About this episode
Exodus 32 details the tragic failure of Israel’s apostasy with the golden calf. The story is well known, mostly for its portrayal in the movie The Ten Commandments. The Israelites are in a panic. Moses has been gone forty days with no hint that he’ll return. In tandem with Moses’ absence, God has not manifested his presence over the same time period. The people are without evidence that God is still with them, they have no leader, they cannot return to Egypt, and they have no idea where they are supposed to go. They demand Aaron give them a god to fill these voids, a yearning that leads to disaster. This episode of the podcast discusses these elements and other less obvious issues in the passage, including whether the calf was thought to represent Yahweh in Israelite religion.