Difference between revisions of "Assumption of Moses" - New World Encyclopedia

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The '''''Assumption of Moses''''' seems to provide a more consistent account of the [[Mount of Transfiguration]] experience, in which both [[Moses]] and [[Elijah]] appear to [[Saint Peter|Peter]], [[James, son of Zebedee|James]] and [[John the Apostle|John]], and [[Jesus]] is transfigured before them, in that none of these individuals are required to be either spirits or resurrected persons. It also provides a consistent view of [[Epistle of Jude|Jude]] (1:9) in that the author of that work viewed the dispute between [[Michael (archangel)|Michael]] the archangel and [[Satan]] as an actual attempt by the Devil to kill Moses.
 
The '''''Assumption of Moses''''' seems to provide a more consistent account of the [[Mount of Transfiguration]] experience, in which both [[Moses]] and [[Elijah]] appear to [[Saint Peter|Peter]], [[James, son of Zebedee|James]] and [[John the Apostle|John]], and [[Jesus]] is transfigured before them, in that none of these individuals are required to be either spirits or resurrected persons. It also provides a consistent view of [[Epistle of Jude|Jude]] (1:9) in that the author of that work viewed the dispute between [[Michael (archangel)|Michael]] the archangel and [[Satan]] as an actual attempt by the Devil to kill Moses.
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==Another 'Assumption of Moses'==
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This is a fragment preserved in the "Midrash Bereshit Rabbati" of R. Moses ha-Darshan (a manuscript in the library of the Jewish congregation in Prague), which was published by Jellinek in "B. H." vi. § 22. It is intended as an exegesis to Gen. xxviii. 17b. The following is a synopsis of its contents:
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As the time for Moses' death approached, God permitted him to ascend into heaven, and unveiledto him the future world. There Middat ha-Raḥamim (the Attribute of Mercy) came to him, saying: "I will announce good tidings." Turning his eyes to the throne of mercy, Moses saw God building the Temple out of precious stones and pearls; he saw also the rays of the Godhead, and Messiah the son of David with the Torah in his arms; also his own brother Aaron in priestly robes. Aaron imparted to Moses that his death was near at hand, whereupon Moses asked God for permission to speak with the Messiah. The latter then revealed to him that the sanctuary which God was then constructing was the Temple and the Jerusalem, which would be established for Israel in the future world to endure for all eternity, and that God had shown the same Jerusalem to Jacob in his dream in Beth-el. To Moses' question when the new Jerusalem would descend to earth, God replied: "I have not yet revealed the end to any one; should I reveal it to thee?" Thereupon Moses said, "Give me at least a hint from the events of history," and God answered: "After I have scattered Israel among all the nations, I will stretch out My hand to gather them in a second time from all the ends of the earth." Moses then joyfully departed from heaven, followed by the angel of death, who demanded his soul. Moses refused to yield it; but finally God appeared to him, and he surrendered his soul to God willingly and cheerfully.
  
 
==See also==
 
==See also==

Revision as of 21:26, 31 August 2008

The Assumption of Moses (otherwise called the Testament of Moses) is a Jewish apocryphal pseudepigraphical work of uncertain date and authorship. It is known from a single sixth-century manuscript in Latin that was discovered by Antonio Ceriani in the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan in the mid-nineteenth century and published by him in 1861. Based on the literal translation of idioms within the text, it is generally accepted that the extant Latin version is a translation from Greek, with the Greek itself probably a translation from Hebrew. The text is in twelve chapters and purports to be secret prophecies revealed by Moses to Joshua before leadership of the Israelites is passed from Moses to Joshua.

In it, a brief outline of Jewish history up until the first century CE is sketched out in the form of a series of prophecies, vaticinia ex eventu. The narrative includes a description of a Levite man named Taxo and his seven sons, who, rather than give in to hellenising influences, seal themselves into a cave. Most scholars consequently date the work to the early first century CE, contemporary with the latest historical figures it describes. A significant number of others, however, date it to the previous century and suggest that the first century CE references are later insertions into the text. A far smaller number of scholars place it in the second century CE, and their motivation for doing so may be ideological in some cases.

Ceriani noticed that one line of the text (1:14) matched a quotation in Gelasius from a hitherto lost work referred to as the Assumption of Moses and based his identification of the text on that, despite the fact that the present text does not describe any assumption. A problem posed by this identification is that both Gelasius (elsewhere) and Origen refer to an incident related in the Assumption of Moses that does not appear in this text. The incident, a dispute between the archangel Michael and Satan over the body of Moses, is also referred to in the Epistle of Jude (1:9), though not attributed to any specific source. Some Evangelical Christians are uncomfortable with the idea of a canonical work relying on a non-canonical one, and prefer to see a different relationship between the two texts.

The Stichometry of Nicephorus and some other ancient lists refer to both a Testament of Moses and an Assumption of Moses, apparently as separate texts. It is possible that these two were one text at some point, which would explain why the current version at once contains a passage quoted by Gelasius and does not contain the other material referred to by him (or indeed an assumption). If this is the case, then this text is likely to be what Nicephorus called the Testament of Moses, and the Assumption of Moses remains lost.

The Assumption of Moses seems to provide a more consistent account of the Mount of Transfiguration experience, in which both Moses and Elijah appear to Peter, James and John, and Jesus is transfigured before them, in that none of these individuals are required to be either spirits or resurrected persons. It also provides a consistent view of Jude (1:9) in that the author of that work viewed the dispute between Michael the archangel and Satan as an actual attempt by the Devil to kill Moses.

Another 'Assumption of Moses'

This is a fragment preserved in the "Midrash Bereshit Rabbati" of R. Moses ha-Darshan (a manuscript in the library of the Jewish congregation in Prague), which was published by Jellinek in "B. H." vi. § 22. It is intended as an exegesis to Gen. xxviii. 17b. The following is a synopsis of its contents:

As the time for Moses' death approached, God permitted him to ascend into heaven, and unveiledto him the future world. There Middat ha-Raḥamim (the Attribute of Mercy) came to him, saying: "I will announce good tidings." Turning his eyes to the throne of mercy, Moses saw God building the Temple out of precious stones and pearls; he saw also the rays of the Godhead, and Messiah the son of David with the Torah in his arms; also his own brother Aaron in priestly robes. Aaron imparted to Moses that his death was near at hand, whereupon Moses asked God for permission to speak with the Messiah. The latter then revealed to him that the sanctuary which God was then constructing was the Temple and the Jerusalem, which would be established for Israel in the future world to endure for all eternity, and that God had shown the same Jerusalem to Jacob in his dream in Beth-el. To Moses' question when the new Jerusalem would descend to earth, God replied: "I have not yet revealed the end to any one; should I reveal it to thee?" Thereupon Moses said, "Give me at least a hint from the events of history," and God answered: "After I have scattered Israel among all the nations, I will stretch out My hand to gather them in a second time from all the ends of the earth." Moses then joyfully departed from heaven, followed by the angel of death, who demanded his soul. Moses refused to yield it; but finally God appeared to him, and he surrendered his soul to God willingly and cheerfully.

See also

  • Non-canonical books referenced in the Bible


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