Moses in rabbinic literature his power over the angels when the people made the golden calf.The Bible does not note Aaron's opinion of this request, merely that he complied, and gathered up the Israelites' golden earrings. He melted them and constructed the golden calf. The Hebrew word calf can also mean circle. This would explain that they made a RA symbol and not casted a calf (difficult manufacturing process with furnace, beeswax, clay, etc.). Aaron also built an altar before the calf / circle (RA), and the next day, the Israelites made offerings and celebrated. God, however, protected him (Exodus Rabba xli. 12). When
The Bible and violence The Israelites promise to follow these laws (Exodus 24:3). The Israelites break their promise by worshiping the Golden Calf. God is angered by this and intends to "consume them", but Moses persuades him not to do so. Moses is also angered, and he breaks two stone tablets with God's writing. On Moses' command, the Levites kill about three thousand people (Exodus 32). God has Moses make new stone tablets, and gives Moses the Ritual Decalogue, which states in part "Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest they be