Exodus — Chapter 32
These annotations are from the original 1609 Douay Old Testament, the first complete English Catholic Bible translation, produced by English scholars in exile at the English College of Douai. The archaic spelling is preserved.
This content was digitized from the original 1609 Douay (Old Testament) and 1582 Rheims (New Testament) print editions by OCR. The OCR process sometimes confused print page numbers with verse numbers, and may have assigned annotations to the wrong chapter. Chapter and verse labels on this page reflect the OCR output from the original print pagination and may not correspond to canonical Scripture chapter/verse numbers. For canonical reference, consult a standard Douay-Rheims edition. The annotation texts themselves are authentic 1609/1582 Douay-Rheims content.
Verse 4
A molten calfe.] No other reason can be imagined, why the people falling to Idolatrie, required the image of a calfe, but for that they thought the blacke calfe, called Apis or Serapis, whom they saw the Aegyptians esteemed most of al their Gods, to be the chiefe God. So they ment not to worship our Lord, the true God, in that image, as Caluin would haue it, but the very calfe whose image it was. This appeareth also Deut. 31. v. 18. and Psal. 105. v. 21. They forgot God, which saued them.
Verse 11
Moyses besought.] Albeit Moyfes with most humble submission prayed for the people, which God so accepted, that he was therby pacified, yet Caluin here condemneth him of arrogancie. Much otherwise S. Hierom commending his feruent charitie, doubteth not to say: The seruants prayers hindred Gods power, because God himselfe saying, suffer me, that my furie may be angrie against them, sheweth his diuine prouidence to be such, as he might be staied from doing that which he threatened.
Verse 13
Remember Abraham.] It much troubled Caluin, that for obtaining pardon for the people, the Patriarchs are mentioned, for whose sake and merits, mercie and protection was promised by God (Gen. 18. 12. 26.) And it is a vaine euasion to say: God shewed his mercie for his promise sake only; for he promised the same for their merits, as appeareth in the places alleaged: Though al merits proceeded from Gods grace, first giuen without merits.