Complete Bible Study Guide

What Does the Bible Say About Calf?

28 Scripture references with full text and commentary

Understanding Calf in the Bible

Discover 28 Bible verses about calf. This comprehensive collection of Scripture quotes reveals God's wisdom and guidance on calf, with verses from across the Old and New Testaments.

28
Total Verses
27
Old Testament
1
New Testament

Top 10 Verses About Calf

  1. 1
    Deuteronomy 9:16
    And I looked, and, behold, ye had sinned against the LORD your God, and had made you a molten calf: ye had turned aside quickly out of the way which the LORD had commanded you.
    KJV
  2. 2
    1 Kings 12:28
    Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
    KJV
  3. 3
    1 Kings 12:29
    And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan.
    KJV
  4. 4
    1 Kings 12:30
    And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan.
    KJV
  5. 5
    1 Kings 12:31
    And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi.
    KJV
  6. 6
    1 Kings 12:32
    And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made. offered: or, went up to the altar, etc sacrificing: or, to sacrifice
    KJV
  7. 7
    1 Kings 12:33
    So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense. offered: or, went up to the altar, etc and burnt: Heb. to burn incense
    KJV
  8. 8
    1 Kings 13:1
    And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. burn: or, offer
    KJV
  9. 9
    1 Kings 13:2
    And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be burnt upon thee.
    KJV
  10. 10
    1 Kings 13:3
    And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.
    KJV

Subtopics of Calf

Offered in sacrifice
Golden, made by Aaron
Images of, set up in Beth-el and Dan by Jeroboam
Worshiped by Jehu
Prophecies against the golden calves at Beth-el
Altars of, destroyed
Calves of the lips, a metaphor signifying worship
»Calves of the lips,« a metaphor signifying worship
Images of, set up in Beth-El and Dan by Jeroboam
Prophecies against the golden calves at Beth-El

Old Testament: What Does the Bible Say About Calf? (27 Verses)

And I looked, and, behold, ye had sinned against the LORD your God, and had made you a molten calf: ye had turned aside quickly out of the way which the LORD had commanded you.
Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan.
And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan.
And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi.
And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made. offered: or, went up to the altar, etc sacrificing: or, to sacrifice
So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense. offered: or, went up to the altar, etc and burnt: Heb. to burn incense
And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. burn: or, offer
And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be burnt upon thee.
And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.
And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him.
The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the LORD.
Moreover the altar that was at Bethel, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made, both that altar and the high place he brake down, and burned the high place, and stamped it small to powder, and burned the grove.
And as Josiah turned himself, he spied the sepulchres that were there in the mount, and sent, and took the bones out of the sepulchres, and burned them upon the altar, and polluted it, according to the word of the LORD which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these words.
Then he said, What title is that that I see? And the men of the city told him, It is the sepulchre of the man of God, which came from Judah, and proclaimed these things that thou hast done against the altar of Bethel.
And he said, Let him alone; let no man move his bones. So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet that came out of Samaria. bones alone: Heb. bones to escape
And all the houses also of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke the LORD to anger, Josiah took away, and did to them according to all the acts that he had done in Bethel.
And he slew all the priests of the high places that were there upon the altars, and burned men's bones upon them, and returned to Jerusalem. slew: or, sacrificed
Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is thy God that brought thee up out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocations;
They made a calf in Horeb, and worshipped the molten image.
And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel their confidence.
Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off; mine anger is kindled against them: how long will it be ere they attain to innocency?
For from Israel was it also: the workman made it; therefore it is not God: but the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces.
The inhabitants of Samaria shall fear because of the calves of Bethaven: for the people thereof shall mourn over it, and the priests thereof that rejoiced on it, for the glory thereof, because it is departed from it. the priests: or, Chemarim
It shall be also carried unto Assyria for a present to king Jareb: Ephraim shall receive shame, and Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel.
Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips. receive: or, give good
Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? of a: Heb. sons of a year?

New Testament: What Does the Bible Say About Calf? (1 Verses)

And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.

How to Study What the Bible Says About Calf

  1. 1

    Begin by reading through every verse listed on this page, noting which ones speak most directly to your current season of life. Write them down and revisit them throughout the week.

  2. 2

    Use a concordance or the search tools on this site to find additional passages about calf. Look for patterns across both the Old and New Testaments to gain a complete picture of what God reveals on this subject.

  3. 3

    Study the context of each verse. Read the surrounding chapter to understand who was speaking, who the audience was, and what circumstances prompted the passage. Context prevents misapplication.

  4. 4

    Memorise at least one key verse about calf and meditate on it daily. Scripture memory transforms thinking and equips you to apply God's Word in real-time situations.

Practical Application

Studying what the Bible says about calf is only the beginning. Scripture is meant to be lived out in daily obedience and faith. Here are practical steps to apply these truths:

  • Identify one area of your life where the biblical teaching on calf needs to be applied more consistently. Write a specific, actionable step you can take this week.

  • Share what you have learned about calf with a fellow believer or in a small group setting. Teaching others solidifies your own understanding and encourages mutual growth.

  • Pray through the key verses about calf, asking God to reveal how His Word applies to your relationships, decisions, and daily habits.

How Well Do You Know What the Bible Says About Calf?

You have studied 28 verses about calf. Now test your knowledge with chapter-by-chapter quizzes covering the books where these verses appear.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the Bible say about calf?
Discover 28 Bible verses about calf. This comprehensive collection of Scripture quotes reveals God's wisdom and guidance on calf, with verses from across the Old and New Testaments. The Bible contains 28 key verses about calf spanning both Old and New Testaments.
How many Bible verses about calf are there?
There are 28 key Bible verses about calf compiled in this study guide, drawn from books across both the Old and New Testaments.
What is the best verse about calf?
One of the most well-known and frequently cited verses about calf is Deuteronomy 9:16 — "And I looked, and, behold, ye had sinned against the LORD your God, and had made you a molten calf: ye had turned aside quickly out of the way which t..."
Where in the Bible does it talk about calf?
Calf is discussed throughout the Bible in both the Old and New Testaments. You can find 28 references to this topic across multiple books including the Psalms, Proverbs, the Gospels, and the Epistles.

Continue Studying Calf

Topics Included

This page consolidates Bible verses from 2 related topics:

calf