Texts in Conversation
In Exodus 32, Moses calms God's anger over the golden calf by reminding him of his oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In the Testament of Moses, Joshua fears that once Moses dies, no one will be left to pray for Israel and remind God of that oath.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Exodus 32:13
Hebrew Bible
11 But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, why does your anger burn against your people, whom you have brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘For evil he led them out to kill them in the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger, and relent of this evil against your people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel your servants, to whom you swore by yourself and told them, ‘I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken about I will give to your descendants, and they will inherit it forever.’” 14 Then the Lord relented over the evil that he had said he would do to his people.
Testament of Moses 11:17
Assumption of Moses
Pseudepigrapha, Testaments
If the enemy has but once acted impiously against their Lord, they have no advocate to offer prayers on their behalf to the Lord, like Moses the great messenger, who every hour day and night had his knees fixed to the earth, praying and looking for help to Him that rules all the world with compassion and righteousness, reminding Him of the covenant of the fathers and propitiating the Lord with the oath." For they shall say: "He is not with them: let us go therefore and destroy them from off the face of the earth." What shall then become of this people, my lord Moses?'
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Notes and References
“... The title nuntius should be explained in relation to the mediating office commonly associated with prophets and priests. These mediators may, as such, be called μεσίτης and ἄγγελος. Thus, in As. Mos., Moses is called μεσίτης (arbiter) in 1:14, and ἄγγελος/nuntius in 11:17. As a mediator, his task is to establish the covenant between God and his people (1:14; 3:12); as a messenger, he is appointed to intercede for Israel (11:17; 12:6), and to defend the people against their enemies (11:17-18). This concept of Moses can be illustrated by Philo, De vita Mosis II 166, where it is said of Moses that, although he was shattered upon hearing on Sinai of the people's sin with the golden calf, he did not hurry towards them, but, being a mediator and reconciler (οἷα μεσίτης καὶ διαλλάκτης), he first prayed (ἱκεσίας καὶ λιτὰς ἐποιεῖτο) in order that the people's sins be forgiven. After the protector and intercessor (κηδεμὼν καὶ παραιτητής) had softened God's wrath, he returned to pronounce sentence on the offenders on behalf of the Lord (cf. Exod. 32:11-14, 28-35; Ps. 106[105]:19-23). ...”
Tromp, Johannes
The Assumption of Moses: A Critical Edition with Commentary
(pp. 230-231) 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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