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Μιχαὴλ & ἀρχάγγελος, Ste! τῷ διαβόλῳ διακρινόµενος διελέγετο περὶ τοῦ Μωυσέως σώματος, οὐκ ἐτόλμησεν κρίσιν ἐπενεγκεῖν βλασ-
109 δε Μιχαηλ... οτε ACKL, Ν; οτε Μιχ... . τοτε Β.
by their dual God; at δόξαι as the angels, whom they blaspheme by sup- posing that they had created the world in Opposition to the will of the true ‘God, whereas Michael himself submitted everything to Him. This last clause would then be an appendage to the preceding, with special reference to the case of the Sodomites (cf. John xiii. 20). There may also be some allusion to the teaching or practice of the libertines. If we compare the mysterious reference in 1 Cor. xi. 10, διὰ τοῦτο ὀφείλει H γυνὴ ἐξουσίαν ἔχειν ἐπὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς διὰ τοὺς ἀγγέλους, which is explained by Ter- tullian (De Virg. Vel. 7) as spoken of the fallen angels mentioned by Jude, ‘‘propter angelos, scilicet quos legimus a Deo et caelo excidisse ob concupiscen- tiam feminarum,’’ we might suppose the βλασφημία, of which the libertines were guilty, to consist in a denial or non- recognition of the presence of good angels in their worship, or of the possi- bility of their own becoming κοινωνοὶ δαιµονίων ; or they may have scoffed at the warnings against the assaults of the devil, or even at the very idea of ‘* spiritual wickedness in high places’’. So understood, it prepares us for the strange story of the next verse.
Ver. g. 6 δὲ Μιχαὴλ 6 ἀρχάγγελος. The term ἀρχ. occurs in the N.T. only here and in 1 Thess. iv. 16. The names of seven archangels are given in Enoch. The story here narrated is taken from the apocryphal Assumptio Mosis, as we learn from Clem. Adumbr. in Ep. Fudae, and Orig. De Princ. ili. 2,1. Didymus (In Efist. fudae Enarratio) says that some doubted the canonicity of the Epistle because of this quotation from an apocryphal book. In Cramer’s Catena on this passage (p. 163) we read τελευτήσαντος ἐν τῷ Sper Μωνσέως, 6 Μιχαὴλ ