Exodus 32:1-29

The Golden Calf

1 Now when the people saw that Moses ¹delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled about Aaron and said to him, "Come, ²make us a god who will go before us; as for ³this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him."

2 Aaron said to them, "⁴Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me."

3 Then all the people tore off the gold rings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron.

4 He took this from their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool and made it into a ⁵molten calf; and they said, "This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt."

5 Now when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, "Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD."

6 So the next day they rose early and ⁶offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and ⁷the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up ⁸to play.

7 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, "Go down * at once, for your people, whom ⁹you brought up from the land of Egypt, have ¹⁰corrupted themselves.

8 "They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. ¹¹They have made for themselves a molten calf, and have worshiped it and ¹²have sacrificed to it and said, '¹³This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!' "

9 ¹⁴The LORD said to Moses, "I have seen this people, and behold, they are ¹⁵an obstinate * people.

10 "Now then ¹⁶let Me alone, that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them; and ¹⁷I will make of you a great nation."

Moses' Entreaty

11 Then ¹⁸Moses entreated the LORD his God, and said, "O LORD, why does Your anger burn against Your people whom You have brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?

12 "Why should ¹⁹the Egyptians speak, saying, 'With evil intent He brought them out to kill them in the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth '? Turn from Your burning anger and change Your mind about doing harm to Your people.

13 "Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants to whom You ²⁰swore by Yourself, and said to them, 'I will ²¹multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens, and ²²all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.' "

14 ²³So the LORD changed His mind about the harm which He said He would do to His people.

15 ²⁴Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, ²⁵tablets which were written on both sides; they were written on one side and the other.

16 The tablets were God's work, and the writing was God's writing engraved on the tablets.

17 Now when Joshua heard the sound of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, "There is a sound of war in the camp."

18 But he said, "It is not the sound of the cry of triumph, Nor is it the sound of the cry of defeat; But the sound of singing I hear."

Moses' Anger

19 It came about, as soon as Moses came near the camp, that ²⁶he saw the calf and the dancing; and Moses' anger burned, and ²⁷he threw the tablets from his hands and shattered them at the foot of the mountain.

20 ²⁸He took the calf which they had made and burned it with fire, and ground it to powder *, and scattered it over the surface of the water and made the sons of Israel drink it.

21 Then Moses said to Aaron, "What did this people do to you, that you have brought such great sin upon them?"

22 Aaron said, "Do not let the anger of my lord burn; you know the people yourself, ²⁹that they are prone to evil.

23 "For ³⁰they said to me, 'Make a god for us who will go before us; for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.'

24 "I said to them, 'Whoever has any gold, let them tear it off.' So they gave it to me, and ³¹I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf."

25 Now when Moses saw that the people were out of control -for Aaron had ³²let them get out of control to be a derision among their enemies -

26 then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, "Whoever is for the LORD, come to me!" And all the sons of Levi gathered together to him.

27 He said to them, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'Every man of you put his sword upon his thigh, and go * back and forth from gate to gate in the camp, and kill every man his brother, and every man his friend, and every man his neighbor.' "

28 So ³³the sons of Levi did as Moses instructed, and about three thousand men of the people fell that day.

29 Then Moses said, "Dedicate yourselves today to the LORD -for every man has been against his son and against his brother -in order that He may bestow a blessing upon you today."

Exodus 32:1-29 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 32

This chapter gives an account of the idolatry of the Israelites making and worshipping a golden calf, Ex 32:1-6 the information of it God gave to Moses, bidding him at the same time not to make any suit in their favour, that he might consume them, and make a large nation out Moses's family, Ex 32:7-10 the intercession of Moses for them, in which he succeeded, Ex 32:11-14 his descent from the mount with the two tables in his hands, accompanied by Joshua, when he was an eyewitness of their idolatry, which raised his indignation, that he cast the two tables out of his hands and broke them, took the calf and burnt it, and ground it to powder, and made the children of Israel drink of it, Ex 32:15-20 the examination of Aaron about the fact, who excused himself, Ex 32:21-24 the orders given to the Levites, who joined themselves to Moses, to slay every man his brother, which they did to the number of 3000 men, Ex 32:25-29 another intercession for them by Moses, which gained a respite of them for a time, for they are threatened to be visited still for their sin, and they were plagued for it, Ex 32:30-35.

Cross References

• 1. Exodus 24:18; Deuteronomy 9:11, 12
• 2. Acts 7:40
• 3. Exodus 14:11
• 4. Exodus 35:22
• 5. Deuteronomy 9:16; Nehemiah 9:18; Psalms 106:19; Acts 7:41
• 6. Acts 7:41
• 7. 1 Corinthians 10:7
• 8. Exodus 32:17-19; Numbers 25:2
• 9. Exodus 32:4, 11; Deuteronomy 9:12
• 10. Genesis 6:11
• 11. Ex 20:3, 4, 23
• 12. Exodus 22:20; Exodus 34:15; Deuteronomy 32:17
• 13. 1 Kings 12:28
• 14. Numbers 14:11-20
• 15. Exodus 33:3, 5; Exodus 34:9; Isaiah 48:4; Acts 7:51
• 16. Deuteronomy 9:14
• 17. Numbers 14:12
• 18. Deuteronomy 9:18, 26
• 19. Numbers 14:13-19; Deuteronomy 9:28; Joshua 7:9
• 20. Genesis 22:16-18; Hebrews 6:13
• 21. Genesis 15:5; Genesis 26:4
• 22. Genesis 12:7; Genesis 13:15; Genesis 15:18; Genesis 17:8; Genesis 35:12; Exodus 13:5, 11; Exodus 33:1
• 23. Psalms 106:45
• 24. Deuteronomy 9:15
• 25. Exodus 31:18
• 26. Exodus 32:6; Deuteronomy 9:16
• 27. Deuteronomy 9:17
• 28. Deuteronomy 9:21
• 29. Deuteronomy 9:24
• 30. Exodus 32:1-4
• 31. Exodus 32:4
• 32. 1 Kings 12:28-30; 1 Kings 14:16
• 33. Numbers 25:7-13; Deuteronomy 33:9

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "gods"
• [b]. Or "These are your gods"
• [c]. Lit "go down"
• [d]. Or "These are your gods"
• [e]. Or "a stiff-necked"
• [f]. Lit "seed"
• [g]. Lit "seed"
• [h]. Lit "their sides"
• [i]. Lit "in its shouting"
• [j]. Lit "he"
• [k]. Lit "beneath"
• [l]. Lit "in evil"
• [m]. Or "gods"
• [n]. Lit "let loose"
• [o]. Lit "go loose"
• [p]. Lit "those who rise against them"
• [q]. Or "kin"
• [r]. Lit "according to Moses' word"
• [s]. Lit "Fill your hand"