Golden Calf (32-33)

 1. Golden Calf (32-33)Moses spent a longer time on the mountain receiving the covenant from God than the people had expected. Thinking that they had lost Moses and thus their contact with the deity, they demanded that Aaron the high priest provide a substitute. Responding to their urging, Aaron solicited gifts from the people and proceeded to make a golden calf.

Canaanite Religion. Bulls, cows, and calves were religious objects in the ancient Middle East. In Canaan the high god El was called Bull El. Baal was the god of fertility and rode on a bull, surely a symbol of virility. Technically then, the bull was not itself Baal; rather, it functioned as his mount. In a functionally similar way the ark of the covenant was Yahweh's throne. When Aaron constructed the golden calf he may have intended it as the throne of God rather than as a deity in its own right. Practically speaking, this is a rather fine distinction, and one that would have been easily lost on the Israelites.

⁴ He took the gold from them, cast it in a mold, and made a calf image. They said, "These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt." ⁵ When Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it and made a proclamation, "Tomorrow there will be a feast to YHWH." (32:4-5)

    Thus the Israelites committed idolatry. This idol is reminiscent of the bull of Canaanite religion that was associated with the high god Baal. This episode stands as a warning against worshipping the gods of the Canaanites who inhabit the Promised Land.

Jeroboam's Golden Calves. Also, the golden calf unmistakably echoes the golden calves that Jeroboam, the first king of Israel after the civil dispute, erected in Dan and Bethel when he established religious centers in the Northern Kingdom of Israel in the tenth century B.C.E. (see Chapter 9). The negative way in which the golden calf is viewed in Exodus is a veiled prophetic condemnation of Jeroboam's golden calf worship centers. The statement, "These are your gods," in the plural, when only one calf was molded, evokes the multiple calves of Jeroboam. In fact, these words are the same as the words of Jeroboam in 1 Kings 12:28.

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The Adoration of the Golden Calf, by Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665) Artchive

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    In response God became extremely angry and resolved to destroy the people and begin building a nation from Moses. Moses argued with God, suggesting that if all the Israelites died, the Egyptians will have triumphed. He urged God saying, "Turn from your fierce anger, change your mind, and do not bring catastrophe on your people." Remarkably, God responded to Moses' plea and voided his threatened punishment.
    God instructed Moses to return. Going down the mountain he saw the pagan revelry of the people. Partly out of anger he smashed the two tablets containing the record and testimony of the covenant. It also effectively signaled that the covenant had been broken because the people had compromised their loyalty by worshiping another god.
    The people had gone wild in celebration, and Aaron was held to blame.

²⁵ When Moses saw that the people were out of control (for Aaron had let them get out of control, to the point that they were a menace to anyone opposed to them), ²⁶ Moses stood at the entrance to the camp and said, "Who is on YHWH's side? Come over to me!" ²⁷ He said to them, "This is what YHWH, the Elohim of Israel, says, 'Each of you, strap your sword to your side. Go back and forth through the camp, from gate to gate. Each of you kill your brother, your friend, and your neighbor.'" ²⁸ The Levites did what Moses commanded, and about three thousand people fell on that day. ²⁹ Moses said, "Today you have dedicated yourselves to YHWH, each at the cost of a son or a brother. You have earned a blessing today." (32:25-29)

    This incident demonstrated the loyalty of the Levites to the cause of Yahweh. They were the only ones who had not succumbed to the lawlessness of golden calf worship. The story, again, pictures the Levites in a very favorable light; not surprisingly, for the Elohist was a Levite.

Aaron and the Elohist. Though he was an advocate for the Levites generally, the Elohist did not admire Aaron. He directly implicates Aaron in the golden calf incident. Why would the he want to put Aaron in such a bad light? Perhaps because the Elohist and his group had migrated to Jerusalem after the fall of Israel in 721 B.C.E. They were unable to practice their livelihood in Jerusalem even though they were Levites, because the family of Aaron, also of the tribe of Levi, had locked the priestly craft up tight. The privilege of serving as a priest was inherited, and one had to be from the family of Aaron of the tribe of Levi to qualify. Aaron, understandably, came under their severest criticism.

    Yahweh then told Moses to take the people and head on to the Promised Land without him. Distressed at this change of plan Moses met with Yahweh in the tent of meeting and urged him to reconsider. Again Yahweh changed his mind and decided to continue on with the Israelites. As proof of his commitment, the glory of Yahweh passed by Moses, and Moses caught a glimpse of the backside of Yahweh.

Tent of Meeting. The tent of meeting is the symbol of Yahweh's dwelling among the Israelites in the Elohist tradition. It never mentions the ark of the covenant, only the tent of meeting. Perhaps this is because the Elohist was from the north, where Shiloh was situated. Shiloh was the home of the tent shrine during the days of the tribal federation (see Chapter 8.1). The Yahwist never mentions the tent of meeting. The ark ended up in Jerusalem, and that was the focus of worship there. That was of interest to the Yahwist, who was from Judah, but the Elohist ignored it, because northern priests were not allowed to minister in the temple.