1 I will always remember the great prophet Moses for good, after whose death the great honors vanished. The sun of his face will never be seen again; it is covered, gone down into the grave, and it will not come out again. The mouth of the cave will never be opened; closed by a divine hand, it does not open. He remains unknown until the Day of Recompense, as it is said, “No one knows his grave to this day.” The pillar of cloud that went before him vanished and will never be seen again. The pillar of fire that gave light by night and by day will never be seen again. The manna that fell from heaven through him was held back by God himself and no longer falls after his death. 2 The radiance that went out from his face went with him into the grave; it is no longer to be seen on his face. The prophetic spirit that he held within him and that gave him life has hidden itself and will never be granted to anyone. His names, twenty names in all, are these: Son, Young Man, Servant, Good One, Prophet, Faithful One, Righteous One, Moses, God, Man of God, King, Judge, Priest, Teacher, Giver, Savior, Helper, Prince, Honored One, Star. “The portion set apart for the lawgiver” is ended. God’s peace be upon him for all time, we pray. Those two brothers were holy, Moses and Aaron: the one as prophet, the other as priest. The one stepped into the fire, the other ate what the fire left over. The one died on Mount Hor, the other on Mount Nebo. Look further at those two holy ones, Moses and Aaron. 3 The wonders that came through the great prophet Moses came from heaven: “hail, locusts, darkness.” The wonders that came through the great priest Aaron came from below: “blood, frogs, gnats.” When the great prophet Moses stretched his hand over the waters of the sea, it split, rushed back and swallowed the armies, as it is said, “You sent out your fury; it consumed them like stubble.” When the great priest Aaron spread his hands over the six hundred thousand and blessed them, the fire flared up before God and consumed the offerings and the fat on the altar. 4 Aaron was speaking to the assembled people of Israel in the wilderness when suddenly God’s majesty appeared in the cloud. When the great prophet Moses went out and told the people all God’s words, God came down in the cloud and spoke with him. May those two be glorified forever, for no one has arisen among humankind like them. How alike Aaron’s death is to the death of Moses! Aaron, it is true, was buried by human hands, but Moses by the Divine. Three glorious ones received honor when they died: Jacob, Aaron and Moses, the great prophet. 5 Jacob was buried by Joseph the king, as it is said, “Joseph went up to bury his father.” Aaron the priest was buried by his son Eleazar and the great prophet Moses. All three went up Mount Hor, and only Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. Then all the people realized that Aaron had died. The great prophet Moses climbed Mount Nebo before the eyes of six hundred thousand, and all the angels stood ready to meet him. When he reached the summit of the mountain, a cloud came down, covered him and took him from the sight of all the people of Israel. 6 He was buried there by God, as it is said, “He buried him in the valley, and no one knows his grave to this day.” But what does “this day” mean? “The Day of Recompense.” The tree that was planted in Amram’s garden is glorious; all generations feed on its fruit forever. The tree that was planted in the land of Egypt, moved to the wilderness and cut down on Mount Nebo is glorious. 7 Moses lived a hundred and twenty years: twenty in Egypt, sixty in Midian and forty in the wilderness. He completed them in glorious, surpassing exaltation, with prophecy and prayer. “His eyes were not dim, and his strength had not left him.” His eyes were not dim, as with the patriarchs, the devout of the world. His eyes were not dim, for he was able to write down the Law, and he looked out over the four quarters of the world. His strength had not left him, for he had received the garment that was taken from Adam in the Garden of Eden, and his face shone until the day of his death.⁠a 8 It did not cease, for he explained the book of God’s Law and taught all Israel in the Scripture. The weeping of the children of Israel lasted thirty days, yet it never entirely ends. The standing of Joshua son of Nun, the disciple of the great prophet Moses, was exalted among the people of Israel. 9 Joshua son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hand on him. He was exalted then, and his glory is exalted forever. No one will ever tire of recalling the glory of Moses son of Amram. Moses son of Amram was honored by God in his life and in his death. He wrote down the Law at God’s command and taught all Israel in it at God’s command, as it is said, “Put it in their mouths.” At the end of the Law he had received he wrote, “Since then no prophet has arisen in Israel like Moses.” Who performs wonders as Moses performed them before the eyes of all Israel? 10 “Moses commanded us a law”: the name of God stands at its beginning and the name of Moses at its end. I will always remember them for good, the devout of the world, the heads of righteousness, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who rest in the cave of Machpelah. I will always remember for good the righteous Joseph, the offshoot of the fruitful tree, who rests in that “plot of land.” I will always remember for good the one who rests on Mount Nebo, the righteous, the faithful, Moses son of Amram, the man of God and trusted one of the Divine, whose skin shone with radiance, who received the two tablets, to whom the hidden and the revealed were entrusted, the prophet Moses. 11 I will always remember them for good, the servants in the holy place, Aaron, Eleazar, Ithamar and Phinehas. I will always remember them for good, Joshua, Caleb and the seventy elders. Blessed be God forever! Blessed be his name for all time!