Texts in Conversation
Acts 7 and the Testament of Moses both present a similar structured summary of Moses’ life, emphasizing his role in leading Israel through Egypt, the sea, and the wilderness. The language in Acts parallels that of the Testament, suggesting it draws on an existing tradition and pattern that shaped how Moses was remembered.
Share:
Testament of Moses 3
Assumption of Moses
Pseudepigrapha
Then the ten tribes shall mourn on hearing the reproaches of the two tribes, and they shall say: 'What have we done unto you, brethren? Has not this tribulation come on all the house of Israel?' And all the tribes shall mourn, crying unto heaven and saying: 'God of Abraham God of Isaac and God of Jacob, remember Thy covenant which You made with them, and the oath which You didst swear unto them by Yourself, that their seed should never fail from the land which You hast given them.' Then they shall remember me, saying, in that day, tribe unto tribe and each man unto his neighbor: 'Is not this that which Moses did then declare unto us in prophecies, who suffered many things in Egypt and in the Red Sea and in the wilderness during forty years: and assuredly called heaven and earth to witness against us, that we should not transgress His commandments, in the which he was a mediator unto us? Behold these things have befallen us after his death according to his declaration, as he declared to us at that time, yes, behold these have taken place even to our being carried away captive into the country of the east.' Who shall be also in bondage for about seventy and seven years.
Date: 20-50 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Acts 7:36
New Testament
34 I have certainly seen the suffering of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to rescue them. Now come, I will send you to Egypt.’ 35 This same Moses they had rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and judge?’ God sent as both ruler and deliverer through the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36 This man led them out, performing wonders and miraculous signs in the land of Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the wilderness for forty years. 37 This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers.’ 38 This is the man who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors, and he received living oracles to give to you. 39 Our ancestors were unwilling to obey him, but pushed him aside and turned back to Egypt in their hearts,
Date: 75-85 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Search:
Notes and References
"... As said above, the tribes will recognize their misery to be the fulfilment of the threats that accompanied the covenant, and which were announced by Moses in his prophecies (3:11). The recognition of the trustworthiness of God's words (compare the commentary to 1:16) features in most confessional prayers in the form of a solemn quotation of a scriptural passage that has come true; so in Daniel 9:13; Ezra 9:11-12; Baruch 2:2-5, 24-25, 29-35. In Assumption of Moses 3:11-13 there is no formal quotation, but there are clear references to what Moses predicted. The closest formal parallel to the Assumption of Moses 3:11-13 is Baruch 2:7 ... In a relative clause, Moses is pictured as having suffered much in Egypt, the Red Sea and during the forty years in the desert. (A similar statement, without the element of suffering, however, is made in Acts 7:36) This additional comment may be a trace of the tradition of the violent fate of the prophets. In the confessional prayers, it is found in Nehemiah 9:26; in other examples of the form we encounter the related concept of disobedience to the prophets. In Josephus (Ant. Jud. IV 194-195), it is described how Israel mourned after Moses announced his impending death ..."
* 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.
Your Feedback:
Leave a Comment
Anonymous comments are welcome. All comments are subject to moderation.