suffice to say that later, the statue is perched on a high cliff while Miriam engages the people in the worship of the calf, dubbed the ‘golden god of pleasure’. Dathan the ex-slave and apparent ringleader comes up, but notices something strange with her - she has been stricken with leprosy.

It was at this point that Moses comes down the mount holding the Tablets. We all know what happens next: Moses’ anger waxes hot, prompting him to throw the Tablets onto the ground. The now-leprous Miriam comes up to him, asking for healing, at which Moses points his finger at the idol, prompting it to be struck by bolts of lightning and crash into the ground. The people of Israel are now driven into chaos and confront Dathan for bringing death upon them. More lightning comes and strikes the idolaters dead.

• Another quibble: in this scene, God was already handing Moses Commandment number five/six: “Thou shalt not kill,” but Moses is still yet to write gimel (= number three). Now that’s some slow writing there (must be the reason why God decided to do the job Himself in the 1956 version). The Lord is patient though, and waits for Moses to reach vav (= six), at which He gives two commandments AT ONCE. Poor Moses goes back immediately to scratching the letters, er numbers.

BTW, interestingly enough, Moses used the Samaritan version of the Hebrew alphabet. Hmm…

The Ten Commandments (1956 version): DeMille generally follows the 1923 film in many places (such as intercutting between Moses and the people). Some of the main differences are:

• Joshua is now with Moses, as in the Bible
• God is now the one carving the Tablets
• No ‘idolatrous Miriam’ subplot. All of the guilt apparently gets transferred to Dathan, here portrayed as an ex-overseer of the Hebrews and informant for the Egyptians (in comparison to 1923’s discontented Hebrew slave).
• Moses now throws the Tablets onto the Calf itself, causing it to explode and be swallowed by the earth along with Dathan (lifted from the story of Korah) as lightning breaks forth, killing off all the idolaters.

As for the Calf, DeMille pretty much sticks to his 1923 version in portraying it as a gold-plated wooden statue which Aaron works on, complete with women stroking it with their hair:

And they overlaid the image with pure gold, and Aaron fashioned it and smoothed it with the hammer, ready to be graven by cunning art and man’s device. And he fastened it with nails, that it should not move. And he that smote the anvil did beat the molten gold into thin plates, for they had gathered their treasure into the midst of the furnace and did blow the fire upon it to melt it.

 

[patrick457]

Moses (1996): As is traditional in Moses films, the ‘bad ringleader’ part gets assigned here to someone named Zerach - who heretofore is the quintessential complainer: like DeMille’s Dathan, he is like this film’s version of the personification of all bad stuff the Israelites said and did that the Bible records.

Days (something like a month) after Moses went back up, Zerach finally grows discontented and suggest that they make something “the people will look to for inspiration.” Nope, according to him it would apparently be not a graven image: it was a ‘symbol’, a ‘guide’ of sorts. Aaron first resists this suggestion, but after seven more days with no Moses, he finally gives his assent to them despite Miriam’s protests.

http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/2577/199620moses20golden20ca.jpg

We are not shown how exactly the calf was made, or even who made it, as the next scene shows Zerach consecrating the idol and burning incense to it. His wording is wonderfully ambiguous: he just calls the Calf a “symbol of the great Force that led us out of Egypt”. The sons of Israel then rejoice and make merry to this ‘symbol’, as Aaron hides in shame.

Moses and Joshua finally appear, in great anger in seeing his people fall into sin, while Aaron rushes to him, asking for forgiveness. The Lawgiver then smashes the Tablets of the Law (the making of which also happened off-screen, like the Calf), to which Zerach replies: “;If that was the word of God, Moses, it was easily shattered!” Moses then calls all those faithful to God to his side, and orders that all those who worshipped the idol be killed. Zerach is of course the first to fall down.

The anguished Moses then gets handed a dagger, which he uses to smash the Calf’s head (we notice here that the idol was ‘easy to shatter’ as well!) He takes the sun-disk portion, throws it into a nearby fire, and goes back up the mountain for forgiveness. The next scene shows the people pounding up what remained of the idol into dust.

The Ten Commandments (2006): You’ve probably guessed what would happen here: the ringleaders (here three Israelites) suggest to Aaron and the Israelites that they make a statue, a “reminder” (here it is again!) that the Israelites are God’s people. Unlike the 1996 series, here Miriam is on their side. This adaptation is rather unique in that unlike traditional depictions of the Calf as being gold all over, here the idol is depicted as made out of earth and straw with a wicker core, with the golden trinkets being merely tacked over it.

http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/9253/calfx.jpg

On one hand, it does seem to provide a solution to that interpretation which points out that the Bible does not explicitly say anything about the gold trinkets being melted. “And [Aaron] received from their hand, and fashioned with an engraving tool and made an 'egel massekah.” On the other hand, this has been a source of confusion for viewers used to seeing a totally-golden, molten calf.

