Exodus 32:1-14
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- Reading the Text:
- NRSV (with link to Anglicized NRSV) at Oremus Bible Browser.
- Hebrew Interlinear Bible, WLCv, WLC5, CHES, AV.
- The Bible Gateway: NRSV, RSV, NIV, NASB, CEV, The Message, KJV, etc.
- The Blue Letter Bible. KJV, alternate versions, Hebrew text with concordance, commentaries.
- The World Wide Study Bible includes commentary, exposition and sermons.
- Shemot 32: Massoretic, Hebrew, Aramaic, JPS.
- Historical References, Commentary and
Comparative Texts:
- Navigating the Bible: Text/Rabbinic commentary and Divrei Torah.
- "Idolatry," Comparative World Scriptures from United Communities of Spirit.
- Chapter LIII of The First Epistle to the Corinthians, Clement of Rome (ca. 96).
- Chapter IV, Chapter XIV of the Epistle of Barnabas. (ca. 130)
- Chapter XX, Dialogue With Trypho, Justin Martyr. (c 160)
- IV.XXVII.3, Adversus Haereses, Irenaeus of Lyons. (c. 180)
- Chapter I, Adversus Judaeos, Tertullian (c. 198)
- I.11, Paedagogus, Clement of Alexandria (c 200)
- Chapter V, On Patience, Tertullian (c. 202)
- Chapter III, Scorpiace, Tertullian (c. 213)
- II.LXXIV, Against Celsus, Origen. (c.246)
- Rashi's Commentary, c. 1075. chabad.org.
- From the Geneva Notes.
- "The root of Idolatry is when men think that God is not present, unless they see him physically."
- From
Matthew Henry's
Commentary.
- "Weariness in waiting betrays to many temptations."
- From
Wesley's
Notes.
- "They had a God that stayed with them, but they must have a God to go before them to the land flowing with milk and honey."
- From the
Commentary on the Whole Bible
(Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, 1871).
- "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."
- Contemporary References, Commentary and
Comparative Texts:
- Radical Gratitude, Exodus 32:1-14, lectionary-based stewardship, Northwest United Methodist Foundation. (.pdf)
- Commentary, Exodus 32:1-14, Amy Erickson, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2011.
- "With the golden calf narrative, preachers have an opportunity to explore with their congregations the stunning, and even surprising, character of God and God's way with the world."
- "Impatience," Fr. Rick Morley, a garden path, 2011.
- "Getting Out of Egypt," Debbie Blue, The Hardest Question, 2011.
- "It's hard to shed the traces of tyranny "
- "The Politics of Exodus 32:2-6," Aaron Howard, There is Power in the Blog, 2011.
- "The party thrown in honor of the golden calf lionizes the rich while denigrating the poor."
-
Commentary, Exodus 32:7-14, Rolf Jacobson, at WorkingPreacher.org, Luther
Seminary, 2010.
- "A Commentary on Human Nature..."
- Exodus 32:7-14, Studies on Old Testament texts from Series C, Ralph W. Klein, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.
-
Commentary, Exodus 32:1-14, Karla Suomala, Preaching This Week,
WorkingPreacher.org, 2008.
- "Tell me, whose side are you standing on? I'm standing on the Lord's side. Whose side are you standing on? Standing on the Lord's side. I stand, I stand, I stand, I stand..."
- Comments (commentary) and Clippings (technical notes for in-depth study), Chris Haslam, Anglican Diocese of Montreal.
- Exodus 32:1-14, Pentecost 22, Commentary, Background, Insights from Literary Structure, Theological Message, Ways to Present the Text. Anna Grant-Henderson, Uniting Church in Australia.
-
"The Return of Virtue,"
Daniel Deffenbaugh, Seeds of Shalom, 2008.
- "Though golden calves are better at attracting our attention and briefly satisfying our lusts, it will be the spiritual values of our faith tradition ? forged over time, and usually behind the scenes ? that will be the backbone of what sustains us through this present crisis."
-
The Old Testament Readings:
Exodus 32:1-14. Weekly Comments on the Revised Common
Lectionary, Howard Wallace Audrey Schindler, Morag Logan, Paul Tonson, Lorraine Parkinson, Theological Hall of the Uniting Church,
Melbourne, Australia.
- "In preaching this passage, one might draw out implications for church leadership..."
