32 Exodus - The Golden Calf
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32 Exodus – The Golden Calf – A Jewish Perspective (best I can offer)
Parshah Ki Tisa
V.1 The people rebelled because they have been too long without a leader. We see throughout their history that there is always someone rising up to rebel against the leadership. Many commentators suggest the people were not attempting to replace God but simply wanted a new leader to replace Moses, since they didn’t know what had happened to him, and chose to have gods lead them in his stead. Rashi
that Moses was late: Heb. בשֵׁשׁ, as the Targum [Onkelos] renders אוֹחַר, an expression for lateness. Likewise, [in the verse] “is his chariot late (בֹּשֵׁשׁ) ” (Jud. 5:28); “and they waited until it was late (בּוֹשׁ) ” (Jud. 3:25). When Moses went up the mountain, he said to them [the Israelites], “At the end of forty days I will come, within six hours” [from sunrise of the fortieth day]. They thought that the day he went up was included in the number [of the forty days], but [in fact] he had said to them, “forty days,” [meaning] complete [days], including the night.
[Exodus 24:18 And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.] (added by me).
But the day of his ascent did not have its night included with it [because Moses ascended in the morning], for on the seventh of Sivan he ascended. Thus, the fortieth day [of Moses’ absence] was the seventeenth of Tammuz. On the sixteenth [of Tammuz], Satan came and brought confusion into the world and showed a semblance of darkness, [even] pitch darkness, and confusion, [as if] indicating [that] Moses had surely died and therefore, confusion had come upon the world. He [Satan] said to them, “Moses has died, for six [additional] hours have already passed, and he has not come, etc.,” as is found in tractate Shabbath (89a). We cannot say that their [the Israelites’] only error was that on a cloudy day [they were confused] between before noon and after noon, because Moses did not descend until the next day, as it is said: “On the next day, they arose early, offered up burnt offerings…” (verse 6).
because this man Moses: Satan showed them something resembling Moses, being carried in the air, high above in the sky. -[from Shab. 89a, Midrash Tanchuma 19]
V.2-3 Aaron requires of the people the gold the women and children are wearing. Some believe that Aaron was trying to stall or even hoped the people would give up their gold. Perhaps thinking they would not be so egger to give their gold. (They had a lot of gold stored somewhere as is evidenced with their contributions to the temple). Rashi
that are on the ears of your wives…: Aaron said to himself, “The women and children are fond of their jewelry. Perhaps the matter will be delayed, and in the meantime, Moses will arrive.” But they did not wait [for their wives and children to give them their earrings], and they took off their own [earrings]. -[from Midrash Tanchuma 21]
V.4 Aaron doesn’t say, these are OUR gods, he says THY gods. Perhaps trying to separate himself from the situation. Rashi
a molten calf -: As soon as they had cast it into the fire of the crucible, the sorcerers of the mixed multitude who had gone up with them from Egypt came and made it with sorcery. [See commentary on Exod. 12:38.] Others say that Micah was there, who had emerged from the layer of the building where he had been crushed in Egypt. (Sanh. 101b). In his hand was a plate upon which Moses had inscribed “Ascend, O ox; ascend, O ox,” to [miraculously] bring up Joseph’s coffin from the Nile. They cast it [the plate] into the crucible, and the calf emerged. -[from Midrash Tanchuma 19]
These are your gods: But it does not say, “These are our gods.” -[from here [we learn] that the mixed multitude who had come up from Egypt were the ones who gathered against Aaron, and they were the ones who made it [the calf]. Afterwards, they caused the Israelites to stray after it. -[from Midrash Tanchuma 19]
V.5-6 Aaron, upon seeing the golden image, prepares an altar unto the LORD saying, “Tomorrow is a feast to the LORD, YHWH in the Hebrew. What’s going on here? Hopefully Moses will be back before they worship it.
V7-10 We see an indication of there possibly being two kinds of people, Moses’ people and God’s people. One thought here is that the people Moses led out were the erve rav, a multitude of Egyptians who had left Egypt with the children of Israel. It was these that were speaking in verse 8.
Exodus 12:38 And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle.
V.11 The other group of people belonging to God. Thy people. Moses ask God why HE is so mad, but Moses hadn’t seen the rebellious people yet, nor the molten calf.
V.12-14 Moses reminds God of His promises to Abraham. Rashi explains it this way.
