Testament of Levi 18:12

Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs
Pseudepigrapha

For he shall give the majesty of the Lord to His sons in truth for evermore; And there shall none succeed him for all generations for ever. And in his priesthood the Gentiles shall be multiplied in knowledge upon the earth, And enlightened through the grace of the Lord: In his priesthood shall sin come to an end, And the lawless shall cease to do evil. [And the just shall rest in him.] And he shall open the gates of paradise, And shall remove the threatening sword against Adam. And he shall give to the saints to eat from the tree of life, And the spirit of holiness shall be on them. And Beliar shall be bound by him, And he shall give power to His children to tread upon the evil spirits. And the Lord shall rejoice in His children, And be well pleased in His beloved ones for ever. Then shall Abraham and Isaac and Jacob exult, And I will be glad, And all the saints shall clothe themselves with joy.

Luke 10:19

New Testament

15 And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be thrown down to Hades! 16 “The one who listens to you listens to me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects the one who sent me.” 17 Then the seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name!” 18 So he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Look, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions and on the full force of the enemy, and nothing will hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names stand written in heaven.”

 Notes and References

"... Jesus assures his disciples that he has given them the 'authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy' (Luke 10:19). Jesus is alluding to Psalm 91:13 ("You will tread on the lion and the adder"), but as this passage was interpreted in pseudepigraphal (Testament of Levi 18:10-12; Testament of Simeon 6:6; Testament of Zebulon 9:8) and targumic tradition (Targum Psalms 91:5-6, 10, 13). The demonic interpretation of Psalm 91, attested at Qumran (compare 11Q11), also clarifies the function of Psalm 91:11-12 in the temptation narratives (Matthew 4:5-7; Luke 4:9-12). Moreover, Jesus' declaration that he 'watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning' (Luke 10:18) also coheres with pseudepigraphal (Testament of Solomon 20:16-17; 2 Enoch 29:5) and targumic (Targum Isaiah 14:12) tradition ..."

Evans, Craig A. Ancient Texts for New Testament Studies: A Guide to the Background Literature (p. 71) Hendrickson Publishers, 2005

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