Discovery BoxEzekiel 7:19
Context7:19 They will discard their silver in the streets, and their gold will be treated like filth. 1 Their silver and gold will not be able to deliver them on the day of the Lord’s fury. 2 They will not satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs because their wealth 3 was the obstacle leading to their iniquity. 4
Ezekiel 23:14-21
Context23:14 But she increased her prostitution. She saw men carved on the wall, images of the Chaldeans carved in bright red, 5 23:15 wearing belts on their waists and flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looking like officers, the image of Babylonians 6 whose native land is Chaldea. 23:16 When she saw them, 7 she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea. 8 23:17 The Babylonians crawled into bed with her. 9 They defiled her with their lust; after she was defiled by them, she 10 became disgusted with them. 23:18 When she lustfully exposed her nakedness, 11 I 12 was disgusted with her, just as I 13 had been disgusted with her sister. 23:19 Yet she increased her prostitution, remembering the days of her youth when she engaged in prostitution in the land of Egypt. 23:20 She lusted after their genitals – as large as those of donkeys, 14 and their seminal emission was as strong as that of stallions. 23:21 This is how you assessed 15 the obscene conduct of your youth, when the Egyptians fondled 16 your nipples and squeezed 17 your young breasts.
Exodus 32:1-4
Context32:1 18 When the people saw that Moses delayed 19 in coming down 20 from the mountain, they 21 gathered around Aaron and said to him, “Get up, 22 make us gods 23 that will go before us. As for this fellow Moses, 24 the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what 25 has become of him!”
32:2 So Aaron said to them, “Break off the gold earrings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 26 32:3 So all 27 the people broke off the gold earrings that were on their ears and brought them to Aaron. 32:4 He accepted the gold 28 from them, 29 fashioned 30 it with an engraving tool, and made a molten calf. 31 Then they said, “These are your gods, 32 O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”
Hosea 2:13
Context2:13 “I will punish her for the festival days
when she burned incense to the Baal idols; 33
she adorned herself with earrings and jewelry,
and went after her lovers,
but 34 she forgot me!” 35 says the Lord.
Hosea 10:1
Context10:1 Israel was a fertile vine
that yielded fruit.
As his fruit multiplied,
he multiplied altars to Baal. 36
As his land prospered,
they adorned the fertility pillars.
[7:19] 1 tn The Hebrew term can refer to menstrual impurity. The term also occurs at the end of v. 20.
[7:19] 2 sn Compare Zeph 1:18.
[7:19] 3 tn Heb “it.” Apparently the subject is the silver and gold mentioned earlier (see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 1:102).
[7:19] 4 tn The “stumbling block of their iniquity” is a unique phrase of the prophet Ezekiel (Ezek 14:3, 4, 7; 18:30; 44:12).
[23:14] 5 tn The only other occurrence of the Hebrew term is in Jer 22:14.
[23:15] 6 tn Heb “the sons of Babel.”
[23:16] 7 tn Heb “at the appearance of her eyes.”
[23:16] 8 sn The Chaldeans were prominent tribal groups of Babylonia. The imagery is reminiscent of events in the reigns of Hezekiah (2 Kgs 20:12-15) and Jehoiakim (2 Kgs 23:34-24:1).
[23:17] 9 tn Heb “The sons of Babel came to her on a bed of love.”
[23:18] 11 tn Heb “She exposed her harlotry and she exposed her nakedness.”
[23:20] 14 tn Heb “She lusted after their concubines (?) whose flesh was the flesh of donkeys.” The phrase “their concubines” is extremely problematic here. The pronoun is masculine plural, suggesting that the Egyptian men are in view, but how concubines would fit into the picture envisioned here is not clear. Some suggest that Ezekiel uses the term in an idiomatic sense of “paramour,” but this still fails to explain how the pronoun relates to the noun. It is more likely that the term refers here to the Egyptians’ genitals. The relative pronoun that follows introduces a more specific description of their genitals.
[23:21] 15 tn Or “you took note of.” The Hebrew verb פָּקַד (paqad) in the Qal implies evaluating something and then acting in light of that judgment; here the prophet depicts Judah as approving of her youthful unfaithfulness and then magnifying it at the present time. Some translations assume the verb should be repointed as a Niphal, rendering “you missed” or by extension “you longed for,” but such an extension of the Niphal “to be missing” is otherwise unattested.
[23:21] 16 tn Heb “when (they) did,” but the verb makes no sense here and is better emended to “when (they) fondled,” a verb used in vv. 3 and 8. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:43.
[23:21] 17 tn Heb “for the sake of,” but the expression is awkward and is better emended to read “to squeeze.” See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:43.