- "Aaron and the Gods of Gold," The Journey with Jesus: Notes to Myself, Daniel B. Clendenin, Journey with Jesus Foundation, 2008.
- "Who Dunnit?" Tim Bulkeley, 5 Minute Bible (podcast).
-
"Is Seeing
Believing?" Torah Commentary by Alyssa Quint, BeliefNet.
- "The quick succession in which Moses shatters the Two Tablets and melts down the Golden Calf suggests a parallel between the two objects: both prove equally fragile."
- "The Golden Calf and the Golden Mishkan," Rabbi Arthur Waskow, The Shalom Center.
-
"They
Are a Stiff-Necked People," Kosuke
Koyama, The Christian Century, 1989. At Religion Online.
- "It is this God, universal because impartial, and vulnerable because passionately loving, who leads us to say: "The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise" (Ps. 5 1:17) When we say this from the heart, we are healed of our stiff-neckedness."
- Parshah Ki Tisa, text, commentary, stories, sermons & articles from Chassidic Masters and others, from Chabad Lubavitch.
-
"Presumption
and Humility," Larry Broding's Word-Sunday.Com:
A Lectionary Resource for Catholics.
- "While today's popular media may dwell on the shortcomings of Christian public figures, the Church grows through the example of the common people."
- "The Golden Calf," Rev. Bryan Findlayson, Lectionary Bible Studies and Sermons, Pumpkin Cottage Ministry Resources.
-
"How Quickly
They Forget!"
Expository Essay,
Dr. William R. Long.
Part 2.
- "One of the most freeing realizations we can have is to realize that God is one who can be argued with."
- Parshas Ki Sisa, Divrei Torah from The Project Genesis Torah Study. Index to numerous Orthodox articles and studies on 30:11 - 34:35.
- Parshat Ki Tissa, articles and commentary by the Jewish Community of Atlanta, at The Torah From Dixie.
- Articles & Background:
- "Golden Calf," Wikipedia.
-
"Small Lexemes, Large
Semantics: Prepositions and Theology in the Golden Calf Episode (Exodus
32-34)," D. Timmer, Biblica, 2007.
- "The various prepositions and statements regarding divine presence in Exod 32?34 are fundamental to the development and integrity of the narrative as its stands. Further, the fact that this complex progression in divine presence spans pericopae usually attributed to various sources suggests that the various pericopae are more in harmony with one another than is often recognized."
- "Exodus 32 As an Argument for Traditional Theism," Jonathan Master, The Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, 2002.
- The Humiliation of the Word, Jacques Ellul. Full text at Religion Online.
- "Golden
Calf," article from the (1916) Catholic Encyclopedia.
- "Most writers have accepted the view of Philo and the early Fathers, who regarded the worship of the golden calves as borrowed from the Egyptians, and in favour of this opinion is the fact that both Aaron and Jeroboam had sojourned in Egypt shortly before constructing their respective idols ... some recent scholars are inclined to seek the origin of the Hebrew bull worship in the conditions and surroundings of the Israelites as an agricultural people, for whom the bull was naturally an appropriate symbol of strength and vital energy."
- "Current
Trends: The Desert as Reality and as Symbol," Donald Goergen, Spirituality
Today, March 1982.
- "The desert forms us; it ought not detain us; yet we ought not too quickly reject what history has taught us it has to offer."
- Aaron and the Golden Calf, from And Adam Knew Eve: A Dictionary of Sex in the Bible.
- Recommended articles
from ATLAS, an online collection of religion and theology journals, are
linked below.
ATLAS Access options are available for academic institutions, alumni of
selected theological schools, and clergy/church offices. Annotated list of "starting place" articles at ATLAS for this week's texts (includes direct links).
- Aberbach, Moses and Leivy Smolar,
"Aaron, Jeroboam, and the Golden Calves," Journal of Biblical
Literature, 1967.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Bailey, Lloyd R., "The Golden Calf,"
Hebrew Union College Annual, 1971.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Balentine, Samuel E., "Turn, O Lord!
How Long?" Review & Expositor, 2003.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Brichto, Herbert Chanan, "The Worship of the Golden
Calf: A Literary Analysis of a Fable on Idolatry," Hebrew Union
College Annual, 1983.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Esselstyn, Micki Bingham,
"The Angel of Joy Demands Our Participation," The Living Pulpit,
1996.
(see
Joy issue focus of The Living Pulpit 5.4, 1996.)
