聖書注解書

本章の物語は、教会の設立およびユダヤ人の中に宗教が確立したことの記録に、非常に嘆かわしい中断を与える。事態はその幸いな落ち着きに向けて実によく進んでいた。神は大変恵み深く示され、民もまたかなり従順であるように見えた。モーセは山の上で四十日をほぼ終えようとしており、帰還の折にイスラエルの宿営で非常に喜ばしい歓迎を受け、彼らの中に幕屋を速やかに立てるであろうことを思い、心楽しんでいたことであろうと推測できる。しかし見よ、計画は崩れ、イスラエルの罪が彼らからそれらの良いものを遠ざけ、神の恵みの流れを止めた。被害をもたらした罪は（信じられようか？）金の子牛を拝むことであった。神とイスラエルとの間の婚儀は厳粛に行われようとしていたが、イスラエルが姦淫を行ったため、その契りは破られ、再びつなぎ直すことは容易でなくなった。ここには、一、金の子牛を神として造った（出 32:1-4）イスラエルと、とりわけアロンの罪、およびそれを拝んだこと（出 32:5,6）がある。二、今や山で神とともにいたモーセに、神がこれを知らされたこと（出 32:7,8）、および彼らに対する神の怒りの宣告（出 32:9,10）。三、モーセがただちに山で彼らのためにとりなしをしたこと（出 32:11-13）、およびそのとりなしの効力（出 32:14）。四、彼らの偶像礼拝の目撃者となった折に、山から下ってきた彼が（出 32:15-19）、その忌み嫌いと正当な憤りを表すために石の板を打ち砕き（出 32:19）、金の子牛を焼いたこと（出 32:20）。五、これに関するアロンの取り調べ（出 32:21-24）。六、偶像礼拝の首謀者たちに対する刑の執行（出 32:25-29）。七、神の怒りを彼らから引き離すためにモーセがさらにしたとりなし（出 32:30-32）、およびそれに伴って与えられた執行猶予。彼らを後の清算のために留め置くものである（出 32:33-35、等）。

The Israelites, finding that Moses delayed his return, desire Aaron to make them gods to go before them, Exodus 32:1. Aaron consents, and requires their ornaments, Exodus 32:2. They deliver them to him, and he makes a molten calf, Exodus 32:3, Exodus 32:4. He builds an altar before it, Exodus 32:5; and the people offer burnt-offerings and peace-offerings, Exodus 32:6. The Lord commands Moses to go down, telling him that the people had corrupted themselves, Exodus 32:7, Exodus 32:8. The Lord is angry, and threatens to destroy them, Exodus 32:9, Exodus 32:10. Moses intercedes for them, Exodus 32:11-13; and the Lord promises to spare them, Exodus 32:14. Moses goes down with the tables in his hands, Exodus 32:15, Exodus 32:16. Joshua, hearing the noise they made at their festival, makes some remarks on it, Exodus 32:17, Exodus 32:18. Moses, coming to the camp, and seeing their idolatrous worship, is greatly distressed, throws down and breaks the two tables, Exodus 32:19. Takes the calf, reduces it to powder, strews it upon the water, and causes them to drink it, Exodus 32:20. Moses expostulates with Aaron, Exodus 32:21. Aaron vindicates himself, Exodus 32:22-24. Moses orders the Levites to slay the transgressors, Exodus 32:25-27. They do so, and 3,000 fall, Exodus 32:28, Exodus 32:29. Moses returns to the Lord on the mount, and makes supplication for the people, Exodus 32:30-32. God threatens and yet spares, Exodus 32:33. Commands Moses to lead the people, and promises him the direction of an angel, Exodus 32:34. The people are plagued because of their sin, Exodus 32:35.

INTRODUCTION TO Exodus 32

This chapter gives an account of the idolatry of the Israelites making and worshipping a golden calf, Exodus 32:1 the information of it God gave to Moses, bidding him at the same time not to make any suit in their favour, that he might consume them, and make a large nation out Moses's family, Exodus 32:7 the intercession of Moses for them, in which he succeeded, Exodus 32:11 his descent from the mount with the two tables in his hands, accompanied by Joshua, when he was an eyewitness of their idolatry, which raised his indignation, that he cast the two tables out of his hands and broke them, took the calf and burnt it, and ground it to powder, and made the children of Israel drink of it, Exodus 32:15 the examination of Aaron about the fact, who excused himself, Exodus 32:21 the orders given to the Levites, who joined themselves to Moses, to slay every man his brother, which they did to the number of 3000 men, Exodus 32:25 another intercession for them by Moses, which gained a respite of them for a time, for they are threatened to be visited still for their sin, and they were plagued for it, Exodus 32:30.