[32:1] 18 sn This narrative is an unhappy interlude in the flow of the argument of the book. After the giving of the Law and the instructions for the tabernacle, the people get into idolatry. So this section tells what the people were doing when Moses was on the mountain. Here is an instant violation of the covenant that they had just agreed to uphold. But through it all Moses shines as the great intercessor for the people. So the subject matter is the sin of idolatry, its effects and its remedy. Because of the similarities to Jeroboam’s setting up the calves in Dan and Bethel, modern critics have often said this passage was written at that time. U. Cassuto shows how the language of this chapter would not fit an Iron Age setting in Dan. Rather, he argues, this story was well enough known for Jeroboam to imitate the practice (Exodus, 407-10). This chapter can be divided into four parts for an easier exposition: idolatry (32:1-6), intercession (32:7-14), judgment (32:15-29), intercession again (32:30-33:6). Of course, these sections are far more complex than this, but this gives an overview. Four summary statements for expository points might be: I. Impatience often leads to foolish violations of the faith, II. Violations of the covenant require intercession to escape condemnation, III. Those spared of divine wrath must purge evil from their midst, and IV. Those who purge evil from their midst will find reinstatement through intercession. Several important studies are available for this. See, among others, D. R. Davis, “Rebellion, Presence, and Covenant: A Study in Exodus 32-34,” WTJ 44 (1982): 71-87; M. Greenberg, “Moses’ Intercessory Prayer,” Ecumenical Institute for Advanced Theological Studies (1978): 21-35; R. A. Hamer, “The New Covenant of Moses,” Judaism 27 (1978): 345-50; R. L. Honeycutt, Jr., “Aaron, the Priesthood, and the Golden Calf,” RevExp 74 (1977): 523-35; J. N. Oswalt, “The Golden Calves and the Egyptian Concept of Deity,” EvQ 45 (1973): 13-20.
[32:1] 19 tn The meaning of this verb is properly “caused shame,” meaning cause disappointment because he was not coming back (see also Judg 5:28 for the delay of Sisera’s chariots [S. R. Driver, Exodus, 349]).
[32:1] 20 tn The infinitive construct with the lamed (ל) preposition is used here epexegetically, explaining the delay of Moses.
[32:1] 21 tn Heb “the people.”
[32:1] 22 tn The imperative means “arise.” It could be serving here as an interjection, getting Aaron’s attention. But it might also have the force of prompting him to get busy.
[32:1] 23 tn The plural translation is required here (although the form itself could be singular in meaning) because the verb that follows in the relative clause is a plural verb – that they go before us).
[32:1] 24 tn The text has “this Moses.” But this instance may find the demonstrative used in an earlier deictic sense, especially since there is no article with it.
[32:1] 25 tn The interrogative is used in an indirect question (see GKC 443-44 §137.c).
[32:2] 26 sn B. Jacob (Exodus, 937-38) argues that Aaron simply did not have the resolution that Moses did, and wanting to keep peace he gave in to the crowd. He also tries to explain that Aaron was wanting to show their folly through the deed. U. Cassuto also says that Aaron’s request for the gold was a form of procrastination, but that the people quickly did it and so he had no alternative but to go through with it (Exodus, 412). These may be right, since Aaron fully understood what was wrong with this, and what the program was all about. The text gives no strong indication to support these ideas, but there are enough hints from the way Aaron does things to warrant such a conclusion.
[32:3] 27 tn This “all” is a natural hyperbole in the narrative, for it means the large majority of the people.
[32:4] 28 tn Here “the gold” has been supplied.
[32:4] 29 tn Heb “from their hand.”
[32:4] 30 tn The verb looks similar to יָצַר (yatsar), “to form, fashion” by a plan or a design. That is the verb used in Gen 2:7 for Yahweh God forming the man from the dust of the ground. If it is here, it is the reverse, a human – the dust of the ground – trying to form a god or gods. The active participle of this verb in Hebrew is “the potter.” A related noun is the word יֵצֶּר (yetser), “evil inclination,” the wicked designs or intent of the human heart (Gen 6:5). But see the discussion by B. S. Childs (Exodus [OTL], 555-56) on a different reading, one that links the root to a hollow verb meaning “to cast out of metal” (as in 1 Kgs 7:15).
[32:4] 31 sn The word means a “young bull” and need not be translated as “calf” (although “calf” has become the traditional rendering in English). The word could describe an animal three years old. Aaron probably made an inner structure of wood and then, after melting down the gold, plated it. The verb “molten” does not need to imply that the image was solid gold; the word is used in Isa 30:22 for gold plating. So it was a young bull calf that was overlaid with gold, and the gold was fashioned with the stylus.
[32:4] 32 tn The word could be singular here and earlier; here it would then be “this is your god, O Israel.” However, the use of “these” indicates more than one god was meant by the image. But their statement and their statue, although they do not use the holy name, violate the first two commandments.
[2:13] 33 tn Heb “the days of the Baals, to whom she burned incense.” The word “festival” is supplied to clarify the referent of “days,” and the word “idols” is supplied in light of the plural “Baals” (cf. NLT “her images of Baal”).
[2:13] 34 tn The vav prefixed to a nonverb (וְאֹתִי, vé’oti) introduces a disjunctive contrastive clause, which is rhetorically powerful.
[2:13] 35 tn The accusative direct object pronoun וְאֹתִי (vé’oti, “me”) is emphatic in the word order of this clause (cf. NIV “but me she forgot”), emphasizing the heinous inappropriateness of Israel’s departure from the
[10:1] 36 tn The phrase “to Baal” does not appear in the Hebrew text here, but is implied; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity. Cf. NCV “altars for idols”; NLT “altars of their foreign gods.”