Remember Abraham: If [You argue that] they have transgressed the Ten Commandments, [let me remind You that] their [fore]father Abraham was tested with ten tests and has not yet received his reward. Give this [reward] to him [Abraham] so that the ten will cancel out the ten. -[from Midrash Tanchuma 24, Exod. Rabbah 44:4]
Abraham, Isaac, and Israel: If they are condemned to be burnt [in a fire], remember Abraham, who gave himself over to be burned for Your sake in Ur of the Chaldees; if they are condemned to be killed by the sword, remember Isaac, who stretched out his neck when he was bound; if they are condemned to exile, remember Jacob, who was exiled to Haran (Midrash Tanchuma 24, Exod. Rabbah 44:5). If they [the children of Israel] will not be saved in their [the Patriarchs’] merit, why do You say to me, “and I will make you into a great nation” ? If a chair with three legs cannot stand up before You when You are angry, how much less will a chair with one leg (Ber. 32a)?
to whom You swore by Your very Self: You did not swear to them by something finite-not by the heavens and not by the earth, not by the mountains and not by the hills, but by Your very Self [You swore], for You exist, and Your oath exists forever, as it was said [to Abraham]: “By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord” (Gen. 22:16). To Isaac was said: “and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham, your father” (Gen. 26:3). To Jacob was said: “I am the Almighty God; be fruitful and multiply” (Gen. 35:11). Here He swore to him [Jacob] by the [Name] Almighty God. -[from Ber. 32a, Midrash Tanchuma 24, Exod. Rabbah 44:10]
V.15 -18 READ this aloud
V.19-20 Moses breaks the tablets and deals with the calf. NOTE, Israel has not received the Ten Commandments as of yet. God’s Law has not yet been given. Idolatry has not yet be declared against the Law. They are still fresh out of Egypt and don’t really know anything other than Egyptian gods along with what little they may have been told about Yahweh. Egyptian influence.
V.21-24 Moses deals w/ Aaron who uses the words Moses used when speaking to God, (anger wax hot)
V.25-29 Moses institutes a purge of the apostate brethren. About 3000 men died at the hands of Levites
V.30-34 Moses makes intercession for the people, (almost in a Christ like way). Moses says, if Israel can’t be saved let me die, not being able to live with such a tragedy.
V.35 Some would suggest this verse belongs after V.20.
Notes / Thoughts:
No realization that Jehovah God is very different from the gods of Egypt. Even Aaron seemingly believed that Jehovah God must be just like all the other gods. Perhaps his encounters with Jehovah were his first and only personal involvement with any god. Perhaps in Egypt, his experiences with gods were limited to seeing them from afar and yet knowing they were man made as well. Also, there is the idea that people worshiped many different gods, (even so today in India) and the gods didn’t get upset when you worshipped another god. This however is no ordinary “little g” god. This is Jehovah God.
He must have seen something, how else would he have concluded that he needed gold to make themselves gods (V.1-2).
3000 people died but Aaron was not one of them. In fact, he was promoted to High Priest. Why not?
· There are two possible responses. First, one could make a strong case that Aaron was punished for making the golden calf. Though he was not punished at that exact time, Aaron would later die in the wilderness and never enter the Promised Land. Aaron also endured the loss of two of his adult sons in a judgment from God. After Aaron made the golden calf, his life included many difficulties that could be seen as a punishment.
· A second response is that God did not punish Aaron for making the golden calf because Aaron had already been chosen as high priest of Israel. Despite Aaron’s sin, his role in leading worship in the tabernacle remained vital. Exodus 28 reveals the important role Aaron and his sons would play in the worship rituals of Israel. The position of high priest was promised in Exodus 28 before Aaron’s molding of the golden calf in Exodus 32.
https://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/860977/jewish/Was-Aaron-Responsible-for-the-Golden-Calf.htm
Define Midrash – a highly respected ancient commentary on part of the Hebrew scriptures.
Other references to the Molten Calf:
· Deuteronomy 9:16 And I looked, and, behold, ye had sinned against the LORD your God, and had made you a molten calf: ye had turned aside quickly out of the way which the LORD had commanded you.
· Nehemiah 9:18 Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is thy God that brought thee up out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocations;
· Psalm 106:19-21 They made a calf in Horeb, and worshipped the molten image. 20 Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass. 21 They forgat God their saviour, which had done great things in Egypt;
· Jeroboam in 1 Kings 12:28 Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.