MOSES
golden
bull,
and
Moses,
when
he
saw
it,
brake
the
tablets
of
stone
and
destroyed
the
image;
Aaron
offered
a
feeble
excuse,
and
J"
smote
the
people
(32'-'>
"»•
16-2).
36).
Moses'
intercession
has
not
been
preserved
in
E,
but
it
is
supplied
by
a
late
hand
in
32™-".
We
here
resume
the
narrative
of
B.
After
the
departure
from
Horeb
a
fire
from
J"
punished
the
people
for
murmuring
(Nu
11'-').
At
the
"Tent
of
Tryst'
J"
took
of
Moses'
spirit
and
put
it
upon
70
elders
who
prophesied,
including
Eldad
and
Medad,
who
did
not
leave
the
camp;
Joshua
objected
to
the
two
being
thus
favoured,
but
was
rebuked
by
Moses
('»'■
m-so).
Miriam
and
Aaron
spoke
against
Moses
for
having
married
a
foreign
woman
and
then
for
claiming
to
have
received
Divine
revelations;
Miriam
became
leprous,
but
was
healed
at
Moses'
intercession
(12).
On
Dathan
and
Abiram
(16)
see
above,
under
J.
Miriam
died
at
Kadesh
(20').
Twelve
spies
were
sent,
who
brought
back
a
large
cluster
of
grapes,
but
said
that
the
natives
were
numerous
and
powerful
(IS""-
"■
™.
m.
28b.
27b.
29.
38).
the
peoplc
determined
to
return
to
Egypt
imder
another
captain
(14">-
"•).
[Here
occurs
a
lacuna,
which
is
partially
supplied
by
Dt
1"-",
probably
based
on
E.]
Against
Moses'
wish
the
people
advanced
towards
Canaan,
but
were
routed
by
the
Amalekites
and
other
natives
(14»i'-«).
Edom
refused
passage
through
their
territory
(20"-").
Aaron
died
at
Moserah,
and
was
succeeded
by
Eleazar
(Dt
10°).
Serpents
plagued
the
people
for
their
murmuring,
and
Moses
made
the
serpent
of
bronze
(Nu
21">-»).
Israel
marched
by
Edom
to
Moab,
and
vanquished
Sihon
(2iiib-i6.
21-24..
27-30);
the
story
of
Balaam
(part
22-24).
Israel
worshipped
Baal-peor,
and
Moses
bade
the
judges
hang
the
offenders
(25'»-
*»■
«).
J"
warned
Moses
that
he
was
about
to
die,
and
Moses
appointed
Joshua
to
succeed
him
(Dt
31'"'
^s).
Moses
died
in
Moab,
and
his
tomb
was
unknown.
He
was
the
greatest
prophet
in
Israel
(Dt
34»-
6>>-
i").
(ill.)
The
narraiive
of
D
is
based
upon
the
earlier
sources,
which
it
treats
in
a
hortatory
manner,
dwelling
upon
the
religious
meaning
of
history,
and
its
bearing
upon
life
and
morals,
and
Israel's
attitude
to
God.
There
are
a
few
additional
details,
such
as
are
suitable
to
a
retrospect
(e.g.
I'-'-
'"•
^'^
^'-si
s^"-
23.23).
and
there
are
certain
points
on
which
the
tradition
differs
more
or
less
widely
from
those
of
JE;
see
Driver,
Deut.
p.xxxvf.
But
D
supplies
nothing
of
importance
to
our
knowledge
of
Moses'
life
and
character.
(iv.)
The
narrative
of
P.
—
Israel
was
made
to
serve
the
Egyptians
'with
rigour'
(Ex
!'■
".
Hb).
when
the
king
died,
3"
heard
their
sighing,
and
remembered
His
covenant
(2"-'^).
He
revealed
to
Moses
His
name
Jahweh,
and
bade
him
tell
the
Israelites
that
they
were
to
be
delivered
(6^-9).
Moses
being
diffident,
Aaron
his
brother
was
given
to
be
his
'prophet'
(6'"-"
7'-').
[The
genealogy
of
Moses
and
Aaron
is
given
in
a
later
stratum
of
P,
e"-^*.]
Aaron
turned
his
staff
into
a
'reptile'
before
Pharaoh
(7'-").
By
Aaron's
instru-mentality
vrith
Moses
plagues
were
sent
—
all
the
water
in
Egypt
turned
into
blood
(7"-
™..
21b.
22);
frogs
(8'-'-
«i>);
gnats
or
mosquitoes
("-'»);
boils
(9'-").
[As
in
J,
commands
respecting
religious
institutions
are
inserted
in
connexion
with
the
Exodus:
Passover
(12'-"'
".
23.
«3-so).
Unleavened
cakes
("-™),
Dedication
of
firstborn
(13").]
The
Israelites
went
to
Etham
(IS^")
and
thence
to
the
Eed
Sea.
The
marvel
of
the
crossingis
heightened,
the
waters
standing
up
in
a
double
wall
(14i-'-
"■
'">.
I6b-i8.
211..
c.
221.
26.
27..
28.).
In
the
wilderness
of
Sin
the
people
murmured,
and
manna
was
sent;
embedded
in
the
narrative
are
fragments
of
P's
story
of
the
quails
(16,
exc.
vv.'-
").
They
moved
to
Rephidlm
(17'«),
and
thence
to
Sinai
(19'-
='").
