the people, as told in 20:15–181—his protracted absence generates deep anxiety, a mood exacerbated by the awareness of the impending departure from Sinai. gathered against Hebrew nikhal ʿal always carries a menacing nuance.2 make us a god Something that is emblematic of immanent divinity. Rashbam suggests that they had in mind some instrument for determining the divine will as a replacement for Moses, the absent human medium of divine revelation.3 that man Moses A disrespectful manner of speaking.4