Spinoza on the death of the master : the Hebrew theocracy after Moses

The paper interprets Spinoza's presentation of Moses in the Theological Political Treatise in light of antiquity's and early modernity's concept of authority. Moses is the kind of figure who cannot be argued with and whose authority is both theological and political. But what happens when the master of the Hebrew State dies? What happens at the end of authority? And what does this mean for a polity premised on the presence of the master as a figure of authority? These questions are tackled through a close reading of the chapters 17 and 18 of Spinoza's Treatise.