The Issue of Death Penalty for Israelites’ Worship of the Golden Calf in the Context of the Old Testament and the Holy Qur’an

A great deal of information concerning Jews can be found in the Old Testament and the Qur’an. For instance, both tell the story of Israelites who worshipped the golden calf. The passages from the Old Testament and Holy Qur’an that narrate the death penalty which the children of Israel incurred for their worship of the golden calf during the Prophet Moses’ absence when he went up to the Mount Sinai resemble each other. However, in the present day an increasing tendency towards figurative interpretation of the texts expressing the mentioned death penalty is observed. This paper firstly examines how the verse of the chapter of al-Baqara (2: 54) stating the death penalty in question has been dealt with by Qur’anic exegesis (tafsir) literature from past to present. Afterwards the study refers to Exodus: 32 and Deuteronomy: 9 and provides an explanation of various opinions about the issue. In addition, in the Qur'an and in the Torah, those who are important to this event, Aaron's reference to the importance of the role performed during the calf, the place has been given to different expression in both books. In the conclusion following a comparison of similarities and differences between both traditions, evaluations of the said texts in reference to their literal meaning are made