would mediate disputes among the people and render authoritative judgments. In order to accomplish this task the people with disputes would stand around Moses from “morning until evening,” a period of at least twelve hours, so that Moses could settle their problems. Apparently some of these disputes were quite petty in nature (Exod. 18:22). One would think that a man with Moses’ level of education and his exposure in Egypt to the most sophisticated form of government known to the world at that time