Kejadian 24:22

24:22 After the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka ¹  and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels ²  and gave them to her. ³ 

Kejadian 24:53

24:53 Then he ⁴  brought out gold, silver jewelry, and clothing and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave valuable gifts to her brother and to her mother.

Keluaran 12:35

12:35 Now the Israelites had done ⁵  as Moses told them – they had requested from the Egyptians ⁶  silver and gold items and clothing.

Keluaran 32:3

32:3 So all ⁷  the people broke off the gold earrings that were on their ears and brought them to Aaron.

Keluaran 32:1

The Sin of the Golden Calf

32:1 ⁸ When the people saw that Moses delayed ⁹  in coming down ¹⁰  from the mountain, they ¹¹  gathered around Aaron and said to him, “Get up, ¹²  make us gods ¹³  that will go before us. As for this fellow Moses, ¹⁴  the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what ¹⁵  has become of him!”

Pengkhotbah 3:3-5

3:3 A time to kill, and a time to heal;

a time to break down, and a time to build up;

3:4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn, and a time to dance.

3:5 A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones;

a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

[24:22]  ¹ sn A beka weighed about 5-6 grams (0.2 ounce).

[24:22]  ² sn A shekel weighed about 11.5 grams (0.4 ounce) although weights varied locally, so these bracelets weighed about 4 ounces (115 grams).

[24:22]  ³ tn The words “and gave them to her” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.

[24:53]  ⁴ tn Heb “the servant”; the noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[12:35]  ⁵ tn The verbs “had done” and then “had asked” were accomplished prior to the present narrative (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 99). The verse begins with disjunctive word order to introduce the reminder of earlier background information.

[12:35]  ⁶ tn Heb “from Egypt.” Here the Hebrew text uses the name of the country to represent the inhabitants (a figure known as metonymy).

[32:3]  ⁷ tn This “all” is a natural hyperbole in the narrative, for it means the large majority of the people.

[32:1]  ⁸ sn This narrative is an unhappy interlude in the flow of the argument of the book. After the giving of the Law and the instructions for the tabernacle, the people get into idolatry. So this section tells what the people were doing when Moses was on the mountain. Here is an instant violation of the covenant that they had just agreed to uphold. But through it all Moses shines as the great intercessor for the people. So the subject matter is the sin of idolatry, its effects and its remedy. Because of the similarities to Jeroboam’s setting up the calves in Dan and Bethel, modern critics have often said this passage was written at that time. U. Cassuto shows how the language of this chapter would not fit an Iron Age setting in Dan. Rather, he argues, this story was well enough known for Jeroboam to imitate the practice (Exodus, 407-10). This chapter can be divided into four parts for an easier exposition: idolatry (32:1-6), intercession (32:7-14), judgment (32:15-29), intercession again (32:30-33:6). Of course, these sections are far more complex than this, but this gives an overview. Four summary statements for expository points might be: I. Impatience often leads to foolish violations of the faith, II. Violations of the covenant require intercession to escape condemnation, III. Those spared of divine wrath must purge evil from their midst, and IV. Those who purge evil from their midst will find reinstatement through intercession. Several important studies are available for this. See, among others, D. R. Davis, “Rebellion, Presence, and Covenant: A Study in Exodus 32-34,” WTJ 44 (1982): 71-87; M. Greenberg, “Moses’ Intercessory Prayer,” Ecumenical Institute for Advanced Theological Studies (1978): 21-35; R. A. Hamer, “The New Covenant of Moses,” Judaism 27 (1978): 345-50; R. L. Honeycutt, Jr., “Aaron, the Priesthood, and the Golden Calf,” RevExp 74 (1977): 523-35; J. N. Oswalt, “The Golden Calves and the Egyptian Concept of Deity,” EvQ 45 (1973): 13-20.

[32:1]  ⁹ tn The meaning of this verb is properly “caused shame,” meaning cause disappointment because he was not coming back (see also Judg 5:28 for the delay of Sisera’s chariots [S. R. Driver, Exodus, 349]).

[32:1]  ¹⁰ tn The infinitive construct with the lamed (ל) preposition is used here epexegetically, explaining the delay of Moses.

[32:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the people.”

[32:1]  ¹² tn The imperative means “arise.” It could be serving here as an interjection, getting Aaron’s attention. But it might also have the force of prompting him to get busy.

[32:1]  ¹³ tn The plural translation is required here (although the form itself could be singular in meaning) because the verb that follows in the relative clause is a plural verb – that they go before us).

[32:1]  ¹⁴ tn The text has “this Moses.” But this instance may find the demonstrative used in an earlier deictic sense, especially since there is no article with it.

[32:1]  ¹⁵ tn The interrogative is used in an indirect question (see GKC 443-44 §137.c).