God speak to us or we will die.” But now Moses is taking a long time to return from his meeting with God. In light of this, it is possible to read the story not as an act of godless rebellion, but as an act of panic on the part of a people who fear they have lost their contact with God.2 There is more to Israel’s act, however, than simply missing Moses and panicking at the thought of being disconnected to God. They approach Aaron and refer to Moses as “this fellow Moses,” a phrase that in both Hebrew