Chapters 32–34

The Episode of the Golden Calf, and incidents arising out of it, or mentioned in connexion with it.

The narrative of these chapters, read from a purely religious point of view, is remarkably beautiful and impressive; a striking picture is given not only of Moses’ affection and noble self-devotion for his people, but also of the long intercession by which (cf. Genesis 18) he at last succeeds in winning from Jehovah Israel’s forgiveness, His promise again to be with His people, and the vision of His moral glory for himself. But ‘the connexion between its different parts, and the progress of the narrative, is often so imperfect and so far from clear’ (Di.) that to the historical student it presents problems and difficulties which are not readily solved. As Di. points out, ‘the want of connexion both backwards and forwards is most remarkable in Exodus 33:7-11 : why the Tent of Meeting is here suddenly introduced, is not explained, and can only be conjectured, and v. 12 goes on as if vv. 7–11 or vv. 4–11 were not there at all. The connexion between Exodus 34:9-10 is also imperfect: it is surprising in v. 9 to find Jehovah entreated to go with the people, when He has already in Exodus 33:14-16 promised to do so; and it is also surprising that Exodus 34:10 is no direct answer to the entreaty of v. 9. Even in ch. 32, where the narrative wears the appearance of being more consistent, it is remarkable that the questions put to Aaron in vv. 21–24 lead to nothing further, that in spite of the punishment inflicted in v. 27 f. further punishment is threatened in v. 34b, and that while in v. 35 a punishment is described vaguely, it does not read like the punishment threatened just before in v. 34b. Further, while in P the erection of the Tent of Meeting is not described till ch. 40, in Exodus 33:7-11 there appears, as already in regular use, a tent, called by precisely the same name. The angel of Jehovah, again, is in Exodus 33:3; Exodus 33:5 represented as distinct from, and exclusive of, Jehovah Himself, whereas in Exodus 23:20 he appears as His full and sufficient representative. The covenant of Exodus 34:10-27 is described as if it were one made for the first time; neither v. 10 nor v. 27 suggests that it is a second, or new, covenant. The laws in Exodus 34:10-26 are mostly identical verbally with a particular section of those contained in chs. 21–23’: what is the relation subsisting between the two recensions, and how is the repetition to be explained? It must be evident that all these difficulties and inconsistencies are due simply to the amalgamation—and sometimes the imperfect amalgamation—of different sources: they are lessened, though they can hardly be said to disappear, when these sources are recognized and disengaged from one another. Details will be better considered in the notes on the separate chapters, Exodus 34:29-35 belongs clearly to P: the rest of the three chapters is due principally to J, or the compiler of JE, but parts belong to E. The excerpts from J and E are also in several cases plainly incomplete at the beginning or the end, so that details or explanations are missing which can only be supplied by conjecture.

出 32:1-35.

金の子牛

1. 民はモーセが遅れているのを見て——彼らは、モーセが暗闇で道に迷ったか、火の中で滅びたと思った。

アロンに集まった——むしろ、騒然たる様子でアロンに「立ち向かった」。自分たちの望むことをさせるためであった。この章に記されている出来事は、律法が与えられた時の民の深くへりくだった敬虔な態度とは著しく対照的な、イスラエルの民衆の感情と気分の状態を明らかにする。わずか三十日余りの間に、彼らの印象は消え去った。彼らはなお、聖なるものとみなす十分な理由のある地に陣を敷いていた。シナイの頂を覆う栄光の雲はなお彼らの目の前にあり、彼らが神と密接に接触していること、むしろ神の直接の臨在の中にいることの目に見える証拠であった。それにもかかわらず、彼らがごく最近その目撃者であった印象的な場面を完全に忘れてしまったかのように振る舞った。

彼に言った、立って、私たちの先に立つ神々を造ってください——「神々」と訳されたヘブル語は、単に神の名の複数形である。造られた像は一つであったから、これを偶像のために真の神の礼拝を捨てたと責めるのは、彼らの犯した以上の罪を負わせることであろう。事実、彼らは子どものように、感覚に訴えるものを持つことを求めたのである。そして、彼らがこれまでその光景を楽しんでいたシェキナー、「神の栄光」が今は隠されたので、火の柱がしたように彼らの先に立つ、神の臨在の象徴としての目に見ることのできる物質的対象を望んだのである。

