Main news for 22 March 2024

In his message, Jude mentions a certain dispute between the head of the angelic hierarchy, the archangel Michael, and Satan about the body of Moses. About what dispute is it? In the biblical books there is no mention on such a dispute. And the Bible does not mention the body of Moses. As we see, the apostle addresses in this case not the Holy Scripture, but certain folk legends fixed in the Jewish tradition. Nothing is really said in the biblical books where is buried Moses, is mentioned there only his death somewhere in Transjordan.

The absence of the tomb, particularly in the case of a religious leader of this scale, is an extremely rare phenomenon in the antiquity. The national memory couldn’t accept at all that the tomb of Moses gets lost in the steppes of the Transjordan. Perhaps that is why appeared the legend according to which Moses, quite as Elijah, did not die, but was taken to heaven alive. And, as was supposed, will return with Elijah shortly before the coming of the Messiah to testify of the closeness of the day of Judgment.

The dispute about the body of Moses, about which speaks Jude, was probably connected to one of the episodes of the mentioned national legend: Moses, unlike Elijah, was taken to heaven at death and after that was resuscitated by God, quite as deaths will resuscitate the day of the Judgment. Satan is strongly opposed to this, such that the archangel Michael himself had to stand up for Moses. By the way we can notice that nothing is said about the angelic hierarchy in the biblical books, but it is described in detail in the Apocrypha of the Old Testament. As we see, these Apocrypha are also in many the fruit of the Jewish religious national creativity of Hellenistic time. But Jude, as we see, feels in this respect completely free: in his message he refers to the folk legends as well as to the sacred books.

And it is not surprising: because it was important for the apostle to pass on to his readers this idea, which he considered important. And the illustrative material played in this case an auxiliary role. It was important only that it is well known to the addressees of the message and did not contradict the Holy Scripture. The legend about the discussion over the body of Moses answered these criteria. And the apostle uses it, of course, without making of such a use an end in itself. Indeed, any legend is only a source, from where we can draw for ourselves something important for the understanding of certain laws of the spiritual life.

Jud 1:9

NOTES

In his letter Jude mentions a certain dispute between the head of the angelic hierarchy, the archangel Michael, and Satan over the body of Moses. What dispute is he talking about? The biblical books make no mention of any such dispute. Nor does the Bible mention the body of Moses. Evidently, in this case the apostle is appealing not to Holy Scripture but to certain popular traditions preserved in Jewish tradition. The biblical books really do say nothing about where Moses was buried; they mention only his death somewhere in Transjordan. The absence of a tomb, especially in the case of religious leaders of such stature, was an extremely rare thing in antiquity.

Popular memory could not come to terms with the idea that Moses' tomb had been lost in the Transjordanian steppe. That is why, no doubt, the legend arose that Moses, like Elijah, did not die but was taken up alive into heaven. And, it was supposed, he would return together with Elijah shortly before the coming of the Messiah, in order to testify that the day of Judgment was near. The dispute over the body of Moses, of which Jude speaks, was presumably connected with one episode in that popular tradition: unlike Elijah, Moses was taken into heaven at the moment of death and after that was raised by God, just as all the dead will be raised on the day of Judgment. Satan resisted this in every way, so the archangel Michael himself had to come to Moses' defense. Incidentally, one may note that the biblical books also say nothing about an angelic hierarchy, though it is described in detail in the Old Testament apocrypha. Evidently, these apocrypha too are largely the fruit of Jewish popular religious creativity in the Hellenistic period.

But Jude evidently feels completely free in this respect: in his letter he refers to popular traditions just as he refers to sacred books. That is not surprising, for what mattered to the apostle was to convey to his readers the thought he considered important. The illustrative material played a supporting role in this case. What mattered was only that it be well known to the addressees of the letter and not contradict Holy Scripture. The tradition about the dispute over the body of Moses met these criteria. And the apostle uses it, of course, without making such use an end in itself. For every tradition is only a source from which we may draw something important for understanding one or another pattern of spiritual life.

${currentDateString}


	After registering, you can subscribe to any Bible reading plan. Personalized settings and other services for registered users are planned, so we recommend registering now. Registration is free.