i've read claims (mentioning origen) that jude 9 would be a quote from the "assumption of moses", also known as the "testament of moses". however, i can't find any reference in this pseudepigraphical writing that would even losely have a connection to a fight between michael the archangel and the devil.
what i also find confusing, that the "book of jubilees" is sometimes called "testament of moses" too, but that's a whole different story.
where did jude get that michael/devil story from? is there yet another document called "assumption of moses"?
Assumption of Moses
by googlemagoogle 25 Replies latest watchtower bible
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googlemagoogle
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RunningMan
In Asimov's Guide to the Bible, he draws the connection between Jude and The Assumption of Moses. I don't have the book handy, but if you can find a copy, he might have the source referenced. Or you can wait a few minutes, I'm sure Leo or Nark can help you.
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googlemagoogle
origen, 3. de principiis 2:1
... And in the first place, in the book of Genesis, the serpent is described as having seduced Eve; regarding whom, in the work entitled The Ascension of Moses (a little treatise, of which the Apostle Jude makes mention in his Epistle), the archangel Michael, when disputing with the devil regarding the body of Moses, says that the serpent, being inspired by the devil, was the cause of Adam and Eve's transgression. ...
i'll search for asimov, but in the "assumption of moses" itself, i can't find anything about michael... -
googlemagoogle
seems like the part origen refers to was lost... hopefully someone finds it again! that is, if it ever existed.
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Kenneson
Yes, it was lost, but it seems that early Christian writers were familiar with it.
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Leolaia
googlemagoogle....The best article laying out the evidence is Richard Bauckam, "Excusus: The Barckground and Source of Jude 9," in his commentary on Jude and 2 Peter, pp. 65-76. The Analépsis Móuseós "Assumption of Moses" is a work mentioned in Pseudo-Athanasius, Nicephorous, and the List of Sixty Books, and quite a few church fathers identified it (or a book with a similar name) as the source of the quote in Jude 9 and describe the ascension of the soul of Moses to heaven while he was being buried:
"When Michael, the archangel, disputing with the devil, debated about the body of Moses." Here he confirms the Assumption of Moses. He is here called Michael, who through an angel near to us debated with the Devil" (Clement of Alexandria, Adumbr. in Ep. Judae, Cassadorus Fr. 2.1; cf. Stromateis 1.23.153; 6.15.132).
"Rightly, therefore, Joshua the son of Nun saw a double Moses being taken away: one Moses with the angels, and one on the mountains, honoured with burial in their ravines. And Joshua saw this spectacle below, being elevated by the Spirit, along also with Caleb. But both do not see similarly. But the one descended with greater speed, as if the weight he carried was great; while the other, on descending after him, subsequently related the glory which he beheld, being able to perceive more than the other as having grown purer; the narrative, in my opinion, showing that knowledge is not the privilege of all. Since some look at the body of the Scriptures, the expressions and the names as to the body of Moses; while others see through to the thoughts and what it is signified by the names, seeking the Moses that is with the angels" (Clement of Alexandria, Stromateis 6.15.132).
" We have now to notice, agreeably to the statements of Scripture, how the opposing powers and the Devil himself contends with the human race, inciting and instigating men to sin. Firstly, in the book of Genesis the serpent is described as the seducer of Eve, who is also mentioned in the work entitled The Ascension of Moses, a short treatise mentioned in the Epistle of the Apostle Jude. Therein the Archangel Michael disputes with the Devil regarding the corpse of Moses and declares that the serpent, being inspired by the Devil, was the reason for Adam and Eve's sin." (Origen, De Principiis, 3.2.1)
"In a certain book, though it be not in the canon ... it is related that two Moses' were seen, one alive in the spirit, the other dead in the body" (Origen, Homily on Joshua, 2.1).
