Acts 7:41

41 `And they made a calf in those days, and brought a sacrifice to the idol, and were rejoicing in the works of their hands,

Acts 7:41 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 7:41

And they made a calf in those days
Whilst Moses was in the mount; this was done in imitation of the Egyptian idol Apis or Serapis, which was an ox or a bullock; and it was made of the golden earnings of the people, which were melted down, and cast into the form of a calf, and graved by Aaron with a graving tool, ( Exodus 32:2-4 ) And so the Syriac version here reads in the singular number, "and he made them a calf"; this was a most shameful and scandalous piece of idolatry. The Jews themselves are so sensible of the horribleness of it, and of the guilt of it, and of the reproach that lies on them for it, that it is common for them to say ^F3,

``there is not a generation, or an age, in which there is not an ounce of the sin of the calf.''

Or, as elsewhere ^F4 expressed,

``no punishment befalls thee, O Israel, in "which there is not an ounce of the sin of the calf".''

And offered sacrifice unto the idol;
an altar was built, and proclamation made, that the next day would be the feast of the Lord; and accordingly early in the morning the people rose, and offered both burnt offerings and peace offerings, ( Exodus 32:5 Exodus 32:6 ) and rejoiceth in the works of their own hands; for so the calf was; and which rejoicing they showed by eating, and drinking, and singing, and dancing.

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FOOTNOTES:

F3 T. Hieros. Taaniot, fol. 68. 3.
F4 Vid. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 102. 1.

Acts 7:41 In-Context

39 to whom our fathers did not wish to become obedient, but did thrust away, and turned back in their hearts to Egypt,

40 saying to Aaron, Make to us gods who shall go on before us, for this Moses, who brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, we have not known what hath happened to him.

41 `And they made a calf in those days, and brought a sacrifice to the idol, and were rejoicing in the works of their hands,

42 and God did turn, and did give them up to do service to the host of the heaven, according as it hath been written in the scroll of the prophets: Slain beasts and sacrifices did ye offer to Me forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?

43 and ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan -- the figures that ye made to bow before them, and I will remove your dwelling beyond Babylon.