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Flatto, David C., "Golden
Sacrifices," Tradition, 2001.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Frankel, David, "The Destruction of the Golden Calf:
A New Solution," Vetus Testamentum, 1994.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Hillmer, Mark,
"Faith in the Old Testament: Pentateuch and Prophets for Pentecost,"
Word & World, 1998.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - "Homiletical Helps on LW Series C - Old Testament," Concordia Journal, 2004. (Section on this text begins on page 254.)
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Honeycutt, Roy L., Jr., "Aaron, the Priesthood, and
the Golden Calf," Review & Expositor, 1977.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Janzen, J. Gerald, "The Character of the Calf and Its
Cult in Exodus 32," The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 1990.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Koyama, Kosuke, "They Are A
Stiff-Necked People," The Christian Century, 1989.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Lewy, Immanuel, "The Story of the
Golden Calf Reanalyzed," Vetus Testamentum, 1959.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Master, Jonathan,
"Exodus 32 as an Argument for Traditional Theism," Journal of the
Evangelical Theological Society, 2002.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - McCann, J. Clinton, Jr., "Exodus 32:1-14: Expository
Article," Interpretation, 1990.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - McKay, J.W., "Exodus 32:1-3, 6-8: A Decalogue for the
Administration of Justice in the City Gate," Vetus Testamentum,
1971.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
- Rundin, John S., "Pozo Moro, Child Sacrifice, and the Greek Legendary Tradition,"
Journal of Biblical Literature, 2004.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Slivniak, Dmitri M., "The Golden Calf Story:
Constructively and Deconstructively," Journal for the Study of the
Old Testament, 2008.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Smolar, Leivy and Moshe Aberbach, "The Golden Calf
Episode in Postbiblical Literature," Hebrew Union College Annual,
1968.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Tiemeyer, Lena-Sofia, "The Compassionate God of
Traditional Jewish and Christian Exegesis," Tyndale Bulletin,
2007.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Whybray, Roger N., "The Immorality of
God: Reflections on Some Passages in Genesis, Job, Exodus and Numbers,"
Journal of the Study of the Old Testament, 1996. (Section on this
text begins on page 112)
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
- Aberbach, Moses and Leivy Smolar,
"Aaron, Jeroboam, and the Golden Calves," Journal of Biblical
Literature, 1967.
- Reviews:
- Review: Karla R. Suomala, Moses and God in Dialogue: Exodus 32-34 in Postbiblical Literature. Lang, 2004. Review by Thomas B. Dozeman in SBL's Review of Biblical Literature.
- Review: Michael Widmer, Moses, God, and the Dynamics of Intercessory Prayer: A Study of Exodus 32-34 and Numbers 13-14. Mohr Siebeck, 2004. Review by Christopher Heard, Review of Biblical Literature, 2005.
- Sermons:
- How A Faithful Leader Deals With Faithless Followers -- sermon for Proper 23 | OT 28 on Exodus 32:1-14 by Derl G. Keefer from SermonStudio
- With Children:
- Worshiping with Children, Proper 23, Including children in the congregation's worship, using the Revised Common Lectionary, Carolyn C. Brown, 2011.
- "Children's Literature: A Resource for Ministry," October 9, 2011, Union Presbyterian Seminary. Connections: Exodus 32:1-14 and The Tale of Peter Rabbit, by Beatrix Potter.
- "Wandering in the Wilderness," "Ten Commandments," Illustrating the Story (lessons, children's sermons), coloring pages, activity sheets, crafts, children's songs. MSSS Crafts.
- "God Forgives a Faithless People," Sunday School Lessons: Family Bible Study, art projects, music, stories, etc.
- "The Golden Calf," children's study, puzzles, coloring sheet, etc. Higher Praise Christian Center.
- Drama:
- Graphics & Bulletin Materials:
- Clip Art, Exodus 32:7, Fr. Richard Lonsdale, Resources for Catholic Educators.
- Clip Art: Moses and the Golden Calf, Julius Schnoor von Carolsfeld woodcuts, World Mission Collection, Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod.
- Hymns and Music:
- Hymnary.org, hymns, scores, media, information.
- Fine Arts Images Linked at The Text This Week's Art Index:
- Movies scenes with the following themes, listed at The Text This Week's Movie Concordance:
- Study Links and Resources for the Book of Exodus
