Exodus 32 4

Exodus 32:4 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.

Exodus 32:4 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!"

Exodus 32:4 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."

Exodus 32:4 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!"

Exodus 32:4 nlt

Then Aaron took the gold, melted it down, and molded it into the shape of a calf. When the people saw it, they exclaimed, "O Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of the land of Egypt!"

Exodus 32 verses

Exodus 32 4 Meaning

Exodus 32:4 describes the making of the golden calf by Aaron for the Israelites while Moses was on Mount Sinai. It details the steps taken by Aaron—collecting the gold, shaping it with a tool, and forming a molten calf. Most significantly, the verse records the people's immediate and blasphemous proclamation: "This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!" This act represents a profound rejection of the one true God and the covenant freshly made, an immediate succumbing to idolatry.

Exodus 32 4 Context

Exodus chapter 32 describes a profound and devastating rebellion by the Israelites immediately after they entered into a sacred covenant with Yahweh at Mount Sinai. While Moses was on the mountain for forty days receiving the detailed Law, including the very commandments forbidding idol worship, the people grew impatient. They believed Moses had abandoned them, demonstrating a fundamental lack of trust in God's provision and a short memory of His powerful deliverance from Egypt. This vacuum of perceived leadership and faith led them to demand Aaron make them "gods who shall go before us," seeking a tangible representation and familiar worship practice rooted in the pagan cultures they had recently left behind, particularly Egypt. The molten calf was a stark contravention of the first two commandments and represents a turning away from the invisible, mighty God towards a man-made image that was prevalent in Egyptian cults, like the Apis bull worship, which symbolized fertility, strength, or was seen as a manifestation of a deity.

Exodus 32 4 Word analysis

• He (Aaron) took them from their hand, - The pronoun "He" (וַיִּקַּח vayyiqaḥ), explicitly refers to Aaron, highlighting his active participation and leadership in this act of rebellion. The phrase "took them from their hand" (מִיָּדָם miyyādām) means he collected the golden earrings and ornaments, emphasizing that the people eagerly supplied the materials, thus sharing in the culpability. This swift obedience to the people's demand stands in stark contrast to God's precise commands given to Moses.
• and fashioned it - The Hebrew word wayyiṣṣor (וַיִּצַר) from yātsar (יצר) means to form, to fashion, or to shape, as a potter forms clay. This verb is notably used elsewhere in Scripture for God's creation, such as "forming man from the dust of the ground" (Gen 2:7). Here, Aaron arrogantly or carelessly assumes a creative role, fashioning an object of worship. This deliberate act of shaping highlights his direct responsibility in producing the idol.
• with a graving tool - The Hebrew word baḥeret (בַּחֶרֶט) means with an engraving tool or a stylus. This detail indicates that the calf was not simply a lump of melted gold but was meticulously worked upon. It suggests a precise, artistic, and intentional effort to give it shape and perhaps even detailed features after it was cast, debunking any idea that it was a spontaneous, accidental emergence. This signifies deliberate craftsmanship in defiance of God.
• and made it into a molten calf; - The phrase "molten calf" (עֵגֶל מַסֵּכָה ʻēgel massēkhāh) specifies the type of idol. A massekah is a cast or molten image, indicating a statue made by pouring liquid metal into a mold. A "calf" (עֵגֶל ʻēgel) refers to a young bull or steer. This choice of animal is significant as bull imagery was associated with deities of power, fertility, and strength in the ancient Near East, particularly prominent in Egyptian and Canaanite religious cults (e.g., the Apis bull of Memphis, Baal in Canaanite religion). This directly challenges Yahweh's unique identity.
• and they said, - "They said" (wayyōʼměrû וַיֹּאמְרוּ) indicates the collective declaration of the people, signifying widespread complicity and agreement with the new object of worship. It's a direct, unified, and audacious proclamation by the whole assembly.
• "This is your god, O Israel," - This declaration "This is your god" (אֵלֶּה אֱלֹהֶיךָ ʾēlleh ʾĕlōheyḵā). Grammatically, ʾēlleh is plural ("these are"), and ʾĕlōheyḵā (your God/gods) can be plural or singular. In this context, referring to a single calf, it's often understood as a plural of majesty referring to a single deity, or potentially reflecting a polytheistic mindset, indicating the false deity they adopted. This is a direct denial of Yahweh as their unique God, violating the First Commandment given just weeks prior.
• who brought you up from the land of Egypt!" - This concluding phrase (אֲשֶׁר הֶעֱלוּךָ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם ʼăšer heʻĕlûḵā mēʼereṣ Miṣrāyim) attributes God's own unique act of deliverance from Egypt—the very foundation of their covenant identity and Yahweh's demonstrated power—to a man-made idol. This is the height of blasphemy, attributing Yahweh's saving act to a fabricated, inanimate object, a profound perversion of truth and history.

• Words-Group analysis: "He took them...and fashioned it...with a graving tool and made it into a molten calf;": This phrase highlights Aaron's progression from collecting the raw material to carefully crafting the idol. It details a methodical, deliberate process, revealing that the creation of the calf was not an accidental or spontaneous event, but a carefully executed project initiated by Aaron's complicity with the people's sinful desires. "and they said, 'This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!'": This collective proclamation reveals the people's severe spiritual amnesia and outright idolatry. They declare the inert idol to be their deliverer, demonstrating a catastrophic misunderstanding of divine power and ingratitude for Yahweh's actual mighty acts. It represents the immediate and dramatic breaking of the core covenant laws against idolatry and taking God's name in vain.

Exodus 32 4 Bonus section

• Aaron's defense (Ex 32:24): Interestingly, Aaron later tries to evade full responsibility by claiming, "I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!" (Ex 32:24), suggesting a spontaneous appearance rather than deliberate craftsmanship, which contradicts the explicit "fashioned it with a graving tool" of verse 4. This highlights human tendency to minimize guilt.
• The Nature of the Idolatry: Scholars debate whether the calf was meant as a pedestal for Yahweh (a representation of His presence, like cherubim on the ark), or as an outright replacement of Yahweh, as "your god" suggests. The latter is more consistent with the biblical narrative and the severe divine reaction.
• Foreshadowing Future Idolatry: This incident prefigures future apostasy, particularly the division of the kingdom where Jeroboam sets up golden calves in Dan and Bethel (1 Kgs 12:28-30), repeating the sin of Sinai and becoming a defining sin for the Northern Kingdom of Israel. This early idolatry thus sets a precedent for later spiritual unfaithfulness.

Exodus 32 4 Commentary

Exodus 32:4 captures the depth of Israel's spiritual decline at Mount Sinai. Having witnessed the thunder, lightning, and voice of God, and having just agreed to obey His covenant, they quickly reverted to pagan practices known from Egypt. Aaron's action, taking gold and actively "fashioning" an image with a tool, signifies deliberate creation, directly contrasting the Divine Creator. The specific choice of a "molten calf" points to familiar fertility and power symbols in surrounding cultures, likely reflecting an attempt to materialize their concept of a strong deity, much like the Apis bull of Egypt. Their pronouncement, "This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt," is deeply ironic and blasphemous. They attribute God's most defining act of salvation to an inanimate object of their own making, revealing a severe case of spiritual forgetfulness and a preference for a tangible, controllable deity over the transcendent, holy Yahweh. This episode serves as a powerful reminder of humanity's propensity to idolatry and ingratitude, even in the face of overwhelming divine revelation and deliverance.