Golden calf
The Golden Calf is an idol described in the biblical Book of Exodus, created by the ancient Israelites during a period of uncertainty while their leader, Moses, was receiving the Ten Commandments from God on Mount Sinai. As the Israelites grew restless and doubted Moses's return, they turned to Aaron, Moses's brother, to fashion an idol for them to worship. Aaron collected gold from the people and crafted a golden calf, a form influenced by various ancient cultures, including Egyptian deities like the calf Apis and the goddess Hathor, as well as Canaanite bull deities. This act of idol worship is interpreted by many in Jewish and Christian traditions as a significant transgression against their faith in God.
When Moses returned and witnessed the Israelites celebrating and worshipping the idol, he reacted with anger, destroying the tablets that contained the commandments and ordering the idol to be melted down. The aftermath was dire, with the narrative stating that many Israelites faced severe consequences, including death and a plague, which were seen as divine punishments. The story of the Golden Calf serves as a cautionary tale about faith, leadership, and the dangers of turning away from one's beliefs. It remains a powerful and impactful narrative within the religious contexts of Judaism and Christianity, reflecting themes of rebellion and the quest for divine connection.
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Golden calf
The golden calf was an idol of a young bull created by the ancient Israelites, according to accounts in the biblical Book of Exodus. The story of the golden calf is important to both Jewish and Christian belief systems. To many modern members and scholars of these religions, the golden calf represents a shameful incident in which early worshippers failed to invest their faith in God.
Overview
The story of the golden calf appears most prominently in the Book of Exodus. This part of the religious text explains how the Israelites, under the leadership of Moses, and with extensive assistance from God, escaped from Egypt, where they been living under persecution.
Moses led the Israelites to Mount Sinai, which he climbed in order to commune with God and, ultimately, receive the Ten Commandments. While Moses undertook this monumental task, the other Israelites stayed behind in the desert. They became restless without their leader, and began to doubt that he would return and bring them messages from God.
Impatient, the Israelites asked Moses’s brother Aaron to create an idol for them to worship. Aaron complied. First, he gathered from the Israelites their gold jewelry and other golden ornaments that they had acquired in Egypt. He melted the objects down and cast a shining golden idol in the shape of a calf, or a young bull.
Scholars have long debated the choice of a bull or calf as the form of the icon. Bulls appear frequently in the art and iconography of many ancient cultures. For example, the calf Apis was a well-known Egyptian deity that may have influenced the Israelites. Similarly, the Egyptian bull goddess Hathor, a symbol of love and celebration, may also have been the inspiration. The Canaanite people also worshipped bull-shaped deities, such as El and Baal.
This choice of form for the idol has led many to believe that the Israelites had given up on their God and were converting to worshipping the gods and deities of other cultures. In this case, the Israelites were seen as committing a blasphemous sin. However, other interpretations suggest that the Israelites’ golden calf was merely a representation of their own God, but rendered in an unusual form.
Regardless of the intent, the golden calf led to disastrous results for the Israelites. With the idol complete, the Israelites constructed an altar and began worshipping it. They also engaged in a lengthy celebration beginning with sacrifices to the idol and then feasts, games, and dances. During this revelry, Moses returned from Mount Sinai, carrying tablets engraved with the Ten Commandments as conveyed to him by God.
Moses was horrified to see this apparent blasphemy. He smashed the tablets and ordered that the golden calf be melted and hammered into fine powder. After that, he poured the gold dust into water and forced the Israelites to drink it. The Israelites went on to face even worse fates—three thousand Israelites died at the hands of the Levites, and then the surviving Israelites were struck by a plague. These catastrophic events were widely interpreted as punishments from a vengeful God.
Bibliography
Bolinger, Hope. “What Was the Golden Calf in the Bible? Why Was it Such a Big Deal?” Christianity.com, 24 July 2019, christianity.com/wiki/bible/what-was-the-golden-calf-in-the-bible-why-was-it-such-a-big-deal.html. Accessed 11 July 2020.
Chung, Youn Ho. The Sin of the Calf: The Rise of the Bible’s Negative Attitude Toward the Golden Calf. Bloomsbury, 2019.
Guyton, Morgan. “The Program with the Golden Calf Story.” United Methodist Insight, 21 Sept. 2016, um-insight.net/perspectives/the-problem-with-the-golden-calf-story/. Accessed 11 July 2020.
Kesselman, Shlomo Chaim. “What Was the Golden Calf?” Chabad-Lubavitch Media Center, 2020, www.chabad.org/library/article‗cdo/aid/3613047/jewish/What-Was-the-Golden-Calf.htm. Accessed 11 July 2020.
Mason, Eric F. and Edmondo F. Lupieri, editors. Golden Calf Traditions in Early Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Brill, 2019.
Pregill, Michael E. The Golden Calf Between Bible and Qur’an. Oxford University Press, 2020.
“The Golden Calf.” Jewish Virtual Library, 2008, www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/golden-calf. Accessed 11 July 2020.
Tigay, Jeffrey. “The Golden Calf.” MyJewishLearning, 2020, www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-golden-calf/. Accessed 11 July 2020.