Bible Strands
Exodus 32:22
“Do not be enraged, my lord,” Aaron replied. “You yourself know that the people are intent on evil.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Aaron answers Moses after Moses confronts him about the creation of the golden calf. He speaks to Moses in the immediate aftermath of the people’s idolatrous demand.
The words — יִ֥חַר אַ֖ף (Yi.char 'af) literally means “it burn [the] anger,” forming the phrase “do not be enraged.” אַתָּה֙ יָדַ֣עְתָּ ('a.Tah ya.Da'.ta) translates directly as “you know,” stressing Moses’ direct awareness of the circumstances.
The thread — The recurring pattern of Israel’s rebellion and grumbling against leadership appears in Deuteronomy 9:24, Exodus 14:11, and Exodus 15:24. These texts document the same wilderness cycle of complaint and disobedience.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition of human propensity for evil without excuse. It requires readers to confront how leadership failure and crowd pressure operate under divine scrutiny.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 9:24 You have been rebelling against the LORD since the day I came to know you.
- Exodus 14:11 They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us into the wilderness to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?
- Exodus 15:24 So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?”
- Exodus 16:20 But they did not listen to Moses; some people left part of it until morning, and it became infested with maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them.
- 1 Samuel 15:24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned; I have transgressed the LORD’s commandment and your instructions, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.
- Psalms 36:4 Even on his bed he plots wickedness; he sets himself on a path that is not good; he fails to reject evil.
- Proverbs 4:16 For they cannot sleep unless they do evil; they are deprived of slumber until they make someone fall.
- Exodus 16:2 And there in the desert the whole congregation of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron.
- Exodus 16:28 Then the LORD said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep My commandments and instructions?
- Exodus 17:2 So the people contended with Moses, “Give us water to drink.” “Why do you contend with me?” Moses replied. “Why do you test the LORD?”