Exodus 32:4

Exodus 32:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
• New International Version (NIV)He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!"
• New King James Version (NKJV)And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. Then they said, “This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!”

Context of Exodus 32:4

2So Aaron told them, “Take off the gold earrings that are on your wives and sons and daughters, and bring them to me.” 3Then all the people took off their gold earrings and brought them to Aaron. He took the gold from their hands, and with an engraving tool he fashioned it into a molten calf. And they said, “These, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” 5When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before the calf and proclaimed: “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD.” 6So the next day they arose, offered burnt offerings, and presented peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.

Exodus 32:4 word by word

וַיִּקַּ֣ח מִיָּדָ֗ם וַיָּ֤צַר אֹתוֹ֙ בַּחֶ֔רֶט וַֽיַּעֲשֵׂ֖הוּ עֵ֣גֶל מַסֵּכָ֑ה וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ אֵ֤לֶּה אֱלֹהֶ֙יךָ֙ יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר הֶעֱל֖וּךָ מֵאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם׃Read the interlinear

• He tookלָקַחlâqach · to take: recieveH3947
• from their handsיָדyâd · hand: themselvesH3027
• andצוּרtsûr · to formH6696
• with an engraving toolחֶ֫רֶטchereţ · stylusH2747
• he fashionedעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
• itאֵת'êth · [Obj.]H853
• into a moltenמַסֵּכָהmassêkâh · molten metalH4541
• calfעֵ֫גֶל‛êgel · calfH5695
• And they saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Theseאֵ֫לֶּה'êlleh · theseH428
• O Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• are your godsאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• whoאֲשֶׁר'ăsher · whichH834
• brought you upעָלָה‛âlâh · to ascend: establishH5927
• out of the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• of Egyptמִצְרַ֫יִםmitsrayim · EgyptH4714

Cross-references for Exodus 32:4

• Exodus 20:23You are not to make any gods alongside Me; you are not to make for yourselves gods of silver or gold.
• Deuteronomy 9:16And I saw how you had sinned against the LORD your God; you had made for yourselves a molten calf. You had turned aside quickly from the way that the LORD had commanded you.
• Psalms 106:19At Horeb they made a calf and worshiped a molten image.
• Isaiah 44:9All makers of idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Their witnesses fail to see or comprehend, so they are put to shame.
• Isaiah 46:6They pour out their bags of gold and weigh out silver on scales; they hire a goldsmith to fashion it into a god, so they can bow down and worship.
• Acts 7:41At that time they made a calf and offered a sacrifice to the idol, rejoicing in the works of their hands.
• Acts 17:29Therefore, being offspring of God, we should not think that the Divine Being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by man’s skill and imagination.
• Exodus 28:9Take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel:
• 1 Kings 12:28After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves and said to the people, “Going up to Jerusalem is too much for you. Here, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”
• 2 Kings 10:29but he did not turn away from the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit—the worship of the golden calves at Bethel and Dan.
• 2 Chronicles 11:15And Jeroboam appointed his own priests for the high places and for the goat demons and calf idols he had made.
• 2 Chronicles 13:8And now you think you can resist the kingdom of the LORD, which is in the hands of David’s descendants. You are indeed a vast army, and you have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made for you as gods.
• Hosea 8:4They set up kings, but not by Me. They make princes, but without My approval. With their silver and gold they make themselves idols, to their own destruction.
• Hosea 10:5The people of Samaria will fear for the calf of Beth-aven. Indeed, its people will mourn over it with its idolatrous priests— those who rejoiced in its glory— for it has been taken from them into exile.
• Hosea 13:2Now they sin more and more and make for themselves cast images, idols skillfully made from their silver, all of them the work of craftsmen. People say of them, “They offer human sacrifice and kiss the calves!”
• Exodus 32:8How quickly they have turned aside from the way that I commanded them! They have made for themselves a molten calf and have bowed down to it. They have sacrificed to it and said, ‘These, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.’”

Commentaries on Exodus 32:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Fashioned it with a graving tool - There has been much controversy about the meaning of the word חרט cheret in the text: some make it a mould, others a garment, cloth, or apron; some a purse or bag, and others a graver. It is likely that some mould was made on this occasion, that the gold when fused was cast into it, and that afterwards it was brought into form and symmetry by the action of the chisel and graver. These be thy gods, O Israel - The whole of…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-6Verses 1-6 In all probability these three chapters originally formed a distinct composition. The main incidents recorded in them follow in the order of time, and are therefore in their proper place as regards historical sequence. The golden calf - The people had, to a great extent, lost the patriarchal faith, and were but imperfectly instructed in the reality of a personal unseen God. Being disappointed at the long absence of Moses, they seem to have…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4fashioned it into a molten calf: The idol might have been a bull, similar to the Egyptian god Amon-Re, which the people knew from Egypt. The bull represented power, domination, and fertility. The writer might have said calf to despise the idol. Or, Aaron might have made a calf, thinking this sin was less severe than making a full-sized bull. These, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out: The people credited the idol with what they had just said…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. 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…Read the comment

Topics related to Exodus 32:4

• Amusements and Worldly Pleasures
• Engraving
• Falsehood
• Idol
• Idolatry
• Molding
• Quotations and Allusions

In the dictionaries

• Egypt
• Israel
• Egypt, Egyptian
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• Aaron
• Bullock
• Calf
• Consume
• Corrupt

Commentaries on Exodus 32

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings