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Golden calf

The golden image of a calf made by the Israelites in the Book of Exodus while Moses was on Mount Sinai.

A tile drawn for this page, not a picture of Golden calf.

Also: egel ha-zahav, calf of gold

In Exodus 32, while Moses is on Mount Sinai receiving the law, the Israelites grow restless and ask Aaron to make them a god. He melts down their gold earrings and casts a calf, which they worship with feasting. Moses returns, breaks the tablets of the law, burns the calf, grinds it to powder and scatters it on water. The story is also told in the Quran, where the calf is made by a man called the Samiri. Later, according to the Books of Kings, King Jeroboam set up golden calves at Bethel and Dan. The phrase worshipping the golden calf has come to mean devotion to wealth.

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