Talk:Golden Calf

Jeroboam's Religion
How should the reinstitution of Golden Calf worship by Jeroboam be covered on this article? I am thinking of include in the mainline history and intro section (as not to make the article just about Aaron's Golden Calf, but Golden Calf worship in general- universally associated with Aaron's) rather than including it in the "Legacy". Segmenting it would cause Jeroboam's Golden Calf to be considered an effect of the original Golden Calf rather than something that is revived, but implemented in a much larger extent. Any other opinions on this would be appreciated.

In Christ, Superdadsuper, Bible Wiki Administrator and Bureaucrat 20:01, September 24, 2017 (UTC)

Elohim vs gods
Most Bible translations interpret the Golden Calf as representing "gods" of Egypt rather than "God". The confusion here is that the translated gods is Elohim, which is the same word used as pronoun for the God Yahweh (though it is singular, perhaps representing the trinity as being three in one). Some would argue the Golden Calf was just idolatry and not a false religion (at least with Aaron, Jeroboam is questionable). They would say that Aaron made an image of the true God, which is still against His commandments; i.e not wanting to be confined or represented by a manmade image. Still others say it was meant to represent false gods. The current article reflects the position of it being false gods, as do most Bible translations. Is there strong enough evidence to suggest the correct interpretation is that Elohim in this scenario represents the one true God Yahweh? If there isn't an absolutely conclusive way to determine this how should the article go about "teeter-tottering", though I think it would be a lot better if it stood up for one stance. If we aren't careful we could end up being hypocrites and practice the "all viewpoints" view of Wikipedia. The problem with this article is that interpretive understanding is almost essential for understanding what the idol was (or was of).

In Christ, Superdadsuper, Bible Wiki Administrator and Bureaucrat 20:01, September 24, 2017 (UTC)
 * Honestly, it would be a good idea to have both main viewpoints included in this article. Since it could go either way, this seems like the best route to take. Alought their may be some additional clues in the text that could help. When I have more time (hopefully tomorrow) I can look into it more. Hopefully Henry can give some input on this as well.