Exo 32:22-24 | Clarke | STEP | Verse 22 Thou knowest the people - He excuses himself by the wicked and seditious spirit of the people, intimating that he was obliged to accede to their desires.

Exodus 32:22-24

Verse 22

Thou knowest the people - He excuses himself by the wicked and seditious spirit of the people, intimating that he was obliged to accede to their desires. Verse 24

I cast it into the fire and there came out this calf - What a silly and ridiculous subterfuge! He seems to insinuate that he only threw the metal into the fire, and that the calf came unexpectedly out by mere accident. The Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel makes a similar excuse for him: "And I said unto them, Whosoever hath gold, let him break it off and give it to me; and I cast it into the fire, and Satan entered into it, and it came out in the form of this calf!" Just like the popish legend of the falling of the shrine of our Lady of Loretta out of heaven! These legends come from the same quarter. Satan can provide more when necessary for his purpose.