Andrei Orlov, «Moses’ Heavenly Counterpart in the Book of Jubilees and the
Exagoge of Ezekiel the Tragedian», Vol. 88 (2007) 153-173
The paper provides conceptual background for the idea of the angel of the presence as the heavenly counterpart of Moses in the Book of Jubilees and the Exagoge of Ezekiel the Tragedian. The identity of the celestial scribe in the form
of the angel of the presence found in the Book of Jubilees and some other Second Temple materials might further our understanding of the enigmatic process of
mystical and literary emulation of the exemplary figure, the cryptic mechanics of which often remains beyond the grasp of our post/modern sensibilities. It is possible that in the traditions of heavenly counterparts where the two characters
of the story, one of which is represented by a biblical exemplar, become eventually unified and acquire a single identity, we are able to draw nearer to the very heart of the pseudepigraphical enterprise. In this respect, it does not appear to be coincidental that these transformational accounts dealing with the heavenly doubles of their adepts are permeated with the aesthetics of penmanship and the
imagery of the literary enterprise. In the course of these mystical and literary metamorphoses, the heavenly figure surrenders his scribal seat, the library of the celestial books and even personal writing tools to the other, earthly identity who now becomes the new guardian of the literary tradition.
166 Andrei Orlov
2. The Idiom of Standing and the Angel of the Presence
Despite the draw of seeing the developments found in the Exagoge
as the later adaptation of the Enochic and Jacobite traditions about the
heavenly double, it appears that the influence may point in other
direction and these accounts were shaped by the imagery found
already in the biblical Mosaic accounts. It is possible that the
conceptual roots of the identification of Moses with the angelic servant
of the presence could be found already in the biblical materials where
the son of Amram appears standing before the divine presence. To
clarify the Mosaic background of the traditions about the heavenly
counterpart, we must now turn to the biblical Mosaic accounts dealing
with the symbolism of the Divine presence or the Face.
One of the early identification of the hero with the angel of the
presence, important in the traditions about the heavenly double, can be
found in 2 Enoch where in the course of his celestial metamorphosis
the seventh antediluvian patriarch Enoch was called by God to stand
before his Face forever. What is important in this portrayal of the
installation of a human being into the prominent angelic rank is the
emphasis on the standing before the Face of God. Enoch’s role as the
angel of the presence is introduced through the formulae “stand before
my face forever†(46). 2 Enoch’s definition of the office of the servant
of the divine presence as standing before the Face of the Lord appears
to be linked to the biblical Mosaic accounts in which Moses is
described as the one who was standing before the Lord’s Face on
Mount Sinai. It is significant that, as in the Slavonic apocalypse where
the Lord himself orders the patriarch to stand before his presence (47),
the biblical Mosaic accounts contain a familiar command. In the
theophanic account from Exodus 33, the Lord commands Moses to
stand near him: “There is a place by me where you shall stand
(tbxnw)(48) on the rockâ€.
(46) Slav. Stoati pred licem moim’ v’’ veky, M.I. SOKOLOV, “Materialy i
ˇ ˇ
zametki po starinnoj slavjanskoj literature. Vypusk tretij. VII. Slavjanskaja Kniga
Enoha Pravednogo. Teksty, latinskij perevod i izsledovanie. Posmertnyj trud
avtora prigotovil k izdaniju M. Speranskijâ€, Chtenija v Obshchestve Istorii i
Drevnostej Rossijskih 4 (1910) 22.
(47) See 2 Enoch 22,6: “And the Lord said to his servants, sounding them out:
‘Let Enoch join in and stand in front of my face forever!’â€. 2 Enoch 36,3:
“Because a place has been prepared for you, and you will be in front of my face
from now and foreverâ€. ANDERSEN, “2 Enochâ€, The Old Testament
Pseudepigrapha, I, 138 and 161.
(48) LXX: sthvsh.
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