Golden Calf

Exod. xxxii. 4, 19, 20, &c.GOLDEN CALF, which the Israelites worshipped at the foot of mount Sinai. ” When the People saw that Moses delayed to come down from the Mount, ” they gathered themselves unto Aaron, ” and¹ In the year of the world 2513, before J. C. 1487, before the vulgar Æra 1491, in the fourth month of the sacred year.“ and said unto him, Up, make us Gods which shall go before us: For as for this Moses, the Man that brought us up out of the Land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden ear-rings which are in the ears of your Wives, of your Sons, and of your Daughters, and bring them unto me. They brought them to him, and Aaron with the assistance of the Founder’s art formed them into a molten Image. Then the people said, These are thy Gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. Aaron having observed this, built an Altar before the Calf, and made publick proclamation by an herald, To-morrow is a Feast unto the Lord. And the people rose up early on the morrow, and offered Burnt-offerings, and brought Peace-offerings, and they sat down to eat and to drink and rose up to play.

“ The Lord having informed Moses of what the people had done, commanded him to go down from the Mountain, and Moses as he came near the Camp, seeing the people dancing about the Calf, threw the tables of the Law, at that time in his hands, upon the ground and broke them at the foot of the Mountain; then taking the Golden Calf, he threw it into the fire, reduced it to powder, scattered the ashes of it in the water which the people drank, reproached Aaron sharply with his weakness in consenting thus to the people’s request; stood at the gate of the Camp, and said, Who is on the Lord’s side? let him come unto me. And all the Sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him, took every man his sword, and passing backwards and forwards through the Camp, they killed all whom they met without distinction, and there fell of the people this day “ about three and twenty thousand men.

But the Hebrew, Samaritan, Chaldee, Septuagint, and greatest part of the old Greek and Latin Fathers, instead of three and twenty, read three thousand.

The Hebrews without doubt² intended upon this occasion to imitate the worship of the God Apis, which they had seen in Egypt³. This false Deity was adored under the figure of a real and living Bull, and under the form of one made artificially; and lastly under the figure of a Man with a Bull’s head: and it is certain, that several of the ancient Fathers⁴, speaking of the Golden Calf, expressed themselves as if there had been no more than the Head of a Calf or Bull. Aureum caput bovis, says Lactantius, and, bibulum caput, says Tertullian; and, conflatum est bibulum caput. But however this may be, it must be agreed, that they designed to make a superstitious figure, with an intention to pay an idolatrous worship to it, as they sufficiently demonstrate in these words, Behold, Israel, these are the Gods, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

Monceau in his book intitled Aaron purgatus, has endeavoured to shew, that the Golden Calf made by Aaron, was a figure in all respects like the Cherubims, upon which, as he pretends, the Lord sat, when he appeared to Moses on Mount Sinai. These Cherubims, in his account of them, were winged Oxen, after the model whereof Moses afterwards made the Cherubims of the Mercy-seat. This is the particular fancy of this Author. He adds, that Aaron’s sin did not consist so much in making the Golden Calf, whereby he represented the Cherubims, on which the Lord was seated; but in giving the people an opportunity of paying a superstitious and idolatrous Worship: that the people without sin might have adored the Lord at the sight of this Cherub, or Golden Calf; and that his crime lay only in transferring the Worship which was due to God alone, to a creature, and sensible figure. He moreover is of opinion, that the Golden Calves made by Jeroboam, after the separation of the ten Tribes, were real Cherubims, and that neither Jeroboam nor the ten Tribes forsook the Worship of the Lord by receiving that of the Golden Calf; but only made a Schism, by separating from their Brethren, who at Jerusalem worshipped the same God seated on the Cherubims, whom the other Tribes adored as seated on the Golden Calves at Dan and Bethel. This is a very singular opinion, and has been justly censured and opposed by several Authors.

Aaron when he declared the Feast of the Golden Calf, said to the people, To-morrow will be a feast unto the Lord. They who endeavour to excuse this High Priest observe, that he made use of the word Jehovah, to try, say some Interpreters⁵, whether he could induce the people to worship God in the presence of this Calf, as if this figure had been consecrated to the true God; but the people did not stop there, they paid their adorations to a Calf that eateth hay: Ps. cvi. 19, 20.They made a Calf in Horeb, and worshipped the molten Image: thus they turned their glory into the similitude of a Calf that eateth hay. It is sure very vain to attempt the making any apology for Aaron upon this occasion: He does not excuse Deut. ix. 20.himself, and we read in Deuteronomy, that God was provoked at his sin, and would have slain him, if Moses had not made use of his prayers to disarm the anger of the Lord.

