In the absence of Moses, the judicial authority had been delegated to Aaron, and a vast crowd gathered about his tent, with the demand, "Make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.[* SEE APPENDIX, NOTE 4.] The cloud, they said, that had heretofore led them, now rested permanently upon the mount; it would no longer direct their travels. They must have an image in its place; and if, as had been suggested, they should decide to return to Egypt, they would find favor with the Egyptians by bearing this image before them and acknowledging it as their god.

Under Moses' fravær var den dømmende myndighed blevet overdraget til Aron, og nu samledes en stor skare omkring hans telt med kravet: "Kom og lav os en gud, som kan drage foran os, thi vi ved ikke, hvad der er blevet af denne Moses, der førte os ud af Ægypten!" Den sky, der hidtil havde ledet dem, ville nu blive ved at hvile over bjerget, sagde de; den ville ikke længere vise dem vej. De ville have et billede i stedet, og hvis de besluttede at vende tilbage til Ægypten, som det var blevet foreslået, ville de vinde ægypternes gunst ved at bære dette billede foran sig og anerkende det som deres gud.