One of the most perplexing aspects of the golden calf narrative in Exodus is the capital punishment enacted by Moses and the Levites in the Israelite camp (32:25–29). It confounds because previously Yhwh appears to tell Moses that Yhwh will not kill the Israelites because of the calf (vv. 9–14). How might these passages cohere? This study suggests the violence in Exodus 32:25–29 is not a response to the golden calf. Rather, this scene depicts Moses applying the law about sabbath violation which Yhwh told him in the immediately preceding story (31:12–17). Moses’ call to slaughter fellow Israelites (32:27) is his own implementation of the sabbath law’s call for capital punishment because of the Israelites’ unrestraint (32:25) on the sabbath day and not because of the calf. As a result, the golden calf narrative articulates and contrasts two cases of capital punishment through which Moses becomes a character foil to Yhwh. Yhwh is merciful and relents of capital punishment in a case of flagrant and informed law-breaking by the Israelites for their idolatry, whereas Moses quickly and mercilessly enacts capital punishment in a case of uninformed law-breaking for their sabbath violation. The Israelites were uninformed because they had not heard the sabbath law from 31:12–17. As a rhetorical device, I suggest the story does not use the word ‘sabbath’ in order to mimic this uninformed state of the Israelites. That the golden calf narrative occurs on a sabbath day is substantiated by an analysis of the temporal markers that begin after the introduction of the sabbath in chapter 16. The sabbath day can be traced through Exodus. The sixth and seventh days also demonstrate parallel literary themes. This new interpretation also shows its explanatory power for many of the story’s idiosyncrasies when read in light of both idolatry and sabbath violation.