Some Rabbins⁶ inform us, that Moses having reduced the Golden Calf to powder, and thrown the dust of it into the brook of Horeb, all, who drank of this water, and were guilty of worshipping this Idol, experienced the same effects, that the waters of jealousy produced upon such women, as were guilty of adultery. They were smitten with ulcers, whereby they were distinguish’d by Moses, and gave him an opportunity of chastising them with the utmost severity. Others⁷ maintain, that by drinking of this water, the most zealous worshippers of the Golden Calf saw with amazement their beards turn of a goldcolour, and this mark, they say, was transmitted to their Children⁸.

The Golden Calves of Jeroboam the Son of Nebat. This Prince having been acknowledged King by the ten Tribes of Israel, and intending to separate these Tribes for ever from the house of David, thought fit to provide new Gods for them, whom they might worship in their own Country, without being obliged to go to the Temple of Jerusalem, there to pay their adoration. “ He said in his heart, Now shall “ the 1 Kings xii. 26, 27, 28, &c. In the year of the world 3030, before J. C. 970, before the vulgar Æra 974.Kingdom return to the house of “ David: If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this “ people turn again unto their Lord, even “ unto Rehoboam King of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to “ Rehoboam King of Judah. Whereupon he made two Calves of Gold, and “ said unto the people, Behold thy Gods, “ O Israel, which brought thee up out “ of the land of Egypt. And he set the “ one in Bethel, and the other put he in “ Dan, at the two extremities of his Kingdom. And this thing became a sin; “ for the people went to worship before “ these Calves even unto Dan and Bethel.

We have already observed that Monceau⁹ thought the Golden Calves of Jeroboam were an imitation of the Cherubims, which Moses had placed upon the Ark of the Covenant, and were looked upon as the Lord’s Throne: So that Jeroboam and the Israelites of the ten Tribes were to be considered rather as Schismaticks than Idolaters. And it must be confessed that all Israel did not renounce intirely the Worship and Religion of the Lord, by adopting the Worship of the Golden Calves, and by ceasing to go up to the Temple at Jerusalem. God did not altogether abandon Israel; he sent Prophets to them, and preserved to himself a great number of faithful Worshippers, who were in a capacity to be saved. But when Jezebel, in Ahab’s reign, introduced the Worship of Baal and Astaroth, and other Gods of the Canaanites, then Elijah complained bitterly to God, that all the world had forsaken his Worship, and that he only remained. I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the Children of Israel have forsaken thy Covenant, thrown down thine 1 Kings xi. 40. 1 Kings xix. 10. 1 Kings xiv. 9. Hosea x. 5. Vide & xiii. 3. 1 Kings xviii. 21.Altars, and slain thy Prophets with the sword; and I, even I only am left. The God of Israel therefore had before his Prophets and Altars in Ahab’s Kingdom; and when the same Elijah had assembled the people on Mount Carmel, he bad them choose either the Lord or Baal. How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him. This is what is said to justify the Worship of the Israelites belonging to the ten Tribes.

But S. Jerom¹⁰, and the generality of Commentators thought it was Jeroboam’s design with his Golden Calves to imitate the worship of the Ox Apis, which he had seen practised in Egypt during the time of his abode there, towards the end of Solomon’s reign. This Prince’s crime is not any thing of an ambiguous nature; the Scripture reproaches him in an hundred places, with having made Israel to sin, Jeroboam the Son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin. When at any time the Scripture would describe a bad Prince, it says, that he imitated the sin of Jeroboam. It says, that Jeroboam drew Israel from following the Lord, and made them sin a great sin. The Prophet Abijah tells this Prince’s Wife, Thou 2 Kings xvii. 21.hast gone and made thee other Gods, and molten Images, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back. How often did the Prophets bitterly exclaim against the false Worship of the Golden Calves? Hosea by God’s direction threatens them saying, The inhabitants of Samaria *shall fear, because of the Calves of Bethaven *… the high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed.

I confess there were Saints and Prophets in Israel, who were faithful to the Lord, and might attain to Salvation, but they did not worship the Golden Calves, nor were any ways concerned in the Schism, nor in the new Worship introduced by Jeroboam; either they went privately to the Temple of Jerusalem, as Tobit, or they worshipped Tob. i. 5.God in their houses, and un 2 Kings iv. 23.der the direction of some Prophets, as the woman of Shunam.

