Arguing against the popular (but very errant)
belief that the golden calf in Exo 32 was a pedestal for Yahweh, Norman C.
Habel wrote the following where he argues that the bull was a representation,
not of Yahweh (the view I tentatively hold to), but Baal:
This offense apparently involves more than
making a pedestal for Yahweh comparable to the ark, although this may well have
been true in the case of Jeroboam’s calf. Cherubim seem to have constituted the
base of Yahweh’s throne over the ark. The cherubim symbols prevalent in
Palestine and Syria were apparently winged sphinxes. If the dilemma of Aaron
was the choice of a symbol for the divine throne, then that alternative could
simply have been a winged sphinx or a winged bull (similar to those in
Assyria). If this were the case, the choice of the latter would hardly have
induced the harsh condemnation found in Exod. 30:30-33. What Israel actually
experienced was the terrifying probability that Yahweh might Himself annul the
covenant (32:10) . . . the second count against Israel was the bull image
itself. As noted above, the presence of an image in a subordinate role as a
throne base would hardly have evoked such fierce condemnation . . the most
obvious associations are with the Baal religions of Canaan . . . The tablet
(Baal IV iii 35-37) concludes with the words:
w’ibr ib’l [yl] d Surely a bull is born unto
Baal
wr’um lrkb ‘rpt And a buffalo to the Rider of
the Clouds
yšmḫ ‘al’iyn b’l Baal the Victor rejoiced.
Apparently Baal’s character as the god of
life and fertility is dictated not only by man’s need for moisture but also by
his need for life-giving sperm. Hence Baal takes on the characteristics of the
bull, an animal which is basic for Canaanite agricultural prosperity. (Norman
C. Habel, Yahweh Versus Baal: A Conflict
of Religious Culture [Eugene, Oreg.: Wipf and Stock, 1964], 21, 96)
While I
think Habel is incorrect in rejecting the calf being a cult image of Yahweh,
his arguments do show the weakness of the pedestal interpretation. For more,
see my blog post The
Golden Calf in Exodus 32 and the essay by Kevin Graham The
Golden Calf (a response to an argument in J.P. Holding’s The Mormon Defenders).