"As to Moses, whose body was buried, it is plain from the gospel narrative that he came in the body to the Lord on the mountain to which He and His disciples had retired. In the Apocrypha, and in the Mysteries of Moses, a writing which is wholly devoid of authority, it is indeed said that, at the time when he ascended the mount to die, through the power which his body possessed, there was one body which was committed to the earth, and another which was joined to the angel who accompanied him; but I do not feel myself called upon to give to a sentence in apocryphal writings a preference over the definite statements quoted above" (Evodius, Bishop of Uzala, Epistle 158.6).
"Pôs gar elattôn tinos tôn meta tên epidêmian ho Abraam tên hêmeran tou kuriou heôrakôs pan- tôn tôn teleioumenôn kata kurion eis tous autou kolpous aperchomenôn? pôs de elattôn Môüsês kai Êlias en doxêi hama tôi kuriôi metamorphôthenti phanentes, epei mê eidon aisthêtôs ton kurion? ou gar prokriteon poiei tôn tên noêtên epidêmian eschêkotôn ton heôrakota tên kata sarka. Polloi goun tôn heterodoxôn sumpherontai têi esphalmenêi tautêi doxêi pothon echontes ek pantos tropou diaballein tên palaian diathêkên: kai touto de lelexetai, hoti, ei kai mê eidon ê êkousan aisthêtôs, ha ho kurios eipen, all' oun erôta autôn theion eichon..." (Didymus the Blind, Enarratio in Ep. Jud., 12,13)
"Adversarii hujus contemplationis praescribunt praesenti epistolae et Moyseos Assumptioni propter eum locum ubi significatur verbum Archangeli de corpore Moyseos ad diabolum factum" (Gelasius Cyzicenus, Hist. Eccl. 2.21.7).
"Luke one of the evangelists said in the story of the rich man and Lazarus, 'And it happened that the poor man also died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom'. These same details about the burial of Moses men have stated to be contained in an apocryphal book with the succinct title The Book of Generation or The Book of Creation, which Moses himself wrote for us. And to us this seems to be the interpretation of what he propounded, so that I thus understand it. But some have said that Jude calls the law itself the body of Moses; and, when he came down to show this to the sons of Israel, the Devil opposed, and he worked in opposition retarding the gift of the law, and contending and saying, 'The people does not deserve this to be done for them'; and therefore Michael went before him and drove away him who opposed, uttering the rebuke, 'The Lord rebuke you'. And others again: 'He calls the people whom he was leading the body of Moses,' and he meant that, when they were leaving the land of Egypt, the Devil opposed and resisted, as if he were saying in contention with Moses, 'His body (which is the people) does not deserve deliverance from Egypt to be given to it.' And this Devil when he was opposing Michael put in bonds, and he reproved him saying, 'The Lord rebuke you' " (Severus of Antioch, Ep. 107).
The same tradition about an ascension of Moses is related by Philo of Alexandria (cf. Vita Mosis, etc.) and in rabbinical literature:
"He [God] appeared above him [Moses] with his Memra, and legions of ministering angels were with him; Michael and Gabriel laid out for him a golden couch...Metatron and Yophiel and Uriel and Yephaphiyah, chiefs of wisdom, laid him upon it, and his his Memra he bore him four miles and buried him in the valley just opposite Beth Peor" (Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, Deut. 34:6).
"When he [Moses] got to the top of the mountain, a cloud came down and lifted him up from the sight of all the congregation of Israel" (Tibat Marqa 269a).
"At that time, God ordered the Angel of Death: 'Go and bring Moses' soul to me.' Off he went and stood before him [Moses] and said to him: 'Moses, give me your soul.' He said to him: 'You are not even authorized to stand in the plae where I stand, yet you say to me: 'Give me your soul?' And thus he rebuked him and he went off shame-faced" (Sifrei Deuteronomy, 305).
"A heavenly voice went forth and said to Moses: 'How long will you continue to torture yourself? For you only have two hours left!' Now Samael, chief of the Satans, was waiting in anticipation for the time when Moses would die, so that perhaps he would receive his soul like that of other people. He was waiting like someone expecting great happiness. When Michael, Israel's angel, saw Samael the wicked angel waiting for Moses' death, he lifted up his voice and wept and Samael the angel was joyful and laughing. Michael said to him: 'Wicked one! I am weeping and you are laughing?' " (Petirat Moshe, 1.125).