After
seven
days
J"
called
Moses
into
the
cloud
(24"'>-"»)
and
gave
him
instruc-tions
with
regard
to
the
Tabernacle
and
its
worship
(25-31"),
and
also
gave
him
the
Tablets
of
the
Testi-mony
(31"°).
[Other
laws
ascribed
to
Divine
communi-
MOSES
cation
with
Moses
are
collected
in
Lev.
and
parts
of
Num.]
"When
Moses
descended,
his
face
shone,
so
that
he
veiled
it
when
he
was
not
alone
in
J"'s
presence
(342«-3').
A
census
was
taken
of
the
fighting
men
preparatory
to
the
march,
and
the
writer
takes
occasion
to
enlarge
upon
the
organization
of
the
priestly
and
Levitical
families
(Nu
1-4).
The
cloud
which
descended
upon
the
Tabernacle
was
the
signal
for
marching
and
camping
(9i»-!B),
and
the
journey
began
(10"-2s).
With
the
story
of
Dathan
and
Abiram
(see
above)
there
are
entwined
two
versions
of
a
priestly
story
of
rebellion
—
(1)
Korah
and
260
princes,
all
of
them
laymen,
spoke
against
Moses
and
Aaron
for
claiming,
in
their
capacity
of
Levites,
a
sanctity
superior
to
that
of
the
rest
of
the
congregation.
(2)
Korah
and
the
princes
were
Levites,
and
they
attacked
Aaron
for
exalting
priests
above
Levites
(parts
of
16).
The
former
version
has
its
sequel
in
17;
Moses
and
Aaron
were
vindicated
by
the
budding
of
the
staff
for
the
tribe
of
Levi.
In
the
wilderness
of
Zln
Moses
struck
the
rock,
with
an
angry
exclamation
to
the
murmuring
people,
and
water
flowed;
Moses
and
Aaron
were
rebuked
for
lack
of
faith
[the
fragments
of
the
story
do
not
make
it
clear
wherein
this
consisted],
and
they
were
forbidden
to
enter
Canaan
(parts
of
201.-
2-18).
Joshua,
Caleb,
and
ten
other
spies
were
sent
from
the
wilderness
of
Paran;
the
two
former
alone
brought
a
good
account
of
the
land,
and
they
alone
were
permitted
to
enter
Canaan;
the
other
ten
died
by
a
plague
(parts
of
13.
14;
see
above
under
J
and
E).
Aaron
died
at
Mt.
Hor
(202i">-2s).
Israel
marched
by
Edom
to
Moab
(20^2
21«»-
'»•
"»).
Phinehas
was
promised
'an
everlasting
priesthood'
for
his
zeal
in
punishing
an
Israelite
who
had
brought
a
Mldianite
woman
into
the
camp
(25«-'5).
All
the
last
generation
having
died
except
Joshua
and
Caleb,
a
second
census
was
taken
by
Moses
and
Eleazar
(26).
Moses
appointed
Joshua
to
succeed
him
(27).
The
Midianites
were
defeated
and
Balaam
was
slain
(31).
Moses
died
on
Mt.
Nebo,
aged
120
(Dt
341''-
'-s).
3.
Historicity.
—
In
the
OT,
there
are
presented
to
us
the
varying
fortunes
of
a
Semitic
people
who
found
their
way
into
Palestine,
and
were
strong
enough
to
settle
in
the
country
in
defiance
of
the
native
population.
Although
the
Invaders
were
greatly
in
the
minority
as
regards
numbers,
they
were
knit
together
by
an
esprit
de
corps
which
made
them
formidable.
And
tBis
was
the
outcome
of
a
strong
religious
belief
which
was
common
to
all
the
branches
of
the
tribe
—
the
belief
that
every
member
of
the
tribe
was
under
the
protection
of
the
same
God,
Jahweh.
And
when
it
is
asked
from
what
source
they
gained
this
united
belief,
the
analogy
of
other
religions
suggests
that
it
probably
resulted
from
the
influence
of
some
strong
personaMty.
The
existence
and
character
of
the
Hebrew
race
require
such
a
person
as
Moses
to
account
for
them.
But
while
the
denial
that
Moses
was
a
real
person
is
scarcely
within
the
bounds
of
sober
criticism,
it
does
hot
follow
that
all
the
details
related
of
him
are
literally
true
to
history.
What
Prof.
Driver
says
of
the
patriarchs
in
Genesis
is
equally
true
of
Moses
in
Ex.,
Nu.:
'The
basis
of
the
narratives
in
Genesis
is
in
fact
popular
oral
tradition;
and
that
being
so,
we
may
expect
them
to
display
the
characteristics
which
popular
oral
tradition
does
in
other
cases.
They
may
well
Include
a
substantial
historical
nucleus;
but
details
may
be
due
to
the
involuntary
action
of
popular
invention
or
imagination,
operating
during
a
long
period
of
time;
characteristic
anecdotes,
reflecting
the
feelings,
and
explaining
the
relations,
of
a
later
age
may
thus
have
become
attached
to
the
patriarchs;
phraseology
and
expression
will
nearly
always
be
ascribed
rightly
to
the
narrators
who
casit
these
traditions
into
their
present
literary
shape'
(art.
'Jacob'
in
DB
11.
534'>).
Moses
is
portrayed
under
three
chief
aspects
—
as
(i.)
a
Leader,
(11.)
the
Promoter
of
the
religion
of
J",
(ui.)
Lawgiver,
and
'Prophet'
or
moral
teacher.
(i.)
Moses
as
Leader.
—
Some
writers
think
that
there
