Ephrem the Syrian
Patristic
c. A.D. 306–373
“Moses pulverized the calf and made them drink it in the waters of testing, so that all who had lived to worship the calf would die by drinking it.”
The interpretation timeline
Exod 32:20
How this passage has been read — the sources, oldest to newest.
From the early Church Fathers to now.
Exod 32:20 · Douay-Rheims
“And laying hold of the calf which they had made, he burnt it, and beat it to powder, which he strowed into water, and gave thereof to the children of Israel to drink.”
Patristic
before A.D. 750
373
A.D.
397
A.D.
Ambrose of Milan
Patristic
A.D. 339–397
“Moses ground the head of the golden calf to powder, and cast it into water, and made the people drink of it; for their heart was hardened by the greatness of their perfidy, and he did thus that it might be softened and made refined by faith. Lastly, that woman who grinds meal well and fine shall be taken, but she who grinds ill shall be left.”
430
A.D.
Augustine of Hippo
Patristic
A.D. 354–430
“Therefore perhaps that calf, being ground to powder, was cast into the water and given to the children of Israel to drink, that so the body of ungodliness might be swallowed up by Israel.”
430
A.D.
Augustine of Hippo
Patristic
A.D. 354–430
“For Moses ground down the calf's head, and sprinkled it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink it. All the unbelieving are ground: they believe by degrees; and they are drunk by the people of God and pass into Christ's body.”
Modern · 1953 →
The in-app commentary runs from the Fathers to the early-modern record, then stops — that's where the public-domain sources end, not where the reading does. For the modern reading, follow the sources directly.