Friday, September 24, 2021

Deuteronomy Rabbah 11.10 (cf. Jude 9) and the Fate of Moses

 

 

When Moses saw that no creature could save him from the path of death . . . He took a scroll and wrote down it the Ineffable Name, nor had the Book of Song been completely written down when the moment of Moses’ death arrived. At that hour God said to Gabriel: “Gabriel, go forth and bring Moses’ soul.” He, however, replied: “Master of the Universe, how can I witness the death of him who is equal to sixty myriads, and how can I witness the death of him who is equal to sixty myriads and how can I behave harshly to one who possesses such qualities?” Then [God] said to Michael: “Go forth and bring Moses’ soul.” He, however, replied: “Master of the Universe, I was his teacher, and he my pupil, and I cannot therefore witness his death.” [God] then said to Sammael the wicked: “Go forth and bring Moses’ soul.” Immediately, he clothed himself with anger and girded on his sword and wrapped himself with ruthlessness and went forth to meet Moses. When Sammael saw Moses witting and writing down the Ineffable Name, and how the radiance of his appearance was like unto the sun and he was like unto an angel of the Lord of hosts, he became afraid of Moses. (Andrei Orlov, The Glory of the Invisible God: Two Powers in Heaven Traditions and Early Christology [Jewish and Christian Texts in Context and Related Studies 31; London: T&T Clark, 2019], 99)