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Testament of Moses

Assumption of Moses

About this book
Chapter 1

The Testament of Moses, the things which he commanded in the one hundred and twentieth year of his life, that is the two thousand five hundredth year from the creation of the world: [But according to oriental reckoning the two thousand and seven hundredth, and the four hundredth after the departure from Phoenicia], when the people had gone forth after the Exodus that was made by Moses to Amman beyond the Jordan, in the prophecy that was made by Moses in the book Deuteronomy: and he called to him Joshua the son of Nun, a man approved by the Lord, that he might be the minister of the people and of the tabernacle of the testimony with all its holy things, and that he might bring the people into the land given to their fathers, that it should be given to them according to the covenant and the oath, which He spoke in the tabernacle to give (it) by Joshua: saying to Joshua these words: '(Be strong) and of good courage so as to do with your might all that has been commanded that you may be blameless before God.' So says the Lord of the world. For He has created the world on behalf of His people. But He was not pleased to manifest this purpose of creation from the foundation of the world, in order that the Gentiles might thereby be convicted, yes, to their own humiliation might by (their) arguments convict one another. Accordingly He designed and devised me, and He prepared me before the foundation of the world, that I should be the mediator of His covenant.⁠ 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.

Texts in conversation

Compare Jeremiah 32:14 and Testament of Moses 1:17

Hebrew Bible · Pseudepigrapha, Testaments

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Summary

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.

Passages

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.’
500–401 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Jeremiah

Testament of Moses 1:17

Pseudepigrapha, Testaments · Assumption of Moses
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.
20–50 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Testament of Moses

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. ...”
Johannes Tromp, The Assumption of Moses: A Critical Edition with Commentary (Leiden: Brill, 1993), 147–148.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Jeremiah 32:14 and Testament of Moses 1:17

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