Abstract
This study is about Moses, charismatic leadership, and the beginnings of Israel's religion. At a time when traditional and time-honoured customs were revered and preserved, but proved inadequate, Moses, a charismatically endowed leader, arose and overthrew the old order, and in its place proffered the new in the form of mono-Yahwism, which ultimately became the national Israelite religion.
This claim is analysed and discussed in four chapters. Chapter 1 is a preliminary to the thesis and deals with the reason for, and aim of this study, methodological considerations, and has a section presenting, very briefly, the debate on the historicity of Moses.
Chapter 2 was composed using literary principles and narrative literature in the book of Exodus, to glean a description of the character of Moses.
The next two chapters form the main thrust of this study. Chapter 3 examined Weber's typology of leadership, providing the groundwork for the understanding and contextualization of charismatic leadership. The aim of chapter 4 was to show the characteristics of the charismatic leader, Moses, and how they were instrumental in his formulation of mono-Yahwism. The main points discussed were: Moses' personality, and the social context as a source of his charismatic leadership; the recognition of the charismatic leader and his message; the importance of charisma in Moses' achievements; and some factors that drive the charismatic person. The main methodological thrust is socio-religious, within which Max Weber's interpretative framework of charismatic leadership is employed.
The work shows that Moses has the traits of a charismatic leader, and that, through the effect of his personality, he influenced the beginnings of Israelite religion.
Prof. J.H. Coetzee