golden calf
a golden idol set up by Aaron and worshiped by the Israelites. Exodus 32.
either of the two similar idols set up by Jeroboam. 1 Kings 12:28, 29.
money or material goods as an object of worship or pursuit.
Origin of golden calf
1Words Nearby golden calf
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use golden calf in a sentence
From ancient myths extolling its sacred nature and promises of immortality and power to new golden calves capable of conferring overnight riches, gold, in the face of our increasingly digital world, has reached a crossroads.
The dimmed lights and sizeable golden calf on the center of the conference table should tip you off.
‘Persecuted’ Is the Christian Right’s Paranoid Wet Dream | Candida Moss | July 22, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIndependence may well be the modern day golden calf to which far too many of us bow down and worship.
But it also goes back to the Bible, commemorating, among others, the sin of the golden calf.
The simple and oft-denied truth is that Jews have not been a unified people since that unfortunate incident with the golden calf.
How Do We Deal with the Baseless Hatred at the Western Wall? | Emily L. Hauser | July 12, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
Father Costantino spoke in his sermon of the need to shun false idols such as the golden calf of scripture.
A Tour of St. Francis Xavier, a Potential New Church for Katie Holmes | Michael Daly | July 11, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTMen still sigh for the flesh pots of Egypt; still worship the golden calf.
English: Composition and Literature | W. F. (William Franklin) WebsterBe that as it may, I was near as quarrelsome, and would as soon have worshipped the golden calf as saluted that rag.
Richard Carvel, Complete | Winston ChurchillHow little they were in sympathy with his ideas of religion and worship was apparent from the affair of the golden calf.
The Expositor's Bible: The Book of Joshua | William Garden BlaikieThe question was: "Why did the Israelites make a golden calf?"
Scotch Wit and Humor | W. H. (Walter Henry) HoweThe worship of the golden calf permits its votaries no escape.
The Terms of Surrender | Louis Tracy
British Dictionary definitions for golden calf
Old Testament
an idol made by Aaron and set up for the Israelites to worship (Exodus 32)
either of two similar idols set up by Jeroboam I at Dan and Bethel in the northern kingdom (I Kings 12:28–30)
informal the pursuit or idolization of material wealth
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for golden calf
An idol that the Israelites made during the Exodus. While God was giving Moses the Ten Commandments and other provisions of the Mosaic law on Mount Sinai, the people whom Moses was leading to the Promised Land melted down their gold jewelry and ornaments and built a golden calf, which they began to worship. Moses came down from the mountain carrying two stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments were written; when he saw the calf, he smashed the tablets and made the people destroy the idol.
Notes for golden calf
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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