The Assumption of Moses

About The Assumption of Moses

The Assumption of Moses (otherwise called the Testament of Moses) is a 1st century Jewish apocryphal (pseudepigraphical) work. It purports to contain secret prophecies Moses revealed to Joshua before passing leadership of the Israelites to him. It contains apocalyptic themes, but is characterized as a "testament", meaning it has 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 depicted a dispute over the body of Moses, between the archangel Michael and the devil..