There is much more that I should perhaps have said in sections I and II on the sources of law,73 but I would have confused the issue with what I take to be a sideshow. Sources of law are not always as they are believed to be by those living in the system or by legal theorists. As is to be expected, if my first four conclusions are correct, the laws of God very much bolstered the authority of Moses. The stress is precisely on religious laws, hence on the authority of God, hence on the authority of Moses. Laws with a secular impact were little considered. This is why they are banal. The people were still not impressed by Moses’ leadership and during his absence on Mount Sinai they worshiped as god a golden calf, thus attacking God’s first Commandment (which they still did not have), hence God’s authority and thus Moses’ authority. If not the instigator, Aaron, the second in command, was prominent in the revolt, even suggesting where to obtain the material for the calf and making it. As often, the second-in-command is eager for the leading role. In Exodus the talent of Aaron is presented above all as the power of persuasion. Given that fact, it seems plausible that at one stage in the tradition (now unrecorded) Aaron appeared as the instigator of the revolt. As often in history, then, Moses would have coopted Aaron, and used him against his followers. Thus, God had been eager to encourage or placate Aaron by giving favors. In vain. (Aaron’s resentment against Moses is brought up very sharply in Numbers . It is part of the tradition. God weighs in in favor of Moses.) Moses ultimately triumphed through the power of God. Aaron easily submitted to him. The role of Aaron is essential to the tradition. Moses must have weaknesses for the story to unfold. He must have a helpmeet. Moses must have great problems with the people, and the people must have an alternative powerfigure. For the authority of God fully to emerge this figure must in the end fail miserably. APPENDIX I 73 I use “sources of law” to mean the bases of legal legitimacy: for this see Alan Watson, Sources of Law, Legal Change and Ambiguity, (Edinburgh, 1985), pp. xiff. ) ) ) ) ) )
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