Biblical Hebrew Forum

["David N. da Silva" <huyxh8s02 AT sneakemail.com>]

Thanks for all the comments.

Lost-wax casting is 6,000 years old, so it was as old when the Elohist wrote, 
as he is, to us.

Sand casting is more difficult to do, and it does not produce fully rounded 
shapes - the bronze bull from the "bull site," for example, could not have 
been produced by pre-industrial sand casting, since it would have required 
three layers, one to go between the legs.   The great advantage of sand 
casting, is that it does not destroy the original model, but that would not 
have been an issue here.

It is possible that the statue was (in the Elohist's mind), a wooden statue 
plated with gold, and I will look for the U. Cassuto reference.   However 
there are a few points which seem to me to favor casting over plating.

1) the statue is called maccekah, which is said to come from the root nacak 
meaning pour.   I'm not the one to judge whether it instead comes from root 
cakak, cover.   But maccekah is translated molten in many places, in all the 
translations I looked at.   So if it does mean plated, many verses will be 
effected.

2) If indeed the Elohist intended an adverse comment on Jeroboam's calves at 
Bethel and Dan, then I seem to recall they were specifically condemned as 
molten images, by supporters of Solomon, who used cherubim for a similar 
purpose.  The cherubim were plated.   So the point  of the condemnation is 
not clear if maccekah means plated.

3)  When plating is meant, the word tsaphah was used, at least by P.

4) As to the image being burnt (saraph), bricks also do not burn, but saraph 
is just what is done to bricks.  The passage:

 He took the bullcalf they had made, and burnt in fire and ground to powder 
and scattered on the surface of water and made the sons of Yisra'el drink.

seems to me consistent with Mosheh throwing the statue on a fire, and 
grinding up the coals and ashes.

---

In any case, my main question is whether my proposed translation:

 He worked with a stylus, and encased it, and made a cast bull-calf.  

passes muster with those whose Hebrew is better than mine.   Although the 
plating theory of maccekah is plausible - and perhaps I believe it myself - 
given the overwhelming consensus that maccekah means molten or cast, I guess 
I will stick with that for now.   I gather there is no objection to my use of 
encased rather than fashioned for tsuwr.

Thanks again for the comments.

David Nunes da Silva


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