Overall meaning : The Almighty states that when the Jews were commanded to believe the Qur’an, they said they would believe only the Torah and that would be sufficient for them, and they denied all the scriptures Allah Almighty sent down after the Torah, even though they confirmed the truth contained in their book.
Allah Almighty, therefore, instructs His Prophet Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to tell them that if they truly believe the Torah that is already in their possession, why did they previously kill the prophets of Allah, who came with the truth that confirmed what is in it?!
Then He reminds them of what they did after Moses, peace be upon him, had shown them clear signs testifying to the truthfulness of the message he had brought them. In spite of all this, however, they made themselves a golden calf and worshipped it after Moses had left them to call upon his Lord, thereby transcending the limits Allah Almighty had set for them.
He further reminds them of the covenant He made with them whereby they solemnly pledged to believe in Him and His messengers and to adhere to His laws, and He threateningly raised the Mount over them, saying: Hold fast to the Torah that We have given you, and listen to the words of Allah and obey Him. They replied, saying that they heard with their ears but disobeyed with their actions, for the love of the calf permeated their hearts due to their unbelief. Thus, if they claimed faith and committed all these monstrous misdeeds, then evil indeed was the kind of faith they claimed!