Bible Strands
Exodus 32:25
Moses saw that the people were out of control, for Aaron had let them run wild and become a laughingstock to their enemies.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Moses observes the Israelite camp immediately following Aaron’s account of the golden calf. He notes the resulting loss of discipline and public disgrace before stepping to the camp entrance.
The words — The Hebrew פָרֻ֖עַ (paruaʿ) literally means to be unrestrained or running wild, describing the people’s sudden behavioral collapse. This term grounds Moses’s direct observation in their undisciplined state.
The thread — The exposure of shame aligns with the revealed disgrace in Isaiah 47:3 and Micah 1:11, and points toward the warning in Revelation 16:15 against remaining spiritually uncovered.
Why it lands — The text states that compromised leadership produces public disgrace and demands immediate intervention. It requires the reader to identify where uncorrected compromise has already damaged communal witness.
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 when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:)
Cross-references
- Isaiah 47:3 Your nakedness will be uncovered and your shame will be exposed. I will take vengeance; I will spare no one.”
- Micah 1:11 Depart in shameful nakedness, O dwellers of Shaphir. The dwellers of Zaanan will not come out. Beth-ezel is in mourning; its support is taken from you.
- Revelation 16:15 “Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who remains awake and clothed, so that he will not go naked and let his shame be exposed.”
- Genesis 3:10 “I heard Your voice in the garden,” he replied, “and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.”
- Exodus 33:4 When the people heard this bad news, they went into mourning, and no one put on any of his jewelry.
- Deuteronomy 9:20 The LORD was angry enough with Aaron to destroy him, but at that time I also prayed for Aaron.
- 2 Chronicles 28:19 For the LORD humbled Judah because Ahaz king of Israel had thrown off restraint in Judah and had been most unfaithful to the LORD.
- Ezekiel 16:63 so that when I make atonement for all you have done, you will remember and be ashamed and never again open your mouth because of your disgrace, declares the Lord GOD.”
- Daniel 12:2 And many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life, but others to shame and everlasting contempt.
- Hosea 2:3 Otherwise, I will strip her naked and expose her like the day of her birth. I will make her like a desert and turn her into a parched land, and I will let her die of thirst.