Calf

Twice a golden calf leads Israel astray. At Horeb the people “made a calf in Horeb, and worshipped the molten image” (Psalm 106:19). Centuries later King Jeroboam sets up two gold calves at Bethel and Dan, telling the northern tribes it is too far to go up to Jerusalem. “And this thing became a sin,” says 1 Kings 12:30. A man of God cries out against the altar at Bethel in chapter 13. The prophet Hosea adds that “the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces,” and then offers a way back: “so will we render the calves of our lips.”

19 verses

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 9:16

And I looked, and, behold, ye had sinned against the LORD your God, and had made you a molten calf: ye had turned aside quickly out of the way which the LORD had commanded you.

1 Kings

1 Kings 12:28

Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

1 Kings 12:29

And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan.

1 Kings 12:30

And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan.

1 Kings 12:31

And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi.

1 Kings 12:32

And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made.

1 Kings 12:33

So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense.

1 Kings 13:1

And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.

1 Kings 13:2

And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be burnt upon thee.

1 Kings 13:3

And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.

1 Kings 13:4

And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him.

1 Kings 13:5

The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the LORD.

1 Kings 13:32

For the saying which he cried by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel, and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria, shall surely come to pass.

Nehemiah

Nehemiah 9:18

Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is thy God that brought thee up out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocations;

Psalms

Psalms 106:19

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

Jeremiah

Jeremiah 48:13

And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel their confidence.

Hosea

Hosea 8:5

Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off; mine anger is kindled against them: how long will it be ere they attain to innocency?

Hosea 8:6

For from Israel was it also: the workman made it; therefore it is not God: but the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces.

Hosea 14:2

Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips.

From Easton's Bible Dictionary

Matthew George Easton, 1897

Calves were commonly made use of in sacrifices, and are therefore frequently mentioned in Scripture. The “fatted calf” was regarded as the choicest of animal food; it was frequently also offered as a special sacrifice (1 Sam. 28:24; Amos 6:4; Luke 15:23). The words used in Jer. 34:18, 19, “cut the calf in twain,” allude to the custom of dividing a sacrifice into two parts, between which the parties ratifying a covenant passed (Gen. 15:9, 10, 17, 18). The sacrifice of the lips, i.e., priase, is called “the calves of our lips” (Hos. 14:2, R.V., “as bullocks the offering of our lips.” Comp. Heb. 13:15; Ps. 116:7; Jer. 33:11).

Read the full entry

The golden calf which Aaron made (Ex. 32:4) was probably a copy of the god Moloch rather than of the god Apis, the sacred ox or calf of Egypt. The Jews showed all through their history a tendency toward the Babylonian and Canaanitish idolatry rather than toward that of Egypt.

Ages after this, Jeroboam, king of Israel, set up two idol calves, one at Dan, and the other at Bethel, that he might thus prevent the ten tribes from resorting to Jerusalem for worship (1 Kings 12:28). These calves continued to be a snare to the people till the time of their captivity. The calf at Dan was carried away in the reign of Pekah by Tiglath-pileser, and that at Bethel ten years later, in the reign of Hoshea, by Shalmaneser (2 Kings 15:29; 17:33). This sin of Jeroboam is almost always mentioned along with his name (2 Kings 15:28 etc.).

From Smith's Bible Dictionary

William Smith, 1884

The calf was held in high esteem by the Jews as food. (1 Samuel 28:24; Luke 15:23) The molten calf prepared by Aaron for the people to worship, (Exodus 32:4) was probably a wooden figure laminated with gold, a process which is known to have existed in Egypt. [AARON]