increase came a consciousness of their
own strength, so that, after a lapse of two or three generations, they
may be said to have constituted a considerable nation. Its component
elements were not, however, firmly welded together; they consisted of
an indefinite number of clans, which were again subdivided into several
families. Each of these families had its chief or "ruler," to whom it
rendered absolute obedience, while the united chiefs formed an assembly
of elders who administered justice when required, and settled any
differences which arose among their respective followers. The clans in
their turn were grouped into tribes,* according to certain affinities
which they mutually recognised, or which may have been fostered by daily
intercourse on a common soil, but the ties which bound them together at
this period were of the most slender character. It needed some special
event, such as a projected migration in search of fresh pasturage, or
an expedition against a turbulent neighbour, or a threatened invasion
by some stranger, to rouse the whole tribe to corporate action; at
such times they would elect a "nasi," or ruler, the duration of whose
functions ceased with the emergency which had called him into office.**

* The tribe was designated by two words signifying "staff" or
"branch."

** The word _nasi,_ first applied to the chiefs of the
tribes (_Exod._ xxxiv. 31; _Lev_. iv. 22; _Numb_. ii. 3),
became, after the captivity, the title of the chiefs of
Israel, who could not be called _kings_ owing to the foreign
suzerainty (_Esdras_ i. 8).

Both clans and tribes were designated by the name of some ancestor from
whom they claimed to be descended, and who appears in some cases to
have been a god for whom they had a special devotion; some writers have
believed that this was also the origin of the names given to several of
the tribes, such as Gad, "Good Fortune," or of the totems of the hyena
and the dog, in Arabic and Hebrew, "Simeon" and "Caleb."* Gad, Simeon,
and Caleb were severally the ancestors of the families who ranged
themselves under their respective names, and the eponymous heroes of
all the tribes were held to have been brethren, sons of one father, and
under the protection of one God. He was known as the Jahveh with whom
Abraham of old had made a solemn covenant; His dwelling-place was Mount
Sinai or Mount Seir, and He revealed Himself in the storm;** His voice
was as the