Assumption of Moses

c. 1st century AD · Early Jewish / Second Temple Texts

About this text

A farewell speech of Moses to Joshua, containing prophecy about Israel's future. Referenced in Jude 9 regarding Michael's dispute over Moses' body.

Significance

Alluded to in the New Testament. Provides context for Jewish views on angels and authority.

How to Read This Historical Text

Assumption of Moses is included here as a historical and educational resource, not as Scripture and not as a replacement for the biblical canon. Readers may find it useful for understanding the ideas, debates, devotional language, and literary settings that surrounded Jewish and Christian communities in different periods.

Read this text with context in mind. Notice its era, category, and relationship to canonical passages, then compare its themes with the Bible itself. Some library works preserve valuable historical background, while others represent viewpoints that many Christian traditions rejected. Inclusion in this library does not mean endorsement of every claim or doctrine in the text.

For more about how The Bible Companion handles public-domain writings, Bible translations, attribution, and devotional material, see the Sources & Editorial Policy.

Key excerpts

"But Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses."

Scripture cross-references

  • Jude 1:9 — Directly references the dispute over Moses' body from this text
  • Deuteronomy 34:5-6 — Moses' death and secret burial

Continue exploring

This text is one of 17 in the Early Jewish / Second Temple Texts category, and one of 62 across the entire library.