Is Yahweh the Golden Calf? Does the name  "Egeliah" found on ancient ostracon which translates to "bull calf of Yah" suggest that the Golden calves of Aaron and Jeroboam are actually symbols of Yahweh rather than deified animals? I have always thought that the Israelites worshiped the Golden Calf alone and that it was not an affiliated object to Yahweh. Lastly why is God portrayed as a bull in Numbers 24:8? Thanks.
Yes, that is a common understanding of the passage.  On this interpretation the Israelites disobeyed the following commandment:


  “You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me... (Exodus 20:4-5 RSV)


The following source lends credibility to this idea:


  Although both Exodus and Kings portray "calf worship" as disloyalty to YHWH, most scholars believe that it was not really an abandonment of Yahwism.  Archaeological finds, including the El texts from Ugarit, indicate that Near Eastern gods commonly were envisioned as standing invisibly on the backs of calves, bulls, or other powerful animals.  The calf figures were merely pedestals for the divine presence. (Harris and Platzner, The Old Testament: An Introduction to the Hebrew Bible)


See also Exodus 32:4, where the graven image is identified with the power that brought them out of Egypt, as well as verse 5 which includes a reiteration of their fidelity to the Lord.