Golden Calf

[Leah71]

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[ViaCrucis]

In the Old Testament a gold calf is mentioned more than once. I am curious if it had some sort of significance to the ancient Hebrews or if it was something related to the ancient Near East. I can understand the gold but why a calf? Did ancient Near Eastern pagans use a calf as one of their dieties? Did it symbolize something to the ancient Hebrews or other ancient Near Eastern cultures?

Cattle cults were big in the ancient near east, including and perhaps especially in Egypt. Prior to the advent of Egyptian civilization we see signs of a Saharan cattle cult when the Sahara was much more fertile, there are some who believe that as the Sahara dried up, people moved East toward the fertile Nile area, which would ultimately form the earliest layers of Egyptian civilization.

The Hebrews, according to the Exodus, had spent four hundred years in Egypt as slaves, and as such would have been intimately familiar with Egyptian religious practices and customs, including the reverence of cattle.

The making of the golden calf is probably an Egyptian influence. An identification of YHVH with cattle/a calf because of the meaning of cattle as prosperity. The text, however, as we all know, condemns this action harshly, as the first of the "Ten Words" (Ten Commandments) given from Sinai forbids the worship of other gods and the making of idols--YHVH has no form and thus no graven images are to be allowed.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[Leah71]

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[Johnnz]

The calf was an idol. Cattle were prized in Egypt. The calf symbol was used by the Canaanites as related to strength and fertility.

John
NZ