Texts in Conversation
In 3 Enoch, Moses receives the law and its explanations together on Sinai. Rabbinic tradition in Exodus Rabbah has God teach him each, giving the later explanations the same divine origin as the written law.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
3 Enoch 48D:4
Hebrew Book of Enoch
Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
But as soon as the forty days were ended, he forgot all of them in one moment. Then the Holy One, blessed be He, called Yephiphyah, the Prince of the Law, and (through him) they were given to Moses as a gift. As it is written (Deut. x. 4): "and the Lord gave them to me". And after that it remained with him. And from where do we know, that it remained (in his memory)? Because it is written (Mal. iv. 4): "Remember the Law of Moses my servant which I commanded to him in Horeb for all Israel, even my statutes and judgements". 'The Law of Moses': that is the Tora, the Prophets and the Writings, 'statutes': that is the Halakas and Traditions, 'judgements': that is the Haggadas and the Toseftas. And all of them were given to Moses on high on Sinai.
Exodus Rabbah 47:1
Aggadah
Rabbinic
“Write for yourself these matters,” that is what is written: “I write for him the many teachings of My Torah, but they are regarded as foreign” (Hosea 8:12). When the Holy One blessed be He revealed Himself at Sinai to give the Torah to Israel, He said it to Moses in order: Bible, Mishna, Talmud, and aggada, as it is stated: “The Lord spoke all these matters” (Exodus 20:1); even what a student asks his teacher, the Holy One blessed be He said to him at that time. After [Moses] learned it from the mouth of the Holy One blessed be He, He said to him: ‘Teach it to Israel.’ He said to Him: ‘Master of the universe, I will write it for them.’
Date: 1200 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
“... j . "The Prince of Torah": Wert adds "As it
is written, *Of all men you are the most handsome
[yopydpitd,
with a play on Yepipyah],
your lips
are moist with grace, for God has blessed you
for ever' " (Ps 45:2). The text follows A B G
Crac. TarJon to Deut 34:6 names Metatron,
Yopi'el, 'Uri'el, and Yepipyah as "Princes of
Wisdom," i.e. Princes of Torah; see "Theolog
ical Importance." According to the parallel pas
sage in Ma'yan Hokmah, BHM, vol. 1, p. 61,
it was the fear of the angels that caused Moses
to forget the Law. On the theme of angelic
opposition to the revelation of the Law to Moses
see 3En 15B:2, n. e.
k. "As a gift": See b.Ned 38a: "At first
Moses used to study the Torah and forget it,
until it was given him as a gift."
1. "Remembered the Torah": Wert adds
4 4and
did not forget it again." Text follows A B G
Crac.
m. "On Sinai," Wert; B has "In the height
[mdrom], on Sinai.'' Both the oral and the written
Torah were given to Moses on Sinai; see ExR
47:1; b.Ber 5a. ...”
Philip S. Alexander
"3 (Hebrew Apocalypse of) Enoch" in James H. Charlesworth (ed.) The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Volume 1
(p. 314) Doubleday, 1983
* 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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