Well then my apologies. I'm really touchy right now for a variety of reasons. Maybe that's why I didn't see that as your point.
From my my own studies of the Old Testament i agree that there was always a plurality in the religion of Yahweh. This isn't because of the use of Elohim though, which while it does mean plurality doesn't necessarily mean that was the intent. At the moment I dont have my notes and can't speak as to the reason that is. Elohim I mean. But testimony of the old and new testament definitely paint a plural picture, yet do so all the while asserting the superiority of one.
Basically, it has been posited very pursuasively that technically there are two in the bible credited with creation - one being created by the other and then both creating the rest. So that yes there is one almighty father, and one son, but one God FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE being both of them. If that makes sense.
from the human perspective in the bible they might as well be equal even though they aren't.
oh and regarding babel, I have one book that if I remember suggests babel might be Sumer, but I could be wrong. Most are dealing with various scholar views of the OT so they just use the name Babel. I can check that later if needed.
the most persuasive position that I see, and I will grant some opinion involved here but history sure seems to back it up. Emphasis on seems.
But it is this. If we position the flood as a historical event. It has been argued that the Melchizadek of Jerusalem (salem) who blessed Abraham was actually Shem, Noah's son. According to an ancient Egyptian story, depicting a man usin the power of his mouth to kill someone significant, it has been suggested that Shem headed up worship of the God yahweh which included the same restrictions which society spurned before the flood and was destroyed. There is very strong evidence suggesting nimrod may have been responsible for spearheading a false religion in the face of a God who would kill so many. And that the Tower of Babel was set up so that they could survive if it ever happened again by climbing to the top. Anyway, according to what a few references I have suggest, Shem, seeing nimrod leading mankind down a similar path to what caused the flood, went to Egypt to pursuade them to stop him before another catastrophe happens. So Egypt, with the flood legend so fresh in their minds, called nimrod down to their country where he was cut to pieces which were sent throughout the land in the patriarchal fashion of warning which is also recorded in the bible. This is positioned as a possibly explanation for the long period of time in which idol worship seems to disappear in history and then reappear - because it was under ban while Shem lived to prevent it, and any practice of it must have been secret.
Something that seems to support this is how Abraham was blessed by Melchizadek. Because if the latter was Shem, then the recorded story of Abraham burning all the idols in his home town before he left would certainly garner shems approval and blessing.
But the reason I say this is because what history can be asserted with almost surety, shows that worship of Yahweh (whether plural in nature or not, though very likely so) came before the pagan system was adopted - but was still always centered around a promised messianic deliverer. This is the reson why you find a trinity of father becming the son as promised and returning to heaven in each pantheon of history. And when that pattern is so clear, while the originality of it MIGHT not be the system set up by this Melchizadek, the likelyhood seems extraordinarily probable that Melchizadek came first with his religion that was then taken and reformed.
And remember, some of the above is theory since archeology can only go so far back. But I find it very persuasive. Also, it isn't my primarily research subject - I mostly only study the bibles testimony to know what it says about subjects rsther than history this far back. But I've come across some very interesting information, this theory being one of them. And it presented all the historical references used to position the factual information used which I took the time to verify. Since you seem interested in the pagan system I thought I'd share it.
