Moses in Early Jewish Tradition

Hellenistic and Early Palestinian Judaism emphasized Moses’ identity as God’s chosen lawgiver. In response to Graeco-Roman anti-Semitic attacks (see “Moses in Greco-Roman Tradition”), Hellenistic Jews counter charges against Moses and attempt to enlighten their opponents concerning him. Two of the most notable defenders of Moses are Philo of Alexandria and Flavius Josephus.

Philo of Alexandria portrays Moses as an extraordinary philosopher, sage, lawgiver, and man of virtue. Philo’s famous treatise, On the Creation, opens with an account of Moses’ rhetorical genius when delivering the law and expressing “the beauty of his ideas respecting the creation of the world” (I:1–4). Philo writes On the Life of Moses to expose envious and ignorant opposers to the truth of “the greatest and most perfect man who ever lived” (I:1–4). As a Hellenized Jew, Philo believes that Greek philosophy developed from the philosophical truths God taught Moses. He uses Greek ideas and reasoning to promote Moses as a physically, mentally, psychologically, and spiritually supreme leader.

Flavius Josephus also portrays Moses as a “man of God” (Antiquities 3.180). Josephus claims that Moses established the ideal society (Against Apion 2.16) and attributes Moses’ favor with God to his ability to control his passions (Antiquities 4.8.49). He also states that Moses’ understanding surpassed “all men that ever lived and [he] put to noblest use the fruit of his reflections” (Antiquities 4.8.49). Moses’ divine gifts were even recognized by the Egyptians, who made him general over a victorious campaign against Ethiopia. This is where Moses met and married an Ethiopian princess (Antiquities 2.10.2; see also Num 12:1). Josephus concludes his eulogy for Moses saying, “as a general he had few to equal him, and as prophet none, insomuch that in all his utterances one seemed to hear the speech of God himself” (Antiquities 4.8.49).

Later Jewish writers seeking to give their texts authority attributed them to Moses. The Testament of Moses and the Assumption of Moses rework Deut 31–34 and expound upon Moses’ death and burial. The Assumption of Moses states that Moses gave Joshua secret books to preserve and hide until the “end of days” (1:18). Jubilees, a reworking of Gen 1–Exod 12, claims to be God’s secret word to Moses on Mount Sinai in addition to the Pentateuch (Jubilees 6:22; Crawford, Rewriting Scripture, 60–83). The author of Jubilees states that the patriarchs rigorously kept the Torah and set the standard of faithful obedience for all. Jubilees uses the solar calendar because it is based on creation and the authority of Moses (Jubilees 6:30–38). The giving of “secret books” or “secret knowledge” to Moses may be compared with 2 Esd. 14. Here Ezra, the “second Moses,” receives the 24 canonical books by divine revelation plus another 70 apocalyptic works, which he is to keep hidden (Abrahams et al., Moses, 533).

According to the Dead Sea Scrolls, the “Teacher of Righteousness” has the key to unlock truths hidden in the revelations of Moses and the prophets (1QpHab 2:5–9) Furthermore, the messianic age is modeled after the age of Moses (Deut 18:15, 18; 11Q19 54:8–18; see Bowler, “Moses in the Dead Sea Scrolls,” 174).