Texts in Conversation
Psalm 106 retells the golden calf episode with mocking irony, describing how Israel exchanged its glory for the image of a bull that eats grass, trading their God for a lifeless idol.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Exodus 32:4
Hebrew Bible
2 So Aaron said to them, “Break off the gold earrings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people broke off the gold earrings that were on their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4 He accepted the gold from them, fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molten calf. Then they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” 5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it, and Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow will be a feast to the Lord.” 6 So they got up early on the next day and offered up burnt offerings and brought peace offerings, and the people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play.
Psalm 106:19
Hebrew Bible
16 In the camp they resented Moses and Aaron the Lord’s holy priest. 17 The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan; it engulfed the group led by Abiram. 18 Fire burned their group; the flames scorched the wicked. 19 They made an image of a calf at Horeb and worshiped a metal idol. 20 They traded their majestic God for the image of an ox that eats grass. 21 They rejected the God who delivered them, the one who performed great deeds in Egypt, 22 amazing feats in the land of Ham, mighty acts by the Red Sea.
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Notes and References
"... The trauma of the sin of idolatry along with the Israelites' repeated expressions of ingratitude toward God throughout history: "They made a calf at Horeb and bowed down to a molten image. They exchanged their glory of the image of a bull that feeds on grass. They forgot God who saved them, who performed great deeds in Egypt, wondrous deeds in the land of Ham, awesome deeds at the Sea of Reeds. He would have destroyed them had not Moses His chosen one confronted Him in the breach to avert His destructive wrath" (verses 19–23). Note the psalmist's ironic comparison between the God of Israel, infinite in power, and the calf, who "feeds on grass," in whose body there is no life, and who is but an "image of a bull" and no more. ..."
Shinan, Avigdor and Yair Zakovitch
From Gods to God: How the Bible Debunked, Suppressed, or Changed Ancient Myths and Legends
(p. 117) The Jewish Publication Society, 2012
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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