Exodus 32:20
in Exodus 32Then he took the calf they had made, burned it in the fire, ground it to powder, and scattered the powder over the face of the water. Then he forced the Israelites to drink it.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it with fire, and ground it to powder, and strewed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.
KJV
And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.
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This verse in Exodus 32
Commentary
10 notes on this verseHe took the calf - and burnt - and ground it to powder, etc. - How truly contemptible must the object of their idolatry appear when they were obliged to drink their god, reduced to powder and strewed on the water! “But,” says an objector, “how could gold, the most ductile of all metals, and the most ponderous, be stamped into dust and strewed on water?” In Deu 9:21, this matter is fully explained.
This site's exposition
burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder
The calf is burnt, ground to powder, scattered on water and made a drink, so the thing they made ends up inside them. Deuteronomy 9:21 recounts the same act and adds that Moses cast the dust into the brook that descended out of the mount. Numbers 5:24 later puts a similar act into the law, where a woman suspected of unfaithfulness drinks water carrying dust from the floor of the tabernacle.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
A commentator
Augustine of HippoEXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 89:23 · Written in the 5th century.
proposed
For Moses ground down the calf's head, and sprinkled it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink it. All the unbelieving are ground: they believe by degrees; and they are drunk by the people of God and pass into Christ's body.
Moses ground the head of the golden calf to powder, and cast it into water, and made the people drink of it; for their heart was hardened by the greatness of their perfidy, and he did thus that it might be softened and made refined by faith. Lastly, that woman who grinds meal well and fine shall be taken, but she who grinds ill shall be left.
For Moses ground to powder the calf and caused them to drink it in the water of ordeal; that by drinking of the calf all those who were living for its worship might die. For the sons of Levi ran upon them, those who ran …
Therefore perhaps that calf, being ground to powder, was cast into the water and given to the children of Israel to drink, that so the body of ungodliness might be swallowed up by Israel.
A commentator
Augustine of HippoEXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 35:26 · Written in the 5th century.
proposed
Therefore perhaps that calf, being ground to powder, was cast into the water and given to the children of Israel to drink, that so the body of ungodliness might be swallowed up by Israel.
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire,....
Moses, having shown his just indignation against the sin of Israel by breaking the tables and burning the calf, now proceeds to reckon with the sinners and to call them to an account, herein acting as the representative of God, who is not only a holy God, and hates sin, but a just God, and is engaged in honour to punish it, Isa. lix.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, &c.--It has been supposed that the gold was dissolved by natron or some chemical substance.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
19 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּקַּ֞ח | vaiyikach | and he took | H3947 → | 966 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָעֵ֨גֶל | haegel | the calf | H5695 → | 35 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֤ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עָשׂוּ֙ | ʾasu | they had made | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| וַיִּשְׂרֹ֣ף | vaiyisrof | and he burned [it] | H8313 → | 117 times |
| בָּאֵ֔שׁ | baesh | with <the> fire | H784 → | 378 times |
| וַיִּטְחַ֖ן | vaiyitchan | and he ground [it] | H2912 → | |
| עַ֣ד | ʾad | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| דָּ֑ק | dak | it was fine | H1854 → | |
| וַיִּ֙זֶר֙ | vaiyizer | and he scattered [it] | H2219 → | |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| פְּנֵ֣י | penei | [the] surface of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| הַמַּ֔יִם | hamayim | the water | H4325 → | 581 times |
| וַיַּ֖שְׁקְ | vaiyashk | and he made drink [it] | H8248 → | 61 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּנֵ֥י | benei | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
וַיִּקַּ֞חand he took
vaiyikachH3947 →966 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָעֵ֨גֶלthe calf
haegelH5695 →35 times
אֲשֶׁ֤רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
עָשׂוּ֙they had made
ʾasuH6213 →2628 times
וַיִּשְׂרֹ֣ףand he burned [it]
vaiyisrofH8313 →117 times
בָּאֵ֔שׁwith <the> fire
baeshH784 →378 times
וַיִּטְחַ֖ןand he ground [it]
vaiyitchanH2912 →
עַ֣דuntil
ʾadH5704 →1261 times
אֲשֶׁר־that
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
דָּ֑קit was fine
dakH1854 →
וַיִּ֙זֶר֙and he scattered [it]
vaiyizerH2219 →
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
פְּנֵ֣י[the] surface of
peneiH6440 →2123 times
הַמַּ֔יִםthe water
hamayimH4325 →581 times
וַיַּ֖שְׁקְand he made drink [it]
vaiyashkH8248 →61 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בְּנֵ֥י[the] people of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Deuteronomy 7:5Instead, this is what you are to do to them: tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, cut down their Asherah poles, and burn their idols in the fire.
it leads to
- Exodus 23:24
You must not bow down to their gods or serve them or follow their practices. Instead, you are to demolish them and smash their sacred stones to pieces.
- Exodus 34:13
Rather, you must tear down their altars, smash their sacred stones, and chop down their Asherah poles.
- Deuteronomy 12:2–3
Destroy completely all the places where the nations you are dispossessing have served their gods—atop the high mountains, on the hills, and under every green tree.
- Exodus 23:24
Through
Deuteronomy 7:25You must burn up the images of their gods; do not covet the silver and gold that is on them or take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared by it; for it…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 17:1
You shall not sacrifice to the LORD your God an ox or a sheep with any defect or serious flaw, for that is detestable to the LORD your God.
- 1 Chronicles 14:12
There the Philistines abandoned their gods, and David ordered that they be burned in the fire.
- Deuteronomy 12:3
Tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, burn up their Asherah poles, cut down the idols of their gods, and wipe out their names from every place.
- Joshua 7:21
When I saw among the spoils a beautiful cloak from Shinar, two hundred shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in…
- Deuteronomy 17:1
Through
2 Kings 23:6He brought the Asherah pole from the house of the LORD to the Kidron Valley outside Jerusalem, and there he burned it, ground it to powder, and threw its dust on the graves of…
it leads to
- 2 Kings 23:15
He even pulled down the altar at Bethel, the high place set up by Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had caused Israel to sin. Then he burned the high place, ground it to powder,…
- 2 Kings 23:15
Where this verse is studied
About Exodus
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ambrose of Milan, Letter 64.3; Augustine of Hippo, EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 89:23; Augustine of Hippo, EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 35:26; Ephrem the Syrian, Homily - On Our Lord; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.