name of the Lord, he was, even if a true prophet, considered guilty and a
usurper of the sovereign right (Numb. xi:28) [Endnote 30]. (61) We may here
notice, that though the people had elected Moses, they could not rightfully
elect Moses's successor; for having transferred to Moses their right of
consulting God, and absolutely promised to regard him as a Divine oracle,
they had plainly forfeited the whole of their right, and were bound to
accept as chosen by God anyone proclaimed by Moses as his successor. (62) If
Moses had so chosen his successor, who like him should wield the sole right
of government, possessing the sole right of consulting God, and consequently
of making and abrogating laws, of deciding on peace or war, of sending
ambassadors, appointing judges - in fact, discharging all the functions of a
sovereign, the state would have become simply a monarchy, only differing
from other monarchies in the fact, that the latter are, or should be,
carried on in accordance with God's decree, unknown even to the monarch,
whereas the Hebrew monarch would have been the only person to whom the
decree was revealed. (63) A difference which increases, rather than
diminishes the monarch's authority. (64) As far as the people in both cases
are concerned, each would be equally subject, and equally ignorant of
the Divine decree, for each would be dependent on the monarch's words, and
would learn from him alone, what was lawful or unlawful: nor would the fact
that the people believed that the monarch was only issuing commands in
accordance with God's decree revealed to him, make it less in subjection,
but rather more. [17:6] (65) However, Moses elected no such successor, but
left the dominion to those who came after him in a condition which could not
be called a popular government, nor an aristocracy, nor a monarchy, but a
Theocracy. (66) For the right of interpreting laws was vested in one man,
while the right and power of administering the state according to the
laws thus interpreted, was vested in another man (see Numb. xxvii:21)
[Endnote 31].