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Testament of Moses

Assumption of Moses

About this book
Chapter 10

And then His kingdom shall appear throughout all His creation, And then Satan shall be no more,⁠ And sorrow shall depart with him. Then the hands of the angel shall be filled Who has been appointed chief, And he shall at once avenge them on their enemies. For the Heavenly One will arise from His royal throne, And He will go forth from His holy habitation With indignation and wrath on account of His sons. And the earth shall tremble: to its confines shall it be shaken: And the high mountains shall be made low And the hills shall be shaken and fall. And the horns of the sun shall be broken and he shall be turned into darkness; And the moon shall not give her light, and be turned wholly into blood. And the circle of the stars shall be disturbed.⁠ And the sea shall retire into the abyss, And the fountains of waters shall fail, And the rivers shall dry up. For the Most High will arise, the Eternal God alone, And He will appear to punish the Gentiles, And He will destroy all their idols. Then you, O Israel, shall be happy, And you shall mount upon the necks and wings of the eagle,⁠ And they shall be ended. And God will exalt you, And He will cause you to approach the heaven of the stars, In the place of their habitation. And you will look from on high and see your enemies in Ge(henna) And you shall recognize them and rejoice, And you shall give thanks and confess your Creator. And you, Joshua (the son of) Nun, keep these words and this book; For from my death [assumption] until His advent there shall be 250 times [= year-weeks = 1750 years]. And this is the course of the times which they shall pursue till they are completed. And I shall go to sleep with my fathers. Therefore, Joshua you (son of) Nun, (be strong and) be of good courage; (for) God has chosen (you) to be minister in the same covenant.

Texts in conversation

Compare Testament of Moses 10:1 and Mark 3:26

Pseudepigrapha, Testaments · New Testament

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Summary

In Mark, Jesus uses language similar to the Testament of Moses, where the arrival of God’s kingdom coincides with the end of Satan. The similarity points to a common Jewish tradition where divine rule begins with the defeat of evil.

Passages

Testament of Moses 10:1

Pseudepigrapha, Testaments · Assumption of Moses
And then His kingdom shall appear throughout all His creation, And then Satan shall be no more, And sorrow shall depart with him. Then the hands of the angel shall be filled Who has been appointed chief, And he shall at once avenge them on their enemies. For the Heavenly One will arise from His royal throne, And He will go forth from His holy habitation With indignation and wrath on account of His sons. And the earth shall tremble: to its confines shall it be shaken: And the high mountains shall be made low And the hills shall be shaken and fall.
20–50 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Testament of Moses

Mark 3:26

New Testament
24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom will not be able to stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 And if Satan rises against himself and is divided, he is not able to stand and his end has come. 27 But no one is able to enter a strong man’s house and steal his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can thoroughly plunder his house. 28 I tell you the truth, people will be forgiven for all sins, even all the blasphemies they utter.
60–75 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Mark

References

"... Pseudepigraphal traditions at many points cohere in meaningful ways with aspects of Jesus' teaching and ministry. After the death of the righteous Taxo and his sons, it is foretold that God's kingdom will appear throughout his whole creation. Then the devil will have an end (Testament of Moses 10:1). The association of the appearance of the kingdom of God and the demise of the devil is consistent with Jesus' proclamation of the kingdom and demonstration of its power through exorcism. Indeed, Jesus' command 'if Satan ... is divided, ... his end has come' (Mark 3:26) verbally matches the language of The Testament of Moses ..."
Craig A. Evans, Ancient Texts for New Testament Studies: A Guide to the Background Literature (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2005), 70.

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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Testament of Moses 10:1 and Mark 3:26

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