According to Taberî, this verse reports that the Children of Israel made a calf their deity after Moses went to meet with his Lord; the pronoun in the expression 'min ba'dihi' (after him) refers to Moses. This act has been characterized as placing worship in an unworthy place (injustice), and it is emphasized that their worship of the calf was directed toward a being that provides neither harm nor benefit. Furthermore, this incident is presented as a reproach and warning to the Jews who denied Prophet Muhammad, like their forefathers did.

وتأويل قوله: ثم اتخذتم في أيام مواعدة موسى العجل إلها من بعد أن فارقكم موسى متوجها إلى الموعد. والهاء في قوله {من بعده} عائدة على ذكر موسى.

This text states that the mansub word in the phrase '(forty nights) complete' in the verse indicates that the number has been completed as a hal (adverbial state). It also notes that the word 'Haroon' is an atf-i bayan (explanatory apposition) to 'his brother,' and in one reading, this word is read in the marfu (raised) case for the purpose of nida (addressing/calling).

نصب على الحال أي تم بالغا هذا العدد . و { هارون } عطف بيان لأخيه . وقرىء بالضم على النداء

According to this exegete, the essence of the difference between the readings 'وعدنا/واعدنا' is that muwaada (mutual contract) generally occurs between two equal parties; the use of 'waad' (promise) is more appropriate when attributed to Allah because promise and threat are exclusively Allah's attributes. However, some linguists (Makkî, Zeccâj) also consider the reading 'واعدنا' permissible, because Moses's promise to accept and obey constitutes a kind of reciprocation and this justifies the form of mufa'ala (reciprocal action). The forty complete nights are included in the hundred, and this period is specified as the month of Dhul-Qa'dah and ten days of Dhul-Hijjah.

قال : لأن المواعدة إنما تكون من البشر فأما الله جل وعز فإنما هو المنفرد بالوعد والوعيد على هذا وجدنا القرآن كقوله عز وجل : وعدكم وعد الحق

According to Ibn Kesîr, this expression indicates that while the Children of Israel worshipped the calf, they knew that only Allah was the true god, yet performing this act made them unjust. That is, injustice stems not from ignorance but from a deliberate wrongdoing despite perceiving the truth.

أي وأنتم ظالمون في هذا الصنيع الذي صنعتموه من عبادتكم العجل وأنتم تعلمون أنه لاإله إلا الله

According to this exegete, the forty nights represent the period promised to Moses upon his return to Egypt after the destruction of Pharaoh; Allah determined this period as Dhul-Qa'dah and the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah, and nights are mentioned instead of days because nights are the indicators of the beginning of months (the determining factor of their visibility). Furthermore, in the expression 'you took the calf as your deity,' the phrase 'after him' refers to what happened after Moses's departure or return, and this conduct is characterized as injustice because of associating partners with Allah (shirk).

وضرب له ميقاتا ذا القعدة وعشر ذي الحجة وعبر عنها بالليالي لأنها غرر الشهور

In this text, Râzî addresses the difference in reading between 'واعدنا' and 'وعدنا'; the reasoning for the reading without alif is that the promise comes from Allah, while in the reading with alif, several linguistic arguments are presented for the expression of mufa'ala (reciprocal action); the strongest argument he finds is that Allah promised to convey revelation to Moses and the meaning of 'the completion of forty nights' is intended. Furthermore, he notes that the word 'ثم' (then) in the verse is mentioned in connection with the promise of a fixed time for Moses before seventy people for the revelation of the Torah. Finally, linguistic arguments are listed regarding the interpretation of the concept of injustice and the derivation of the name Moses.

وأما بالألف فله وجوه