So, we go on to the usual worship scene. The film here shows Aaron and Miriam fully participitating in the sins of the people; in fact, the only sane person left is Joshua (he gets left out with these people often in the movies, doesn’t he? ) - to whom Aaron’s words in verse 5 (“Tomorrow is a feast to the LORD”) is directed, as a sort of excuse. The film then continues to the next day, with Moses coming down, getting angry, confronting Aaron, and smashing the Tablets. He also topples the Calf from its pedestal, takes its now-severed head and throws it into a fire.

The Ten Commandments (2007): As in DeMille, the ringleader is Dathan - here a more shorter, stockier, whinier and admittedly more comical character than Edward G. Robinson’s. Aaron is convinced - or rather, bullied - into making the idol. Out of all the films we’ve mentioned here, this is the one which may show it being a literal (huge) ‘molten calf’. Again, here the idolaters die and the idol gets destroyed by being swallowed by the earth.

- END OF SPOILERS -

 

[patrick457]

Again, to me – it seems as if someone else made the mold – and Aaron just threw the gold into the fire, himself, not knowing what the people’s intention was.

Which was kind of Aaron’s (rather lame) excuse to Moses.

And Moses saith unto Aaron, ‘What hath this people done to thee, that thou hast brought in upon it a great sin?’ and Aaron saith, ‘Let not the anger of my lord burn; thou - thou hast known the people that it [is] in evil; and they say to me, Make for us gods, who go before us, for this Moses - the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt - we have not known what hath happened to him; and I say to them, Whoso hath gold, let them break [it] off, and they give to me, and I cast it into the fire, and this calf cometh out.’

Again there was a later Jewish legend which says that when Aaron threw the gold into the fire, a living calf literally sprang out of it!

No living calf would have shaped itself out of the gold of these earrings, if a disaster had not occurred through an oversight of Aaron. For when Moses at the exodus of Israel from Egypt set himself to lifting the coffin of Joseph out of the depths of the Nile, he employed the following means: He took four leaves of silver, and engraved on each the image of one of the beings represented at the Celestial Throne, - the lion, the man, the eagle, and the bull. He then cast on the river the leaf with the image of the lion, and the waters of the river became tumultuous, and roared like a lion. He then threw down the leaf with the image of man, and the scattered bones of Joseph united themselves into an entire body; and when he cast in the third leaf with the image of the eagle, the coffin floated up to the top. As he had no use for the fourth leaf of silver with the image of the bull, he asked a woman to store it away for him, while he was occupied with the transportation of the coffin, and later forgot to reclaim the leaf of silver. This was now among the ornaments that the people brought to Aaron, and it was exclusively owing to this bull’s image of magical virtues, that a golden bull arose out of the fire into which Aaron put the gold and silver.

When the mixed multitude that had joined Israel in their exodus from Egypt saw this idol conducting itself like a living being, they said to Israel: “This is thy God, O Israel.” The people then betook themselves to the seventy members of the Sanhedrin and demanded that they worship the bull that had led Israel out of Egypt. “God,” said they, “had not delivered us out of Egypt, but only Himself, who had in Egypt been in captivity.” The members of the Sanhedrin remained loyal to their God, and were hence cut down by the rabble. The twelve heads of the tribes did not answer the summons of the people any more than the members of the Sanhedrin, and were therefore rewarded by being found worthy of beholding the Divine vision.

 

[Thee_awfullest]

I have to disagree with every post and commentary that suggest that the poeple of Israel wanted to venerate Yahweh God… unless the translation is in error, it idoes not matter what is perceived by us (scholars included) since it is the people’s command to erect a substitute for Moses’ God:

Ex:32:1, 4:
1 And the people seeing that Moses delayed to come down from the mount, gathering together against Aaron, said: Arise, make us gods, that may go before us: For as to this Moses, the man that brought us out of the land of Egypt, we know not what has befallen him. 4 And when he had received them, he fashioned them by founders’ work, and made of them a molten calf. And they said: These are thy gods, O Israel, that have brought thee out of the land of Egypt. (DRV)

Both of these verses demonstrate that the people were conscious of demanding an alternative god to worship–no sooner than the idol took shape did the people attributed to their own creation the Glory that should only have been bestowed upon Yahweh God.

No not an alternative God, see the bolded area. These israelites would not have confused who it was that had brought them out of Israel…The commentary seems accurate…

The Golden Calf

1 When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods [a]** who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.” **

2 Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. 4 He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. **Then they said, “These are your gods, ** O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” **

5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “**Tomorrow there will be a festival to the LORD.” **
6 So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. [c] Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in re

velry.
7 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt. 8 They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said,** 'These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.’ 9 “I have seen these people,” the LORD said to Moses, "and they are a stiff-necked people. 10 Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation."

