Exodus: The Function of the Calf

EXODUS: The Function of the Calf


I will discuss the function of the calf. I will include discussion from the creating to the destruction of the calf. To begin, through my research, I discovered that the calf represents Israel’s sin of idolatry against God. It represents a break in their covenant with God. In Exodus, the author states that when Moses did not return from the mountain, Israel began to worry and did not feel they could get along without a tangible guide. They approached Aaron and he made for them a calf or bull. Further Cate states, “The choice of the bull to represent their God was probably based upon the Canaanite Baal worship. The greatest tragedy was the fact that they gave credit to their handmade God for their deliverance from Egypt.”[1]
In Exodus, the author then reveals that when Moses “broke” the tables of the law he carried down the mountain several factors were involved. Beyond his anger at Israel’s sin, it is a visible sign that Israel had broken God’s covenant. It was a clear they had repudiated the work of God. As the tables were the “work of God” so was the covenant they had broken.[2]
In McLaren’s Expositions of Holy Scripture, the author states, “The reason for making the thing in the shape of the calf is probably the Egyptian worship of Apis in that form, which would be familiar to the people. It was a national rebellion, a flood which swept away even some faithful, timid hearts. The demand ‘to make gods’ flew in the face of both the first and second commandments. For Jehovah, who had forbidden the forming of any image, was denied in the act of making it.”[3]
Moreover, in Interpreting the Old Testament, Harrelson states, “the young bull was a widespread symbol of virility in the fertility religions of the ancient world. However, the calf made in the wilderness may have been a portable representative of the earthly throne of Yahweh, as was the ark of the covenant. Still more probable is the view that among the tribes of Israel in the wilderness and late in Palestine were a number of cult objects representing the presence of Yahweh: the ark with its tent of meeting, the tent-tabernacle as a separate cult center where the priest received oracles and met the deity, the portable bull-symbol, and perhaps others.”[4]
On a similar note, in The Character of the Calf and Its Cult in Exodus 32, the author argues, “the specific textual data in Exodus 32 commonly taken to point to a fertility rite or orgiastic revelry can be taken with equal plausibility to point to a rite celebrating divine might and victory. Bull symbolism was frequently employed to depict not only divine but also human war leaders. This means the calf in Exodus 32 may signify either fertility or war might, and that the significance of Aaron’s calf is to be decided from the narrative itself.”[5]
Janzen continues in this article by saying that Exodus does not seem to be concerned with issues of sterility and fertility but rather, with leadership safety and victory. Janzen states that the narrative gives strong grounds for viewing the calf as an intended symbol of god the divine warrior and protector who leads the people to their restful habitation. In addition, Janzen states, “Nothing in 32:1-5 gives the slightest hint of a concern for fertility. The concern is to find some sort of replacement for Moses, whose erstwhile presence had to do with deliverance from Egypt. That the calf, nevertheless, has been taken as a fertility symbol is due to the construal of a number of the terms used to describe aspects of the people’s cultic celebration in the presence of the calf.”[6]
In The One Volume Bible Commentary, the author states that in making the demand for the calf, it is doubtful whether the people intended to abandon the worship of Jehovah altogether, or just wanted a visual representation of him. The author states that Aaron’s words in vv. 4, 5 seem to indicate that he regarded the golden bull as an image of the true God; but in v.8, the people are charged with deserting Jehovah for another god. The worship of God by images degrades God, and the image usurps his place in the mind of the worshipper.[7]

Bibliography

Cate, Robert L. Layman’s Bible Book Commentary: Exodus. Vol. 2. Nashville,
Tennessee. Broadman Press. 1979.

Dummelow, J.R. The One Volume Bible Commentary. New York, NY. The Macmillan
Company.

Harrelson, Walter. Interpreting the Old Testament. Chicago, IL. Holt, Rinehart &
Winston, Inc. 1964.

Janzen, J. Gerald. “The Character of the Calf and Its Cult in Exodus 32.” Catholic
Biblical Quarterly 52.4. October 1990.

McLaren, Alexander. McLaren’s Expositions of the Holy Scripture. Vol. I. Grand
Rapids, MI. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. 1959.

[1] Cate, Robert L., Layman’s Bible Book Commentary: Exodus Vol. 2, p. 124.
[2] Cate, Robert L., p. 128.
[3] McLaren, Alexander, McLaren’s Expositions of the Holy Scripture, p. 172-174.
[4] Harrelson, Walter, Interpreting the Old Testament, p. 96
[5] Janzen, J. Gerald, The Character of the Calf and Its Cult in Exodus 32, p. 598.
[6] Janzen, J. Gerald, p. 599-600.
[7] Dummelow, J.R., The One Volume Bible Commentary, p. 81.