The Golden Calf

The inscription of the Golden Calf is located in the Wadi al-Raha area at the foot of Mount Safsafa, to the right of the visitor heading to St. Catherine's Monastery.

This area is called Wadi al-Raha because in most opinions it is the place where the Israelites rested waiting for God's Prophet Moses to come down from the top of the mountain after receiving the tablets, and in another version that it was named so because God's Prophet Moses, while returning to Egypt with his family, and when he sensed from the side of Al-Tur a fire, he said to his family, "Stay, I have sensed a fire," so they stayed and rested in this area, so it was called Wadi al-Raha.

As for the inscription of the golden calf, several narratives have emerged regarding it. The commonly accepted narratives are numerous, and it is common among people that the inscription is considered a statue of the calf that the Israelites made to worship after the delay of Moses, and their belief that it had died and after the return of Moses, it was turned into stone, or that it is the mold that was used in making the Samaritan's golden calf.

What does the golden calf symbolism?

According to an old local legend, the Samaritan used the shape of the calf carved in the rock as a model or mold to make the golden calf.

The other version says that when the Prophet Moses came down from the mountain and found his people worshipping the calf, he smashed the calf with his hand and glued it to the mountain, resulting in this trace that remains for our time as a lesson for us and a representation of what happened in the days of Moses.
In fact, none of the previous narratives have been proven because there is no evidence to confirm this, this area is considered one of the tourist attractions that tourists flock to visit the landmarks and mountains of St. Catherine's City.

The Shrine of Prophet Aaron and Unsubstantiated Claims

Therefore, some imagined that the view opposite what is known as the Shrine of Prophet Aaron is the Golden Calf, and it was also said that this form might represent the mold into which the Samaritan cast the Golden Calf that the Children of Israel worshipped on the hill opposite this sculpture, known as the Shrine of Prophet Aaron, while the Prophet Moses was away from them for forty days; however, these are unsubstantiated claims.

The Location of the Worship of the Calf

The worship of the calf took place entirely outside this area; rather, it occurred at the current site of Mount Sinai near Wadi Habran, a valley characterized by an abundance of natural springs and medicinal herbs. The Prophet Moses crossed it alone to the current site of Mount Moses in the Holy Valley in response to his Lord’s command to receive the tablets of the Jewish Law. It is Mount Moses is about 35 km from this area, which led the Children of Israel to believe that the Prophet Moses had been lost and would not return, especially since he had told them he would be gone for only thirty days, as his Lord had commanded him; however, the period was extended to forty days after the Prophet Moses left the Children of Israel, according to the text of the Holy Quran in Surah Al-A’raf, verse 142.