tion was stronger than these earlier ties; the God whom
Moses proclaimed as their head inspired in them an enthusiasm and
vigour unknown before. His name was Yahweh, and is said to have a
metaphysical meaning, and to designate the god as more really
existing than any other. This is doubted; what is certain is that
Moses declared that Yahweh promised to be with the tribes, and that
they took him for their God. Jehovah, to use the more familiar form
of the name, was perhaps the God of the most powerful of the tribes;
he was probably a nature-god, and connected with storms and thunder,
and he had his seat at Mount Sinai. Thither the tribes repaired to
hold a solemn meeting with him; from there he was afterwards
represented as coming forth when about to do any mighty act for his
people. He is thought of as a being who cannot be seen, since he
dwells in clouds and darkness. He utters his voice in thunder and
storm; he is possessed of irresistible energy which he unfolds in
battle, and in which he causes his people to share when he goes
before them to war. But he is also a god of counsel, and takes the
greatest interest in the moral and social life of his people. His
human representatives, aided by his spirit, settle disputes which are
laid before them, and pronounce authoritative counsels on difficult
matters. This kind of guidance is constantly going on, so that
Jehovah is felt to be watching over the conduct of his people, and to
be an effective helper and guide in their domestic concerns, which
not every god attends to, as well as in their meetings with their
enemies.

The Early Ritual was Simple.--In all this we have a very apt example
of the advance which, as we saw in a former chapter, religion makes
when it becomes national instead of merely tribal; when the great god
of the nation takes his place above the gods of the tribes. In
Israel, however, it is not the case that the national religion, when
it appears, at once develops a higher style of worship, and draws
attention to itself by greater pomp and deeper solemnity of form. The
priestly legislation of Exodus and Leviticus, indeed, represents this
as having been the case. Here the tribes have scarcely adopted the
service of Jehovah, when an army of thousands of priests is called
into being, for whose maintenance elaborate provision is made, and a
splendid and highly-organised worship is arranged. This directory of
worship, however, most scholars are agreed, never w