semiopen

Oddly the scapegoat is also discussd in this section - as a purification ritual. I think Storytime is using it in the modern sense.

Both accounts agree Aaron made the calf, and his lineage won the priest competition. If the wilderness period ever happened and that's a big if, it seems clear that the Israelites were not monotheistic at that point.

YHWH became the only God eventually, probably by or a little after the first exile.

The bible makes a certain amount of sense from a strictly literal approach, but for those of us not blessed with this kind of belief structure, current academic interpretations are quite clear and convincing.

Thanks Sheshbazzar, your post was very interesting. I haven't used those tools (concordances) before but will look into it.

Rashi suggests Shaddai, here, means "I am sufficient" from "sheani dai." do you have any insight into this.