Bible Strands
Exodus 32:5
When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before the calf and proclaimed: “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Aaron acts immediately after the Israelites fashion a molten calf and declare it their gods who brought them out of Egypt. He constructs an altar before the idol and announces a feast to the LORD for the following day.
The words — The verb וַ/יִּ֥בֶן (va/i.Yi.ven) literally means "and he built," describing the construction of a מִזְבֵּ֖חַ (miz.Be.ach), or altar, directly before the calf. The verb וַ/יִּקְרָ֤א (va/i.yik.Ra') means "and he called/proclaimed," marking the official declaration of the feast.
The thread — This proclamation of a feast to Yahweh parallels Jehu's announcement of a solemn assembly for Baal in 2 Kings 10:20, while the structural language of appointed feasts echoes Leviticus 23:2 and Leviticus 23:37.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that ritual language and sacred terminology can be deployed to legitimize idolatry. It requires the reader to distinguish between the form of worship and the object of devotion before judging the participants.
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 Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the Lord.
Cross-references
- 2 Kings 10:20 And Jehu commanded, “Proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal.” So they announced it.
- Leviticus 23:2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them, ‘These are My appointed feasts, the feasts of the LORD that you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies.
- Leviticus 23:37 These are the LORD’s appointed feasts, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies for presenting food offerings to the LORD—burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings, each on its designated day.
- Exodus 12:14 And this day will be a memorial for you, and you are to celebrate it as a feast to the LORD, as a permanent statute for the generations to come.
- Exodus 32:4 He took the gold from their hands, and with an engraving tool he fashioned it into a molten calf. And they said, “These, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!”
- Leviticus 23:4 These are the LORD’s appointed feasts, the sacred assemblies you are to proclaim at their appointed times.
- Leviticus 23:21 On that same day you are to proclaim a sacred assembly, and you must not do any regular work. This is to be a permanent statute wherever you live for the generations to come.
- 1 Samuel 14:35 Then Saul built an altar to the LORD; it was the first time he had built an altar to the LORD.
- 1 Kings 12:32 And Jeroboam ordained a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the feast that was in Judah, and he offered sacrifices on the altar; he made this offering in Bethel to sacrifice to the calves he had set up, and he installed priests in Bethel for the high places he had set up.
- 1 Kings 21:9 In the letters she wrote: “Proclaim a fast and give Naboth a seat of honor among the people.