Exodus 32:35

35 ¹Then the LORD smote the people, because * of ²what they did with the calf which Aaron had made.

Exodus 32:35 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 32:35

And the Lord plagued the people
That is, continued so to do at certain times, with the pestilence, or other calamities; for this seems not to refer, as some think, to the slaughter of the 3000 men: the reason follows,

because they made the calf which Aaron made;
that is, they provided him with materials to make it; they urged and solicited him to do it, and would not be easy without it, so that the making of it is ascribed to them; or they served it, as Onkelos; or bowed unto it, as Jonathan; with which agree the Syriac, Arabic, and Samaritan versions, which render it, they served, or worshipped, or sacrificed to the calf which Aaron made.

Exodus 32:35 In-Context

33 The LORD said to Moses, "Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book.

34 "But go now, lead the people where I told you. Behold, My angel shall go before you; nevertheless in the day when I punish, I will punish them for their sin."

35 Then the LORD smote the people, because of what they did with the calf which Aaron had made.

Cross References

• 1. Exodus 32:28
• 2. Exodus 32:4, 24