What is "golden calf"

n. 1 (''Old Testament'') A golden image of a calf, made by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron and worshipped by the Israelites. 2 (context by extension English) money as an end in itself; mammon.

n. (Old Testament) an idol made by Aaron for the Israelites to worship; destroyed by Moses; it is now used to refer to anything worshipped undeservedly

According to the Bible, the golden calf (עֵגֶּל הַזָהָב '' ‘ēggel hazāhāv'') was an icon (a cult image) made by the Israelites during Moses' absence, when he went up to Mount Sinai. In Hebrew, the incident is known as ḥēṭ’ ha‘ēggel (חֵטְא הַעֵגֶּל) or "The Sin of the Calf". It is first mentioned in .

Bull worship was common in many cultures. In Egypt, whence according to the Exodus narrative the Hebrews had recently come, the Apis Bull was a comparable object of worship, which some believe the Hebrews were reviving in the wilderness; alternatively, some believe the God of Israel was associated with or pictured as a calf/bull deity through the process of religious assimilation and syncretism. Among the Egyptians' and Hebrews' neighbors in the ancient Near East and in the Aegean, the Aurochs, the wild bull, was widely worshipped, often as the Lunar Bull and as the creature of El.

The Golden Calf is the award of the Netherlands Film Festival, which is held annually in Utrecht. The award has been presented since 1981, originally in six categories: Best actor, Best actress, Best film, Best Short film, Culture Prize and Honourable mention. In 2004, there were 16 award categories, mainly because in 2003 the categories Best Camera, Best Montage, Best Music, Best Production Design, Best Sound Design were added.

Famous Dutch film makers and actors that have won a Golden Calf include Rutger Hauer, Louis van Gasteren, Paul Verhoeven, Eddy Terstall, Carice van Houten, Fons Rademakers, Martin Koolhoven, Alex van Warmerdam, Fedja van Huêt, Jean van de Velde, Dick Maas, Marleen Gorris, Ian Kerkhof, Jeroen Krabbé, Monic Hendrickx and Rijk de Gooyer.

The golden calf is an idol in the Bible and the Qur'an.

Golden calf may also refer to:

• Golden Calf (award), a Dutch film award
• The Little Golden Calf, a Soviet novel by writers Ilf and Petrov
• The Golden Calf (film), a 1925 German film
• The Little Golden Calf (film) a 1968 black and white Soviet film after the novel
• The Little Golden Calf (TV series) a 2006 Russian TV series
• The Golden Calf (instrument), a gravimeter used by Felix Andries Vening Meinesz
• Mooby the Golden Calf, a fictional character from the View Askewniverse
• Sculpture by British artist Damien Hirst