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Testament of Moses

Assumption of Moses

About this book
Chapter 9

Then in that day there shall be a man of the tribe of Levi, whose name shall be Taxo, who having seven sons shall speak to them exhorting (them): 'Observe, my sons, behold a second ruthless (and) unclean visitation has come upon the people, and a punishment merciless and far exceeding the first. For what nation or what region or what people of those who are impious towards the Lord, who have done many abominations, have suffered as great calamities as have befallen us? Now, therefore, my sons, hear me: for observe and know that neither did the fathers nor their forefathers tempt God, so as to transgress His commands. And you know that this is our strength, and thus we will do. Let us fast for the space of three days and on the fourth let us go into a cave which is in the field, and let us die rather than transgress the commands of the Lord of Lords,⁠ the God of our fathers.⁠ For if we do this and die, our blood shall be avenged before the Lord.

Texts in conversation

Compare 1 Maccabees 2:37 and Testament of Moses 9:6

Deuterocanon · Pseudepigrapha, Testaments

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Summary

In 1 Maccabees 2, Jewish refugees in the wilderness refuse to fight on the Sabbath and choose to die rather than disobey the Torah. In the Testament of Moses, Taxo makes the same choice, leading his seven sons into a cave and trusting God to avenge them.

Passages

1 Maccabees 2:37

Deuterocanon
32 and many pursued after them, and having overtaken them, they encamped against them and set the battle in array against them on the Sabbath day. 33 They said to them, “Enough of this! Come out and do according to the word of the king, and you will all live!” 34 They said, “We won’t come out. We won’t do the word of the king, to profane the Sabbath day.” 35 Then the enemy hurried to attack them. 36 They didn’t answer them. They didn’t cast a stone at them, or block their secret places, 37 saying, “Let’s all die in our innocence. Heaven and earth testify for us, that you put us to death unjustly.” 38 So they attacked them on the Sabbath, and they died—they, their wives, their children, and their livestock—in number a thousand souls of men.
134–63 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Maccabees

Testament of Moses 9:6

Pseudepigrapha, Testaments · Assumption of Moses
Now, therefore, my sons, hear me: for observe and know that neither did the fathers nor their forefathers tempt God, so as to transgress His commands. And you know that this is our strength, and thus we will do. Let us fast for the space of three days and on the fourth let us go into a cave which is in the field, and let us die rather than transgress the commands of the Lord of Lords, the God of our fathers. For if we do this and die, our blood shall be avenged before the Lord.
20–50 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Testament of Moses

References

“... Taxo expects their death to result from their obedience to the Lord, which contravenes the king's ordinances: moriamur potius quam praetereamus mandata Domini dominorum, Dei parentum nostrorum. Compare with these words those spoken by the first martyr in 2 Macc. 7:2 ἕτοιμοι γὰρ ἀποθνήσκειν ἐσμὲν ἢ παραβαίνειν τοὺς πατρίους νόμους (cf. 2 Macc. 7:29); the motif often recurs in the traditions connected with the Maccabeans (see 1 Macc. 2:37, 50; 2 Macc. 7:29; 4 Macc. 9:1; Josephus, Ant. Jud. XII 281-282). In 1 Macc. 2:37, it is linked to the retreat into the desert (1 Macc. 2:29); in 1 Macc. 2:50-51 the example of the fathers is stressed. The entering into the cave in the field allows Taxo and his sons to avoid transgressing the law. [...] A retreat into the desert is also mentioned in 1 Macc. 2:29 (cf. Josephus, Ant. Jud. XII 271-275), and Ps. Sol. 17:17, but in these instances no caves are mentioned. [...] It is not explicitly stated that Taxo and his sons will actually die, but Taxo clearly expects this to happen, and the mention of “blood” also strongly suggests that the death Taxo expects will be a violent one. Thus, two motifs traditionally associated with zeal for the law are here brought together: violent death and a retreat into (caves in) the desert. ...”
Johannes Tromp, The Assumption of Moses: A Critical Edition with Commentary (Leiden: Brill, 1993), 227.

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