'Calf' in the Bible

Abraham also ran to the herd and brought a calf, tender and choice, and he gave it to the servant [to butcher], and he hurried to prepare it.

Then he took curds and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before the men; and he stood beside them under the tree while they ate.

And he took the gold from their hands, and fashioned it with an engraving tool and made it into a molten calf; and they said, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.”

Now when Aaron saw the molten calf, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation, and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord!”

They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molten calf, and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!’”

And as soon as he approached the camp and he saw the calf and the dancing, Moses’ anger burned; and he threw the tablets from his hands and smashed them at the foot of the mountain.

Then Moses took the calf they had made and burned it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and scattered it on the surface of the water and made the Israelites drink it.

I said to them, ‘Let whoever has gold [jewelry], take it off.’ So they gave it to me; then I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.”

So the Lord struck the people with a plague, because of what they had done with the calf which Aaron had made [for them].

and he said to Aaron, “Take a bull calf as a sin offering and a ram as a burnt offering, [each] without blemish, and offer both before the Lord.

Then say to the Israelites, ‘Take a male goat as a sin offering, and a calf and a lamb, both one year old, without blemish, as a burnt offering,

So Aaron approached the altar and killed the calf as the sin offering, which was designated for himself.

And I saw that you had indeed sinned against the Lord your God. You had made for yourselves a molten calf (idol). You had turned aside quickly from the way which the Lord had commanded you.

I took your sinful thing, the calf which you had made, and burned it in the fire and thoroughly crushed it, grinding the metal thoroughly until it was as fine as dust; and I threw its dust into the brook that came down from the mountain.

The woman had a fattened calf in the house; she quickly killed it, and took flour, kneaded it and baked unleavened bread.

He set the one [golden calf] in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan.

“Even when they had made for themselvesA calf of cast metalAnd said, ‘This is your godWho brought you up from Egypt,’And committed great [and contemptible] blasphemies,

He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,And Sirion (Mount Hermon) like a young, wild ox.

They made a calf in Horeb (Sinai)And worshiped a cast image.

Thus they exchanged [the true God who was] their gloryFor the image of an ox that eats grass.

And the wolf will dwell with the lamb,And the leopard will lie down with the young goat,And the calf and the young lion and the fatted steer together;And a little child will lead them.

For the fortified city is isolated,A settlement deserted and abandoned like the desert;There the calf will graze,And there it will lie down and feed on its branches.

“The doe in the field has given birth only to abandon her youngBecause there is no grass.

The men who have violated My covenant, who have not kept the terms of the solemn pledge which they made before Me when they split the [sacrificial] calf in half, and then afterwards walked between its separated pieces [sealing their pledge to Me by placing a curse on themselves should they violate the covenant—those men I will make like the calf]!

The princes of Judah, the princes of Jerusalem, the high officials, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf,

He has rejected your [pagan] calf, O Samaria, saying,“My wrath burns against them.”How long will they be incapable of innocence?

For even this [loathsome calf] is from Israel.A craftsman made it, so it is not God;Surely the calf of Samaria will be broken to pieces and go up in flames.

The people of Samaria will fear and trembleFor the [idolatrous] calf of Beth-aven (House of Wickedness).Indeed, its people will mourn over itAnd its idolatrous priests will cry out and wail over it,Over its glory, because the glory [of their calf god] has departed from it.

The golden calf itself will be carried to AssyriaAs tribute to King Jareb;Ephraim will be seized with shameAnd Israel will be ashamed of his own counsel [to worship the calf and separate Israel from Judah].

“On that day when I punish Israel’s transgressions,I shall also punish the altars of Bethel [with their golden calves];And the horns of the altar shall be cut offAnd fall to the ground.

“Come to Bethel [where the golden calf is] and transgress;In Gilgal [where idols are worshiped] multiply transgression;Bring your sacrifices every morning,Your tithes every three days!

“But do not resort to Bethel [to worship the golden calf]Nor enter [idolatrous] Gilgal,Nor cross over to Beersheba [and its idols];For Gilgal will certainly go into captivity and exile,And Bethel will come to nothing.

“And the [idolatrous] high places of Isaac (Israel) will be devastated and deserted,And the sanctuaries of Israel will be in ruins.Then I shall rise up against the house of Jeroboam with the sword [and destroy the monarchy].”

Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel [site of the golden calf shrine], sent word to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel; the land is unable to endure all his words.

“Those who swear [their oaths] by the sin (guilt) of Samaria or Ashimah (a pagan goddess),Who say, ‘By the life of your god [the golden calf], O Dan!’And [swear], ‘By the life of the way of [idolatrous] Beersheba,’They shall fall and not rise again.”

And bring the fattened calf and slaughter it, and let us [invite everyone and] feast and celebrate;

And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.’

but when this [other] son of yours arrived, who has devoured your estate with immoral women, you slaughtered that fattened calf for him!’

In those days they made a calf and brought a sacrifice to the idol, and rejoiced and celebrated over the works of their hands.

Do not be worshipers of handmade gods, as some of them were; just as it is written [in Scripture], “The people sat down to eat and drink [after sacrificing to the golden calf at Horeb], and stood up to play [indulging in immoral activities].”