これら三章は、おそらく元来一つの独立した構成単位をなしていたものであろう。その中に記録された主要な出来事は時の順序に従って並んでおり、それゆえ歴史的順序に関して言えば正当な位置にある。

「金の子牛」— 民は、族長時代の信仰をかなりの程度失っており、目に見えない位格的神の実在についても不完全な教えしか受けていなかった。モーセの長期の不在に失望して、彼らはモーセが自分たちを欺き、おそらくは山の雷鳴の中で滅ぼされたであろうと想像したようである（Exodus 24:15-18 参照）。そこで彼らは迷信的な恐れに負け、自分たちに最も馴染み深い形の偶像礼拝に後退した（Exodus 32:4 の注釈参照）。この事情の記述は、モーセが後の時代に民に対した一つの演説の中で、より簡潔に与えられている（Deuteronomy 9:8-21、Deuteronomy 9:25-29、Deuteronomy 10:1-5、Deuteronomy 10:8-11 参照）。注目すべきは、ヨセフスが律法の授与に関するきわめて特徴的な章において、モーセが二度山に登ったと述べながらも、この背教の行為についてはまったく何も語っていないことである。

Exodus 32:1

「アロンに」— モーセの不在中の最高権威は、アロンとフルにゆだねられていた（Exodus 24:14 参照）。

「わたしたちのために神々を造ってください」— 名詞 אלהים 'elôhı̂ym は形の上では複数であり、神々を意味し得る。しかしヘブル語の慣用によれば、その意味は必ずしも複数である必要はなく、したがってこの語は真の神を指す一般名称としても用いられる（Genesis 1:1 等。Exodus 21:6 の注釈参照）。ここでは一つの神を指し、そのように訳されるべきである。

When the people saw that Moses delayed - How long this was before the expiration of the forty days, we cannot tell; but it certainly must have been some considerable time, as the ornaments must be collected, and the calf or ox, after having been founded, must require a considerable time to fashion it with the graving tool; and certainly not more than two or three persons could work on it at once. This work therefore, must have required several days.

The people gathered themselves together - They came in a tumultuous and seditious manner, insisting on having an object of religious worship made for them, as they intended under its direction to return to Egypt. See Acts 7:39, Acts 7:40.

As for this Moses, the man that brought us up - This seems to be the language of great contempt, and by it we may see the truth of the character given them by Aaron, Exodus 32:22, they were set on mischief. It is likely they might have supposed that Moses had perished in the fire, which they saw had invested the top of the mountain into which he went.

And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount,.... The time, according to the Targum of Jonathan, being elapsed, which he had fixed for his descent, and through a misreckoning, as Jarchi suggests; they taking the day of his going up to be one of the forty days, at the end of which he was to return, whereas he meant forty complete days; but it is not probable that Moses knew himself how long he should stay, and much less that he acquainted them before hand of it; but he staying longer than they supposed he would, they grew uneasy and impatient, and wanted to set out in their journey to Canaan, and to have some symbol and representation of deity to go before them:

the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron; who with Hur was left to judge them in the absence of Moses: it was very likely that they had had conferences with him before upon this head, but now they got together in a tumultuous manner, and determined to carry their point against all that he should say to the contrary:

and said unto him, up; put us off no longer, make no more delay, but arise at once, and set about what has been once and again advised to and importuned:

make us gods which shall go before us; not that they were so very stupid to think, that anything that could be made with hands was really God, or even could have life and breath, and the power of self-motion, or of walking before them; but that something should be made as a symbol and representation of the divine Being, carried before them; for as for the cloud which had hitherto gone before them, from their coming out of Egypt, that had not moved from its place for forty days or more, and seemed to them to be fixed on the mount, and would not depart from it; and therefore they wanted something in the room of it as a token of the divine Presence with them:

for as for this Moses; of whom they speak with great contempt, though he had been the deliverer of them, and had wrought so many miracles in their favour, and had been the instrument of so much good unto them:

the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt; this they own, but do not seem to be very thankful for it:

we wot not what is become of him; they could scarcely believe that he was alive, that it was possible to live so long a time without eating and drinking; or they supposed he was burnt on the mount of flaming fire from before the Lord, as the Targum of Jonathan expresses it.