The wandering in the wilderness of the Sinaitic peninsula is said to have lasted 40 years, though a record of the events of two years only has been preserved. These, however, are obviously the most important, as they contain an elaborate account of the giving of the law (Exod. xix. et seq.), which is represented as a direct revelation made to Moses by Jehovah himself, who descended upon Mt. Sinai in fire, amid the roar of thunders and the quaking of hills. The antiquity, however, of the priestly or ecclesias tical portions of the Pentateuch is keenly disputed by many modern scholars cf the high est reputation, who endeavor to show the probability of such passages having been com posed and inserted subsequent to the great organization of the priesthood by David and in proof of this, point, among other evidences, to the Book of Judges (q.v.), which narrates the history of the Hebrews for 300 years after the conquest of Canaan, and which yet contains scarcely a single trace of the existence of a religious institution among them. Yet it is allowed almost on all hands that the foundations, at least, of the Jewish theocracy, and probably also a large part of the superstructure, were the direct work of Moses himself, who indeed appears to lewd been pre-eminently fitted for the task of a legislator, not to mention the fact that the ritualism of the Hebrews has many striking points of contact with that of the ancient Egpytians, with which he was well acquainted. This view, of course, does not interfere with the theory of a later composition of the Pentateuch (q.v.), in its present shape and its successive redactions and enlargements. But whatever period be allowed for the sojourn in the desert, the rough, nomadic life, the-frequent fighting with the fierce Bedouin tribes, through whose territory they passed—besides the lofty influences of a. stern religion—had transformed the runaway slaves of Egypt, by the time they approached the eastern borders of Canaan, into a nation of high-spirited and irresistible warriors.
Before proceeding further, it behooves us to trace a general outline of the Mosaic legislation. The laws promulgated under the " Covenant" were, as we said, not entirely new. Many were merely the solemn confirmation of ancient patriarchal tenets, such as the worship of one supreme being through sacrifices, prayer, vows, circumcision, the government by heads of tribes and families, etc. Others must have been adaptations of Egyptian institutions. Others, again, owed their existence to the altered circumstances of the community; and it is undeniable that some of the ordinances contained in the Pentateuch were never carried into practice. The fundamental features of the religious as well as political constitution—both closely interwoven with each other—arc the fol lowing: God is Creator and Lord of the universe. The universe is his own, and to man the use of all created things has been intrusted by his will God is therefore the king of the people. By the priests be is visibly represented. No man has the right to dispose of his own liberty. The soil is only given to the people for the usvf•uct; man has no further individual right of possession over it. Every seventh year it is to be left to itself. The sale of land is prohibited; and after seven times seven years, every lease and mortgage of it is null and void, and it is to return to the heirs of those to whom it was originally assigned at the first division of the bind.
The office s,f the priests (q.v.) was in the bands of the tribe of Levi (q.v.), more espe
cially the descendants of Aaron (q.v.). The Levites assisted in the management of the sanctuary art2 the holy rites, copied and expounded the books of the law, kept the genealogical gists, and had the care of the general instruction of the people. Together with the priests, they had administrative and judicial functions, and they gave their judgment, always in the name of God. The high priest (q.v.) constituted the highest court, and his was the oracle (Urim and Thummim). Periodical feasts (q.v.) were instituted, order that the dependence from the divine King should should always he kept in view by the people. Every seventh clay the body should rest from labor (Sabbath), as every seventh year the soil was to rest (Sabbatical year); and every fiftieth (7 X 7) year (Jobel) was the great year of remission. Three annual feasts, partly of an agricultural, partly of a historical character, were the passah (q.v.), the feast of weeks (q.v.), and the feast of tabernacles (q.v.). No less was the first of the seventh month to be kept holy. The tenth of the same month was instituted a day of atonement and for giveness of sin.
The form of government was at first a theocratical one. The people was divided into 12 tribes, which formed small republics, but were all united under the invisible rule of Jehovah. General national assemblies decided upon war and peace, and the like. provisions are also found for the contingency of the election of a king. After the con quest of Palestine, every city had a judge, chosen by the heads of the families and tribes. The punishments were either death, flagellation, or fines. Three Levitical cities were named by Moses as asylums or places of refuge for man-slayers whose guilt was not yet fully established. Every free citizen was bound, from his 20th year, to military service in case of war. To the besieged city, terms of capitulation were first to be offered; were these rejected, the city was to be taken, and the males were to be put to the sword. In all other cases, the virtues of charity, justice, and kindness, even towards animals, are repeatedly impressed upon the people. How far these fundamental rules were either further developed or neglected, we cannot show in this place.
The "land of promise" became theirs at last (about 1430 n.C.), under Joshua (q.v.), aim successor of Moses. Tribe after tribe was swept from its ancient territory, and for the most part either annihilated or forced to flee. Yet the whole bulk of the native inhabitants was not extirpated or wholly expelled, nor even subdued, till a much later period; a circumstance fraught indeed with the most disastrous consequences to the new commonwealth. The country was now divided among the tribes. The magnificent pastoral region to the e. of the Jordan had before been chosen by the tribes of Reuben; Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh at an early period, because they " had a very great multitude of cattle" (Numb. xxxii. 1); but they now for the first time entered on posses sion of it. The land w. of the Jordan was parceled out to.the remaining—Judah, Simeon, Dan, Benjamin, Ephraim, the second half-tribe of Manasseh, Issachar, Zebulon, Naphtali, and Asher. The tribe of Levi received, instead of a province, 48 cities scattered throughout Canaan and the tenth part of the fruits of the field, and were allowed gener ally to settle individually throughout the land where they chose (LEVITES, PRIESTS, HIGH PRIEsTs).