Assumption of Moses

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The Assumption of Moses, also known as the Testament of Moses (Hebrew עליית משה Aliyat Mosheh), is a 1st-century Jewish apocryphal work. It contains secret prophecies Moses revealed to Joshua before passing leadership of the Israelites to him. It is characterized as a "testament", meaning the final speech of a dying person, Moses. The text is thought to have been originally written in Hebrew or another Semitic language, and then translated to Koine Greek. The only surviving manuscript is a 6th-century Latin translation of the Greek text. The manuscript was incomplete, and the rest of the text is lost. From references in ancient works, it is thought that the missing text may have depicted a dispute over the body of Moses, between the archangel Michael and Satan. Seth and Joshua and several witnesses saw lightning strike in front of the black-clothed stranger who was watching over the body of Moses. As the dust of the earth settled, a Roman-like soldier wearing silver and gold armor appeared...

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