The Septuagint and the Greek Fathers generally read Golden Cows instead of Golden Calves; and some speak as if there had been the head only of a Cow or Calf. Some think that Menahem King of Israel was obliged to send one of his Golden Calves to Pul, thereby ingaging him to come to his Hosea x. 5, 6. Vide Osee v. 6. 2 Kings xv. 19, 20.assistance. The¹¹ Rabbins relate, that Hosea King of Israel having been under a necessity of sending one of the Golden Calves to Salmanesèr King of Assyria, in order to make up the sums, which he demanded, the Priests belonging to this idol, instead of the Golden Calf, sent him another of brass well covered over and concealed. The people who knew nothing of their cheat, mourned, and very much lamented the loss of their Golden Calf; but the Priests privately rejoiced, believing their fraud to be well secured from discovery. To this is applied the passage of Hosea, where he says, The people Hosea x. 5.mourned over it, and the Priests thereof rejoiced on it. But Salmanesèr having examined the present, which was sent him, and finding a brazen Calf only instead of a golden one, marched against Samaria, and carried away the Golden Calves with all the people, who adored them.

S. Jerom¹² informs us of another Tradition among the Jews, concerning the Golden Calves, in his explanation of these words of Hosea, Divisum est cor eorum. Nunc interibunt. While the people of Israel, and their Kings were agreed upon the Worship of the Golden Calf, God suspended his vengeance: The people had an excuse; they obeyed their King. But Hosea the last King of Israel, being less addicted to the Superstitions of the country than his Predecessors, and declaring that he did not design to force any one, but left them at liberty to go and worship at Jerusalem, the people shewed great opposition, and said they would not use this liberty. This produced a division among them: Divisum est cor eorum. Wherefore the Lord resolved to destroy them: Nunc interibunt.

In the Article of Jeroboam, we shall mention what happened at the ceremony of this Prince’s dedicating the Altar of the Golden 1 Kings xii. 23. xiii. 1, 2, 3, &c.Calf at Bethel; as the Man of God, who was sent from Judah, pronounced this Prophecy against the Altar, “O Altar, Altar, thus saith the Lord, “A Child shall be born unto the house “of David, Josiah by name, and upon “thee shall he offer the Priests of the high “places, that burn incense upon thee, “and mens bones shall be burnt upon thee, “Behold the Altar shall be rent, and “the ashes that are upon it shall be pour- “ed out. The King hereupon stretching out his hand, it immediately dried up; but was restored at the Prophet’s prayer. See 1 Kings xiii. 1, 2, 3, &c. Josephus¹³ speaks of the Temple of the Golden Calf, which was still in being in his time, somewhere towards Dan, and not near Daphne on the lesser Jordan, as the printed Copies of this Author have it.

Hosea xiii. 2.As the Glory of Israel was their God, their Law, and their Ark; so the Adorers of the Golden Calves consider’d these Idols as theirs. The Priests thereof rejoiced on it for the Glory thereof, because it is departed from them. They valued themselves for worshipping them, which indeed should have overwhelmed them with confusion. Wherefore the Prophets used to say to them in the way of raillery¹⁴, Ye who worship Calves, come and sacrifice Men. Can there be any greater madness? Ye adore Calves and sacrifice Men to Moloch and Saturn. The Septuagint, They say, we want Calves, sacrifice Men. We have no more Calves to sacrifice, let them bring us Men. The Hebrew may be interpreted in another sense, Let them who would sacrifice, come and kiss or adore the Calves. This is what Jeroboam said to the Israelites of the ten Tribes.

Hosea viii. 5, 6.Hosea foretold the destruction and captivity of the Calves of Samaria in the following terms; Thy Calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off, mine anger is kindled against them … It was Israel who invented this Idol. … The Calf of Samaria shall become as contemptible as spiders webs. The Assyrians having got possession of Samaria, carried off the Golden Calves which the people worshipped; these vain Deities were of no more service to them than spiders webs; they could not secure them from the hands of their enemies. The Hebrew Text, which is translated Spiders Webs¹⁵, is very intricate. The Septuagint translate it, the Calf of Samaria is deceitful, or mistaken; Symmachus, is inconstant; the fifth Edition, is gone astray, all which is much to the same purpose. The Rabbins; it is as it were dust, sawdust. The generality of modern Interpreters; it is broken to pieces. S. Jerom was inform’d by his Hebrew master, that it signified Spiders Webs, which float in the air and are soon dispersed.

Several Questions are proposed, relating to the Golden Calf formed by Aaron in the Wilderness. Some of the Rabbins are willing to excuse Aaron from the Sin committed by him in making it. They pretend that it was not he, but some Magicians of Egypt, and certain Proselytes of the same Nation, not truly converted, who, who had it made, contrary to the intention of Aaron. Josephus has concealed the matter, and omitted this story of the Golden Calf. The Septuagint say,¹⁶ that Aaron Exod. xxxii. 4.described it with a graving Tool, but that the People made and cast it. Some of the Jews are of opinion, that at first a wooden Calf was formed, and that afterwards it was covered with Golden Plates. Selden¹⁷ conjectures, that he used a graving Tool to draw those marks upon the Golden Calf, which distinguished the Ox Apis; that is to say, a Crescent on the side, and a white square spot upon the Forehead.

Some are of Opinion, that his design in casting it, was in order to draw the work out into length, and that the Idol coming out of the Furnace might have nothing beautiful and glittering in its appearance. Others on the contrary will have it, that Aaron left nothing undone to make it as beautiful and perfect as possible; and that for this reason he is said to have used a graving Tool. Formavit opere fusorio. In the Hebrew¹⁸, He formed a calf for them with a graving tool. But the Chaldee Paraphrast differs widely from both these Versions: Aaron, he says, received their Ear-rings from them, tied them up in a Purse, and made the Golden Calf of them. Bochart maintains, that this is the best Translation of all, and that the Hebrew Charet signifies a Purse, and not a graving Tool¹⁹.

The Mahometans²⁰ have a singular Tradition relating to the Golden Calf: They assert, that this Figure, which was only a Body without a Soul, made a noise like an Ox. Which Fable they dress up in the following manner. The Israelites having borrowed of the Egyptians, before their departure out of Egypt, many Vessels of Gold and Silver, and gathered abundance of rich Spoils belonging to the Egyptians, who were drowned in the Red Sea, and cast upon the Shore, began to traffick among themselves with these Jewels. Sameri, one of the principal Heads of the Hebrews, informed Aaron of it, who commanded in the absence of his Brother Moses, and told him that he did not think this kind of Commerce lawful. He required him therefore to get all these Ornaments immediately together, and keep them safe in his Possession, till the return of Moses, who was then upon Mount Sinai.

Sameri, who was very well skilled in melting down Metals, thought it would be an advantage to have all this Gold and Silver reduced into one mass, that Moses might afterwards imploy it in what man-

Yyyy ner he should judge most proper. He did so, put all these jewels into a Crucible, and without any design of his, there came out a kind of molten Calf. At the sight of this Figure, which chance had produced, the Israelites, who were accustomed to Idolatry in Egypt, conceived some respect for it, and Sameri desirous to increase their veneration for it, took dust, and threw it into the Calf’s Throat, which immediately began to bellow; whereupon the Hebrews fell prostrate before it, and paid their Adorations to it. And how came Sameri by this miraculous Dust! why, he took it, they say, from under the Horse’s Feet belonging to Gabriel the Arch-angel, who marched at the head of the Hebrews in the Wilderness.

The fatted Calf, mentioned in some places of the Scripture, as in Prov. xv. 17. 1 Sam. xxviii. 24. Luke xv. 25. Jer. xxvi. 21. was fatted particularly for some certain Festivals, or extraordinary Sacrifices. The Heathens had the same custom²¹.

Pascitur in vestrum reditum votiva Juvenca. Calf of Lebanon spoken of in Psal. xxviii. 6. Comminuet eas tanquam vitulum Libani, may be taken simply to be a Calf or young Bullock feeding upon Libanus. The Voice of God, is Thunder, the Tempest breaketh a Cedar of Libanus, with as much ease as it oversets a Calf of Libanus. The Hebrew may be otherwise translated; The voice of the Lord maketh the Cedars of Libanus to skip like a Calf bounding in the meadows: He will shake the mountains of Libanus and Sirion like a young Unicorn.

Hosea xiv. 2.The Calves of the Lips mentioned by Hosea²², We will render the Calves of our Lips, signifies Sacrifices of Praise, Prayers which the Captives of Babylon addressed to God, being no longer in a condition to offer Sacrifices in his Temple. The Septuagint read the Fruit of our Lips, instead of the Bulls of our Lips, and their reading is followed by the Syriac, and by the Apostle to the Hebrews, Ch. xiii. 15.

Jeremiah speaks of a remarkable ceremony, which is not taken notice of in the historical Books of Scripture: The Lord says, I will give the men which have transgressed my Covenant, that have not performed the words of the Covenant which they had made before me, when they cut the calf in twain, and passed between the parts thereof. When this Covenant was sworn to, and upon what occasion, no one can tell: So much however is probable, that it was not of any long date, since they who formerly had sworn to it, were still living. The custom of cutting a Victim in two, of putting the several moieties upon two different altars, and making those who contracted any Covenant pass between both is well known in Scripture and profane Authors. See Gen. xv. 9, 10, 17.

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