golden calf
golden calf
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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| golden calf | |
| —n | |
| 1. | Old Testament |
| a. an idol made by Aaron and set up for the Israelites to worship (Exodus 32) | |
| b. either of two similar idols set up by Jeroboam I at Dan and Bethel in the northern kingdom (I Kings 12:28--30) | |
| 2. | informal the pursuit or idolization of material wealth |
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| a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes. |
| a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison. |
golden calf definition
An idol that the Israelites made during the Exodus. While God was giving Moses the Ten Commandments and other provisions of the Mosaic law on Mount Sinai, the people whom Moses was leading to the Promised Land melted down their gold jewelry and ornaments and built a golden calf, which they began to worship. Moses came down from the mountain carrying two stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments were written; when he saw the calf, he smashed the tablets and made the people destroy the idol.
Note: By extension, a “golden calf” is any false god or anything worshiped undeservedly.
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Golden calf definition
(Ex. 32:4,8; Deut. 9:16; Neh. 9:18). This was a molten image of a calf which the idolatrous Israelites formed at Sinai. This symbol was borrowed from the custom of the Egyptians. It was destroyed at the command of Moses (Ex. 32:20). (See AARON ØT0000002; MOSES.)
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golden calf
idol worshipped by the Hebrews during the period of the Exodus from Egypt in the 13th century BC and during the age of Jeroboam I, king of Israel, in the 10th century BC. Mentioned in Exodus 32 and I Kings 12 in the Old Testament, worship of the golden calf is seen as a supreme act of apostasy, the rejection of a faith once confessed. The figure is probably a representation of the Egyptian bull god Apis in the earlier period and of the Canaanite fertility god Baal in the latter.
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