 

[jcrichton]

A well thought out response

A minor digression: the plural (behold your Gods) in 1King12:28 should really have been behold your ‘God’ ; A slip of the tongue is possible, however, I would have thought the one compiling the scripture would have been sensitive to the subtle difference.

Also:

Exodu 32:8 [God said] They have quickly strayed from the way which thou didst shew them: and they have made to themselves a molten calf, and have adored it, and sacrificing victims to it, have said: These are thy gods (οι θεοι) , O Israel, that have brought thee out of the land of Egypt.

More importantly:

Exodu 32:4 And when he [Aaron] had received them, he fashioned them by founders’ work, and made of them a molten calf. And they said: These are thy gods, O Israel, that have brought thee out of the land of Egypt.

Exodu 32:4 και ε-δεξα-το (he, himself, received) εκ των χειρων αυτων (out of their hands) και επλασεν αυτα (and molded/formed) εν τη γραφιδι (in the grafiti) και εποιη-σεν αυτα μοσχον χωνευτον (and he-makes[aor] their molten calf) και ειπεν ουτοι οι θεοι σου ισραηλ οιτινες ανεβιβασαν σε εκ γης αιγυπτου (and** they-say**, here [are] the godS of-you israel … )

It’s fairly clear in the LXX that Aaron handled the gold himself; and that there was already an image present that he threw the gold into, for the clause “in the grafiti (image)” immediately explains how he molded which is superfluous otherwise. The particular word used “e-pla-s-en” is only said of God making creatures and idol makers, particularly clay/potters (slip casting?) in scripture. So here, Aaron is trying to act like God in some way. eg: (from DouayRheemsBible)
Wisdo 15:16 For man made them: and he that borroweth his own breath, fashioned them. For no man can make a god like to himself. (a Vulgate variant?)

In any event, Aaron’s reaction showed that he had a different idea about what was to happen tomorrow; singling out “Lord” by Name (YHWH in Hebrew???).

Exodu 32:5 And when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it, and made proclamation by a crier’s voice, saying To morrow is the solemnity of the** Lord**.

I had another thought that might be helpful to you – They had just come from Egypt where Pharaoh was considered a “god”, so that it isn’t inconceivable that “gods” meant Aaron & the calf or ?? some other leader ?? — whereas Aaron meant YHWH (singular). So perhaps they held a different view, or it was trickery on their part – for the LXX suggests very strongly that it wasn’t Aaron’s calf by distinguishing who’s it was.

To me, the hypothesis that Aaron thought HE was making a “throne” is possible; For the condemning statement is that the Israelites “rose up” to “mock”; an uprising is a rebellion – and since that was the day Aaron dedicated to the lord; he undoubtedly was at the altar to offer to YHWH – and was the target of mockery.
Eg: And the people offered their OWN sacrifices to the statue – seems an unavoidable conclusion…

Again, to me – it seems as if someone else made the mold – and Aaron just threw the gold into the fire, himself, not knowing what the people’s intention was.

…or knowing the graveness of the act, Aaron attempts to play both cards (supporting the people keeps him safe from replisals and celebrating Yahweh gives him an automatic defense against Moses’ repremands).

Maran atha!

Angel

 

[jcrichton]

No not an alternative God, see the bolded area. These israelites would not have confused who it was that had brought them out of Israel…The commentary seems accurate…

The Golden Calf

1 When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods [a]** who will go before us.** As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.”

2 Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. 4 He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. **Then they said, “These are your gods, ** O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” ****

5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “**Tomorrow there will be a festival to the LORD.” **
6 So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. [c] Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in re

velry.
7 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt. 8 They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said,** ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.**’ 9 “I have seen these people,” the LORD said to Moses, "and they are a stiff-necked people. 10 Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation."They did not ask for a representation of Yahweh God and they had been dismissive of Moses (the one person who had had intimacy with God)… hence, a new era; a new liberation according to their own will (which is very similar to what has been happening around the world where previously Christian nations are remaking themselves on the image of their own creadted gods). And this is exactly how all of the other Scriptural passages describe the incident! (Please read the various passages that I have cited on the previous post.)

Aaron’s exclamation about building and altar to Yahweh and worshiping Yahweh is all but translucid since Exodus 25 through 31 describe the various sacramentals (utensils, altars, and garments) as well as the various sacrificial offerings… none of which included a golden calf-god and revelry and other orgies!

Maran atha!

Angel

 

[Contarini]

Friend I **assume **this is true?

On THAT basis I would strongly suggest you find a different resource [YES I do know what the USCCB “stands for.”]

What did Yahweh get angry and whay did Moses have to beg forgivness for the people if what you sare is correct?

God Bless,
Pat

Because the OT is very clear that making an image of YHWH is forbidden. By making such an image, the people were in effect turning Him into “another God,” projecting their cultural understanding of strength and fertility onto Him.

