Exodus 32:5

5 And Aaron saw, and he built an altar before it, and Aaron called, and he said, "A feast for Yahweh tomorrow."

Exodus 32:5 Meaning and 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, 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 proclamation, and said, tomorrow [is] a feast to the
Lord;
that is, he gave orders to have it published throughout the camp, there would be solemn sacrifices offered up to the Lord, as represented by this calf, and a feast thereon, which was a public invitation of them to the solemnity: though some think this was a protracting time, and putting the people off till the morrow, who would have been for offering sacrifice immediately, hoping that Moses would come down from the mount before that time, and prevent their idolatry.

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FOOTNOTES:

F5 So Pirke Eliezer, c. 45.

Exodus 32:5 In-Context

3 And all the people took off the rings of gold that [were] on their ears and brought [it] to Aaron.

4 And he took from their hand, and he shaped it with a tool, and he made it a cast-image bull calf, and they said, "These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt."

5 And Aaron saw, and he built an altar before it, and Aaron called, and he said, "A feast for Yahweh tomorrow."

6 And they started early the next day, and they offered burnt offerings, and they presented fellowship offerings, and the people sat to eat and drink, and they rose up to revel.

7 And Yahweh spoke to Moses, "Go, go down because your people behave corruptly, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt.