1A, no te kitenga o te iwi i roa te hekenga iho o Mohi i runga i te maunga, ka huihui te iwi ki a Arona, ka mea ki a ia, Whakatika, hanga etahi atua mo tatou, hei haere i mua i a tatou; ko tenei Mohi hoki, ko te tangata nana tatou i kawe mai ki ru nga nei i te whenua o Ihipa, kahore tatou e mohio kua ahatia ranei ia. 2Na ka mea a Arona ki a ratou, Whakiia mai nga whakakai koura i nga taringa o a koutou wahine, o a koutou tama, o a koutou tamahine, ka kawe mai ki ahau. 3Na whakiia ana e te iwi katoa nga whakakai koura i o ratou taringa, a kawea ana mai ki a Arona. 4Na ka tangohia e ia i o ratou ringa, a whakaahuatia ana e ia ki te purupuru tana kuao kau i whakarewa ai: na ka mea ratou, Ko ou atua enei, e Iharaira, nana nei koe i kawe mai ki runga nei i te whenua o Ihipa. 5A, no te kitenga o Arona, hanga ana e ia tetahi aata ki mua i taua mea; a ka karanga a Arona, ka mea, Ko apopo he hakari ki a Ihowa. 6Na ka maranga wawe ratou i te aonga ake, a whakaekea ana he tahunga tinana, i kawea ano he whakahere mo te pai; na ka noho te iwi ki te kai, ki te inu, a ka whakatika ki te takaro. 7Na ka mea a Ihowa ki a Mohi, Haere, heke atu, kua he hoki tou iwi i kawea mai nei e koe i te whenua o Ihipa: 8Kua hohoro ratou te peka ke i te huarahi i kiia e ahau ki a ratou: kua hanga ma ratou he kuao kau, he mea whakarewa, kua koropiko ki taua mea, kua patu whakahere mana, a e mea ana, Ko ou atua enei, e Iharaira, i kawea mai ai koe i te whenua o Ihi pa. 9I mea ano a Ihowa ki a Mohi, Kua kite ahau i tenei iwi, na, he iwi kaki maro ratou: 10Na, tukua atu ahau, a ka mura toku riri ki a ratou, a ka pau ratou i ahau: ka hanga ano koe hei iwi nui. 11Na ka inoi a Mohi ki a Ihowa, ki tona Atua, ka mea, He aha tou riri i mura ai, e Ihowa, ki tau iwi i kawea mai nei e koe i te whenua o ihipa i runga i te kaha nui, i te ringa maro? 12Ha, kia korero nga Ihipiana, kia mea, He whakaputanga atu ki te he tana i a ratou, kia whakamatea ai ratou ki nga maunga, kia whakangaromia atu ai i te mata o te whenua? Tahuri i tou riri nui e mura nei, kia puta ke hoki tou whakaaro ki tenei ki no mo tau iwi. 13Kia mahara ki au pononga, ki a Aperahama, ki a Ihaka, ki a Iharaira, ki tau oatitanga hoki i a koe ki a ratou, ki tau meatanga ki a ratou, Ka whakanuia e ahau o koutou uri kia rite ki nga whetu o te rangi; ko tenei whenua katoa hoki i korerotia atu nei e ahau, ka hoatu e ahau ki o koutou uri, a ka nohoia e ratou ake ake. 14Na ka puta ke ta Ihowa i whakaaro ai mo te kino i kiia e ia kia meatia ki tana iwi. 15Na ka tahuri a Mohi, ka heke iho i te maunga, me nga papa e rua o te whakaaturanga i tona ringa: he mea tuhi nga taha e rua o nga papa; i tetahi taha, i tetahi taha te tuhi. 16He mea mahi hoki na te Atua aua papa, me te tuihituhi hoki, na te Atua te tuhituhi, he mea whaowhao ki nga papa. 17A ka rongo a Hohua i te reo o te iwi e hamama ana, ka mea ki a Mohi, He nge whawhai kei te puni ra. 18Na ka mea ia, Ehara tera reo i te hamama mo te hinganga o te taua, ehara hoki tera reo i te hamama o te hunga e hinga ana: he reo waiata taku e rongo nei. 19A ka tata ia ki te puni, na, ka kite ia i te kuao kau, i te kanikani: na ka mura te riri o Mohi, a ka maka atu e ia nga papa i roto i ona ringa, a pakarua ana aua mea e ia i raro i te maunga. 20Na ka tango ia i te kuao kau i hanga e ratou, a tahuna ana e ia ki te ahi, a hurihia ana a ngotangota noa, a ruiruia ana e ia ki te wai, whakainumia atu ana ma nga tama a Iharaira. 21Na ka mea a Mohi ki a Arona, I aha tenei iwi ki a koe, i takina ai e koe tenei hara nui ki a ratou? 22A ka mea a Arona, Kei mura mai te riri o toku ariki: e mohio ana koe ki tenei iwi, mo te kino tonu ratou. 23I mea hoki ratou ki ahau, Hanga etahi atua mo tatou hei haere i mua i a tatou: ko tenei Mohi hoki, ko te tangata nana nei tatou i kawe mai i te whenua o Ihipa, kahore tatou e mohio kua ahatia ranei ia. 24Na ka mea ahau ki a ratou, Ki te mea he koura to tetahi, whakiia mai. Na ka homai e ratou ki ahau: a maka ana e ahau ki te ahi; a puta ake ko te kuao kau nei. 25A, i te kitenga o Mohi i te iwi e korara noa ana, na Arona hoki ratou i tuku kia korara, hei taunu ma o ratou hoariri: 26Na, ka tu a Mohi ki te kuwaha o te puni, ka mea, Ko wai to Ihowa? haere mai ki ahau. Na ka huihui nga tama katoa a Riwai ki a ia. 27Na ka mea ia ki a ratou, Ko te kupu tenei a Ihowa, a te Atua o Iharaira, Whakanohoia e tera, e tera, tana hoari ki tona huha, a haere atu, hoki mai, i tetahi kuwaha ki tetahi kuwaha, i waenga puni, a patua e tera tona teina, e tera tona hoa, e t era tona hoa e noho tata ana. 28Na rite tonu ki te kupu a Mohi ta nga tama a Riwai i mea ai: a tata tonu ki te toru mano nga tangata i hinga i taua rangi. 29Na Mohi hoki i mea, Hei runga i tana tama, i tona teina, te whakatohungatanga ki a Ihowa o tera, o tera, o koutou aianei; kia homai ai e ia he manaaki ki a koutou aianei. 30Na, i te aonga ake, ka mea a Mohi ki te iwi, Kua hara koutou, he nui te hara: na, me haere ahau aianei ki runga, ki a Ihowa; tera pea e taea e ahau te whakamarie mo to koutou hara. 31Na ka hoki a Mohi ki a Ihowa, ka mea, Aue! kua hara tenei iwi, he nui te hara, kua hanga hoki e ratou etahi atua koura mo ratou. 32Na, mau e horoi to ratou hara; a ki te kahore, tena ra, horoia atu ahau i roto i tau pukapuka i tuhituhia e koe. 33Na ka mea a Ihowa ki a Mohi, Ko te tangata e hara ana ki ahau, ka horoia atu ia e ahau i roto i taku pukapuka. 34Na haere ra, arahina atu te iwi ki te wahi i korerotia atu e ahau ki a koe: tena taku anahera te haere atu na i mua i a koe; ahakoa ra, ko a te ra e mea ai ahau, ina, ka meinga e ahau to ratou hara kia tau ki runga ki a ratou. 35Na ka whiua e Ihowa te iwi mo ta ratou hanganga i te kuao kau, i hanga nei e Arona.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 1 THE GOLDEN CALF. (Exo. 32:1-35)
when the people saw that Moses delayed--They supposed that he had lost his way in the darkness or perished in the fire.
the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron--rather, "against" Aaron in a tumultuous manner, to compel him to do what they wished. The incidents related in this chapter disclose a state of popular sentiment and feeling among the Israelites that stands in singular contrast to the tone of profound and humble reverence they displayed at the giving of the law. Within a space of little more than thirty days, their impressions were dissipated. Although they were still encamped upon ground which they had every reason to regard as holy; although the cloud of glory that capped the summit of Sinai was still before their eyes, affording a visible demonstration of their being in close contact, or rather in the immediate presence, of God, they acted as if they had entirely forgotten the impressive scenes of which they had been so recently the witnesses.
said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us--The Hebrew word rendered "gods" is simply the name of God in its plural form. The image made was single, and therefore it would be imputing to the Israelites a greater sin than they were guilty of, to charge them with renouncing the worship of the true God for idols. The fact is, that they required, like children, to have something to strike their senses, and as the Shekinah, "the glory of God," of which they had hitherto enjoyed the sight, was now veiled, they wished for some visible material object as the symbol of the divine presence, which should go before them as the pillar of fire had done.
2 Aaron said, . . . Break off . . . earrings--It was not an Egyptian custom for young men to wear earrings, and the circumstance, therefore, seems to point out "the mixed rabble," who were chiefly foreign slaves, as the ringleaders in this insurrection. In giving direction to break their earrings, Aaron probably calculated on gaining time; or, perhaps, on their covetousness and love of finery proving stronger than their idolatrous propensity. If such were his expectations, they were doomed to signal disappointment. Better to have calmly and earnestly remonstrated with them, or to have preferred duty to expediency, leaving the issue in the hands of Providence.
3 all the people brake off the golden earrings--The Egyptian rings, as seen on the monuments, were round massy plates of metal; and as they were rings of this sort the Israelites wore, their size and number must, in the general collection, have produced a large store of the precious metal.
4 fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf--The words are transposed, and the rendering should be, "he framed with a graving tool the image to be made, and having poured the liquid gold into the mould, he made it a molten calf." It is not said whether it was of life size, whether it was of solid gold or merely a wooden frame covered with plates of gold. This idol seems to have been the god Apis, the chief deity of the Egyptians, worshipped at Memphis under the form of a live ox, three years old. It was distinguished by a triangular white spot on its forehead and other peculiar marks. Images of it in the form of a whole ox, or of a calf's head on the end of a pole, were very common; and it makes a great figure on the monuments where it is represented in the van of all processions, as borne aloft on men's shoulders.
they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt--It is inconceivable that they, who but a few weeks before had witnessed such amazing demonstrations of the true God, could have suddenly sunk to such a pitch of infatuation and brutish stupidity, as to imagine that human art or hands could make a god that should go before them. But it must be borne in mind, that though by election and in name they were the people of God, they were as yet, in feelings and associations, in habits and tastes, little, if at all different, from Egyptians. They meant the calf to be an image, a visible sign or symbol of Jehovah, so that their sin consisted not in a breach of the FIRST [
Exod 20:3], but of the SECOND commandment [
Exod 20:4-
Exod 20:6].
5 Aaron made proclamation, and said, To-morrow is a feast to the Lord--a remarkable circumstance, strongly confirmatory of the view that they had not renounced the worship of Jehovah, but in accordance with Egyptian notions, had formed an image with which they had been familiar, to be the visible symbol of the divine presence. But there seems to have been much of the revelry that marked the feasts of the heathen.
7 the Lord said unto Moses, Go, get thee down--Intelligence of the idolatrous scene enacted at the foot of the mount was communicated to Moses in language borrowed from human passions and feelings, and the judgment of a justly offended God was pronounced in terms of just indignation against the gross violation of the so recently promulgated laws.
10 make of thee a great nation--Care must be taken not to suppose this language as betokening any change or vacillation in the divine purpose. The covenant made with the patriarchs had been ratified in the most solemn manner; it could not and never was intended that it should be broken. But the manner in which God spoke to Moses served two important purposes--it tended to develop the faith and intercessory patriotism of the Hebrew leader, and to excite the serious alarm of the people, that God would reject them and deprive them of the privileges they had fondly fancied were so secure.
15 Moses turned, and went down from the mount--The plain, Er-Raheh, is not visible from the top of Jebel Musa, nor can the mount be descended on the side towards that valley; hence Moses and his companion, who on duty had patiently waited his return in the hollow of the mountain's brow, heard the shouting some time before they actually saw the camp.
19 Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands--The arrival of the leader, like the appearance of a specter, arrested the revellers in the midst of their carnival, and his act of righteous indignation when he dashed on the ground the tables of the law, in token that as they had so soon departed from their covenant relation, so God could withdraw the peculiar privileges that He had promised them--that act, together with the rigorous measures that followed, forms one of the most striking scenes recorded in sacred history.
20 he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, &c.--It has been supposed that the gold was dissolved by natron or some chemical substance. But there is no mention of solubility here, or in
Deut 9:21; it was "burned in the fire," to cast it into ingots of suitable size for the operations which follow--"grounded to powder"; the powder of malleable metals can be ground so fine as to resemble dust from the wings of a moth or butterfly; and these dust particles will float in water for hours, and in a running stream for days. These operations of grinding were intended to show contempt for such worthless gods, and the Israelites would be made to remember the humiliating lesson by the state of the water they had drunk for a time [NAPIER]. Others think that as the idolatrous festivals were usually ended with great use of sweet wine, the nauseous draught of the gold dust would be a severe punishment (compare
2Kgs 23:6,
2Kgs 23:15;
2Chr 15:16;
2Chr 34:7).
22 And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot--Aaron cuts a poor figure, making a shuffling excuse and betraying more dread of the anger of Moses than of the Lord (compare
Deut 9:20).
25 naked--either unarmed and defenseless, or ashamed from a sense of guilt. Some think they were literally naked, as the Egyptians performed some of their rites in that indecent manner.
26 Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said--The camp is supposed to have been protected by a rampart after the attack of the Amalekites.
Who is on the Lord's side? let him come unto me--The zeal and courage of Moses was astonishing, considering he opposed an intoxicated mob. The people were separated into two divisions, and those who were the boldest and most obstinate in vindicating their idolatry were put to death, while the rest, who withdrew in shame or sorrow, were spared.
29 Consecrate yourselves to-day to the Lord--or, "Ye have consecrated yourselves to-day." The Levites, notwithstanding the dejection of Aaron, distinguished themselves by their zeal for the honor of God and their conduct in doing the office of executioners on this occasion; and this was one reason that they were appointed to a high and honorable office in the service of the sanctuary.
30 Moses said unto the people, Ye have sinned a great sin--Moses labored to show the people the heinous nature of their sin, and to bring them to repentance. But not content with that, he hastened more earnestly to intercede for them.
32 blot me . . . out of thy book--an allusion to the registering of the living, and erasing the names of those who die. What warmth of affection did he evince for his brethren! How fully was he animated with the true spirit of a patriot, when he professed his willingness to die for them. But Christ actually died for His people (
Rom 5:8).
35 the Lord plagued the people, because they made the calf--No immediate judgments were inflicted, but this early lapse into idolatry was always mentioned as an aggravation of their subsequent apostasies.