I think it’s rather odd, and unfortunate, that you are so quick to condemn the opinions of scholars of your own Church whose work was approved by your own bishops. Of course they may be wrong, but your response shows that you haven’t thought very hard about the matter, since the response I gave above is a fairly obvious one.

If the golden calf was not an image of YHWH, you have to explain the significant distinction made in 1-2 Kings between the golden-calf worship of Jeroboam and all his successors as kings of the Northern Kingdom, and the worship of Ba’al officially introduced by Ahab.

The most reasonable explanation, it seems to me, is that the golden calf was an idolatrous way of worshiping YHWH–seriously wrong, but not on the same level as actually abandoning YHWH for another god.

Such an idolatrous worship of YHWH probably did usually go along with worshiping other gods in addition to YHWH. This kind of “YHWH-worship” effectively made YHWH just another god–perhaps the supreme deity in a polytheistic pantheon. So I’m not claiming that worshipers of the golden calves were not worshiping other gods, only that they do not seem to have thought of themselves as abandoning the worship of YHWH.

The statement “make us gods” may mean something like “visual representations of our God.” “Elohim” can mean a lot of things in Scripture. Or it’s possible, if you’re willing to accept JEDP or something like it, that one of the source documents viewed the Israelites as worshiping other gods and another as worshiping YHWH idolatrously. As I said above, these really aren’t mutually exclusive–in many ways they boil down to the same thing, though Ahab’s outright worship of Ba’al is clearly treated as a different matter and this needs to be explained.

Edwin

 

[Contarini]

Aaron’s exclamation about building and altar to Yahweh and worshiping Yahweh is all but translucid

I’m not quite sure what you mean by “translucid.” If you mean that you think Aaron was simply lying, that doesn’t make sense, because he isn’t just saying this to Moses–he says this to the people as a public announcement of what they are going to do.

I suppose it’s possible that Aaron intended the calf as an image of YHWH, and/or that he was trying to turn the people’s desire for an idol into what he thought would be a more acceptable form.

since Exodus 25 through 31 describe the various sacramentals (utensils, altars, and garments) as well as the various sacrificial offerings… none of which included a golden calf-god and revelry and other orgies!

No one has suggested that they were worshiping YHWH as prescribed in the Torah. The argument is that they claimed to be worshiping YHWH but were setting up an idol as an image of YHWH.

I wonder how much of the resistance to this idea is due to Catholic worry about the Protestant claim that Catholics are idolaters worshiping God wrongly?

I certainly believe nothing of the sort–I think that Catholic practices are abundantly justified by the Incarnation and are in no way setting up idolatrous representations of God. I’m speaking of orthodox Catholicism, of course–syncretistic folk religion often does fall into precisely the kind of idolatry under discussion here.

Edwin

 

[Thee_awfullest]

Wow, my reply has magically disappeared during posting! :bigyikes:

Actually Aaron’s and Jeroboam’s proclamation are exactly similar save for a single word: 'elleh/hinneh 'eloheicha Yisrael asher he’elucha me’eretz Mitzraim “This (these)/look - your 'elohim, Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.” The confusion rests mainly on how we are supposed to understand the word 'elohim at these instances: was it a normal plural (‘are your gods’) or a majestic plural (‘is your God’)?

And yes, Aaron does say Yhwh in Hebrew.

Out of about 2700 uses 2346 were meant/translated as “God Almighty” That should help a little.

elohiym

Number 430
Transliteration:
‘elohiym {el-o-heem’}
Word Origin:
plural of 433
TWOT:
93c
Part of Speech:
noun masculine
Usage in the KJV:
God 2346, god 244, judge 5, GOD 1, goddess 2, great 2, mighty 2, angels 1, exceeding 1, God-ward 04136 1, godly 1

 

[PJM]

=jcrichton;8414987]I cuncur, Pat!

I know that my skills are pedestrian… but I often wonder how these scholars/theologeans make such grave errors in judgment… even more confusing is the fact that “Catholic Bishops” approve of these “findings” and theological exegeses (i.e.: paraphrased from a local Misal: “Jesus read from the Bible…”).

It simply defies logic!

Maran atha!

Angel

Hear dear Angel is the reason and it’s SCARRY!

In every age, udas to Luther, the innovators of Vatican II, are of the same ilk, Pius Xth. followers, and not a few “catholic” theologians and universities as well as ALL protestant founders and a GREAT many of there current leaders have in common an enormous PRIDE,

Satans favorite and most utilized tool…

They actually beliefe that they do Know More or Do know Better that God, the Bible, the Church Fathers, the Pope and everyone elase who does not agree with them. That is why we MUST know our faith, live it publuically, and share and defend it when God gives us the opportunity to do so.

Always ask if you don’t know! ya did good!

God Bless you,
Pat