The main question is whether the Testament of Moses (Diathéké Móuseós) is the same book as the Assumption of Moses. There is evidence for and against. One critical piece of evidence suggesting that they are the same work is a passage in the Acts of the Council of Nicea which cites Testament of Moses 1:6, 9, 14 as "having been written in the book of the Assumption of Moses," and then goes on to refer to the dispute between Michael and the Devil over the body of Moses, again stating that the source of this story was "the book of the Assumption of Moses". Another interesting piece of evidence are verbal parallels between the Testament of Moses and several phrases in Jude and the paralleled section in 2 Peter:
"These men are hidden rocks at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm...These men are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage" (Jude 12, 16).
"He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men, for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds...." (2 Peter 2:7-8).
"Those who are the leaders, their teachers, in those times will become admirers of avaricious persons (erunt illis temporibus mirantes personae)...They are simply grumblers (quaerulosi), deceitfully seeking to conceal themselves so that they will not be known as completely godless because of their criminal deeds committed all day long, saying, 'We shall have feasts, even luxurious winings and dinings. Indeed, we shall behave ourselves as princes.' They, with hand and mind, will touch impure things, yet their mouths will speak enormous things (et os eorum loquetur ingentia)." (Testament of Moses 5:5, 7:7-9).
These interesting parallels suggest that Jude may have been familiar with the Testament of Moses. It should also be noted that the Latin manuscript of the Testament of Moses is incomplete, so the lost ending could have included an account of Moses' ascension to heaven. This is exactly what is narrated in other pseudepigraphal testaments, such as the Testament of Abraham, the Testament of Isaac, the Testament of Jacob, and so forth. However it is not a required feature of testaments, as can be seen in the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, aside from a simple statement about the burial (cf. Testament of Benjamin 12:2). Evidence against the view that the Testament of Moses and the Assumption of Moses are the same book can be found in the lists of apocryphal books such as the List of Sixty Books and Nicephorous who list the Analépsis Móuseós and the Diathéké Móuseós as distinct, separate books. Most likely, the Moses pseudepigrapha were somewhat fluid -- as attested by the varying names given in the Fathers are the source of the Jude citation (cf. Ascension of Moses, Assumption of Moses, Mysteries of Moses, Book of Generation, etc.), and so it is possible that the Moses psedepigraphon known to Jude was a composite work, containing both the testament and the ascension narrative (cf. the Acension of Isaiah containing an earlier Martyrdom of Isaiah and later Christian interpolations), while the Fathers knew various versions or cognate works under similar names, and the only surviving copy of this tradition, the Testament of Moses in a Latin translation, represents only one stream of this literary tradition. Nevertheless, the combined weight of all this evidence makes it quite clear that Jude was dependent on a pseudepigraphal tradition about Moses' death, and probably one that concerned the ascension of the soul of Moses to heaven while his body was being disputed and then buried by angels.
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Narkissos
A translation of the Testament of Moses according to the 6th-century Latin manuscript C73inf can be read on http://www.piney.com/Testament-Moses.html
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googlemagoogle
wow, thanks for the great info. interesting that origen mentions the "canon", also. i'm not that good at greek, but isn't didymus talking about the apperance of moses, eliah and isaiah along with jesus to the disciples here?
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Leolaia
Yeah I realized that after I posted it....sorry about that. It was a few pages later, but I copied this portion by mistake seeing "Moses"...and I can't re-edit the post...
Hope the rest was of use....
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googlemagoogle
yes, very informative! the use of different titles for the same(?) story is really confusing. Kenneson's link even includes the "apocalypsis of moses", wich is a story about adam & eve IIRC. the book of jubilees is sometimes called the "lesser genesis" maybe that's why someone confused it with the "book of creation" severus mentions.