Anti-Judaism and Pedagogy: Greek and Latin Patristic Interpretations of the Calf Incident

Abstract

The patristic appropriation of the golden calf incident is paradoxical. On the one hand, some Christian authors employ the golden calf to argue that the Jews have an essentially defective character: unlike Christians, they are simply unable to obey God. Their initial repudiation of Moses and ongoing rejection of Jesus bookend a history of apostasy. This first, dominant interpretation of the calf incident sees a relationship of discontinuity between Jews and Christians. It is often virulently anti-Jewish and may be regarded as a staple of Christian adversus Judaeos literature. On the other hand, other authors use the story to warn Christians. Like the ancient Hebrews, Christians have received salvation and benefited from God’s mercy. Nevertheless, they may still lose what they have gained if they lapse into apostasy. They must therefore learn from the Hebrews’ sin with the calf so as to avoid their fate. This second, subsidiary interpretation sees a relationship of continuity between Jews and Christians such that the former can teach the latter. For this reason, it may be considered pedagogical. This chapter examines the growth and development of these two parallel yet intertwined interpretations of the calf incident in the second through fifth centuries by selected Greek and Latin patristic writers.