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  • From: "David N. da Silva" <huyxh8s02 AT sneakemail.com>
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [b-hebrew] Lost wax casting Exo 32:4
  • Date: 20 Aug 2004 19:48:23 -0000

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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