Psalm 106 19

Psalm 106:19 kjv

They made a calf in Horeb, and worshipped the molten image.

Psalm 106:19 nkjv

They made a calf in Horeb, And worshiped the molded image.

Psalm 106:19 niv

At Horeb they made a calf and worshiped an idol cast from metal.

Psalm 106:19 esv

They made a calf in Horeb and worshiped a metal image.

Psalm 106:19 nlt

The people made a calf at Mount Sinai ;
they bowed before an image made of gold.

Psalm 106 verses

Psalm 106 19 Meaning

Psalm 106:19 states, "They made a calf in Horeb and worshiped a metal image." This verse concisely recounts a profound act of apostasy by the Israelites at Mount Horeb (also known as Mount Sinai). While Moses was receiving God's law on the mountain, the people, growing impatient and demanding visible gods, fashioned a golden calf from their jewelry and offered worship to it. This act was a direct and flagrant violation of the first two commandments given by God, forbidding the worship of other gods and the making of idols, particularly at the very site where He had revealed Himself in glorious power and established His covenant.

Psalm 106 19 Context

Psalm 106:19 stands as a pivotal verse within a historical psalm of lament and confession. The psalm intricately recounts Israel's long and tragic history of rebellion, unfaithfulness, and ingratitude towards God, contrasted with God's enduring steadfast love and merciful intervention. The particular incident detailed in verse 19, the making of the golden calf, is presented as one of the earliest and most egregious examples of Israel's tendency toward idolatry and disobedience after their miraculous deliverance from Egypt.

Historically, this event occurred at Mount Sinai, also known as Horeb (Ex 3:1), which was the very place where God had manifested His presence in fire and cloud, given the Ten Commandments, and established His covenant with the newly liberated nation of Israel. The commandments explicitly forbade the worship of other gods and the creation of idols. The Israelites’ impatience during Moses’s extended time on the mountain receiving God’s law, combined with their desire for a visible god like those of the nations around them, led them to pressure Aaron into constructing the calf. Their subsequent worship, feasting, and revelry amounted to a profound betrayal of the freshly sworn covenant, occurring literally at the foot of the mountain where God’s glory had been so dramatically revealed. This incident served as a stark and immediate demonstration of Israel’s deep-seated spiritual rebellion, despite overwhelming evidence of God's power and provision.

Psalm 106 19 Word analysis

• They made: (Hebrew: עָשׂוּ, ‘asu) This plural verb emphasizes the collective agency and deliberate action of the people. It signifies that their sin was not a mere accidental lapse but a willful choice and an act of fabrication driven by their own desires and impatience, a departure from divine instruction.
• a calf: (Hebrew: עֵגֶל, ‘egel) This term refers to a young bull or steer, not necessarily a fully grown animal. The choice of a calf was likely influenced by familiar ancient Near Eastern pagan worship, where bulls were common symbols of strength, fertility, and divine power (e.g., the Egyptian Apis bull or Canaanite Baal imagery). For Israel, this represented a profound syncretism, attempting to reduce the incomparable Yahweh to a tangible, created form associated with pagan deities. It symbolized their abandonment of the transcendent, invisible God for something they could see and control.
• in Horeb: (Hebrew: בְּחֹרֵב, bəḥōrēb) Horeb is an alternative name for Mount Sinai. This geographical detail is crucial. It underscores that the idolatry occurred at the very place of God’s grandest self-revelation, covenant ratification, and the giving of His holy Law, including the prohibition against making idols. The location magnifies the audacious and blasphemous nature of their rebellion, acting out this sin directly within the sphere of God's most immediate and terrifying presence.
• and worshiped: (Hebrew: וַיִּשְׁתַּחֲוּוּ, wayyishtakhawu) This verb, meaning "and they bowed down" or "prostrated themselves," denotes an act of profound reverence, submission, and adoration. It signifies offering ultimate allegiance and devotion, worship due only to Yahweh. By performing this act before the golden calf, the Israelites unequivocally transferred their worship and ultimate trust from the one true God to a lifeless, human-made object.
• a metal image: (Hebrew: מַסֵּכָה, massēkhah) This term specifically refers to an image, idol, or molten/cast image. It implies that the calf was made by melting gold (Ex 32:2-4) and shaping it through a casting process, not merely a carved figure. This aligns directly with the second commandment’s prohibition: "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness... you shall not bow down to them or serve them" (Ex 20:4-5). It confirms their intentional construction and veneration of an idol.

• They made a calf in Horeb: This phrase highlights the shocking proximity of profound covenant blessing and profound covenant breaking. It was an act of extreme ingratitude and spiritual amnesia, forgetting the Lord's mighty deeds and substituting His invisible presence with a tangible, powerless object. It represents an acute theological short-circuit, attempting to tame the uncontainable God by confining Him to a physical form.
• and worshiped a metal image: This demonstrates the depth of their spiritual declension. It wasn't just crafting an image, but rendering worship to it, thereby displacing Yahweh from His rightful place in their hearts and in their national life. This immediate turn to idolatry after witnessing God's glory exemplifies humanity's propensity to create gods in its own image rather than bowing to the living God.

Psalm 106 19 Bonus section

The "calf" (עֵגֶל) as an object of worship recurs tragically in Israel's history when King Jeroboam later set up golden calves in Bethel and Dan (1 Ki 12:28-29), institutionalizing this very sin within the northern kingdom and leading generations into apostasy. This highlights a persistent vulnerability to this specific form of idolatry within Israel. The swiftness of their apostasy at Horeb directly after experiencing the miraculous provides a severe caution against underestimating the heart's tendency to wander from God. It was a crisis of leadership, impatience, and spiritual amnesia, underscoring the vital need for a transformed heart, not merely external obedience. Moses's passionate intercession following this sin (Ex 32:11-14) prevented God from utterly consuming them, demonstrating God’s patience and a foreshadowing of the ultimate intercession of Christ for His people.

Psalm 106 19 Commentary

Psalm 106:19 powerfully encapsulates Israel's pivotal moment of profound unfaithfulness immediately following God's delivering power at the Exodus and His self-revelation at Sinai. The creation and worship of the golden calf in Horeb was not a mere mistake; it was an act of profound apostasy that violated the core tenets of the covenant even as they were being revealed. The choice to fashion a "calf," reminiscent of pagan fertility deities, and to prostrate themselves before this "metal image" exposed Israel's spiritual amnesia and deep-seated idolatrous inclinations, exchanging the glory of the invisible God for a visible, controllable substitute.

This verse serves as a sober reminder that spiritual rebellion can surface even in the presence of overwhelming divine manifestation and freshly received revelation. It illustrates humanity's persistent struggle to trust in the unseen God, preferring tangible forms and familiar practices, even those forbidden. For the believer, it highlights the constant temptation to place ultimate trust, affection, or source of security in created things—whether material possessions, personal ambitions, relationships, or societal ideals—rather than the one true God. Such misplaced worship, even in its modern, less tangible forms (e.g., greed, self-reliance, seeking approval from others), functions as idolatry, diverting allegiance due solely to Christ. This historical account from Horeb therefore calls for constant vigilance and sincere devotion to the living God, whose worth is beyond any created thing.