Texts in Conversation
In Jeremiah 32, Jeremiah buys a field during the siege and seals the deeds in a clay jar to last until the exiles return. In the Testament of Moses, Moses gives Joshua the same instruction, to keep his books in clay jars until the end of the age.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Jeremiah 32:14
Hebrew Bible
12 I took both copies of the deed of purchase and gave them to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah. I gave them to him in the presence of my cousin Hanamel, the witnesses who had signed the deed of purchase, and all the Judeans who were housed in the courtyard of the guardhouse. 13 In the presence of all these people I instructed Baruch, 14 ‘The Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says, “Take these documents, both the sealed copy of the deed of purchase and the unsealed copy. Put them in a clay jar so that they may be preserved for a long time to come.”’ 15 For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says, ‘Houses, fields, and vineyards will again be bought in this land.’
Testament of Moses 1:17
Assumption of Moses
Pseudepigrapha, Testaments
And now I declare to you that the time of the years of my life is fulfilled and I am passing away to sleep with my fathers even in the presence of all the people And receive this writing that you may know how to preserve the books which I shall deliver to you: and you shall set these in order and anoint them with oil of cedar and put them away in earthen vessels in the place which He made from the beginning of the creation of the world, that His name should be called upon until the day of repentance in the visitation with which the Lord will visit them in the consummation of the end of the days.
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Notes and References
“... Jer. 32:10-14 is useful in illuminating the scene in As. Mos. 1:16-18. This passage (which is missing in the Septuagint) describes how Jeremiah purchases a field, symbolizing that “houses and fields and vineyards will be possessed again in this land” (Jer. 32:15). The deed of purchase is put in an earthenware vessel because it needs to remain undamaged for many years (Jer. 32:14); after these many years, the jar will have preserved the contract, serving as proof of the reliability of God, who had promised the restoration of the people after the desolation by the Chaldeans (Jer. 32:43-44). According to 1:17, Joshua must store Moses' testament in a secret place, making sure that it can withstand the ravages of time. This must be done so that God's name may be invoked up to and including (usque in) the “day of repentance”, when the writing will be publicly revealed. ...”
Tromp, Johannes
The Assumption of Moses: A Critical Edition with Commentary
(pp. 147-148) Brill, 1993
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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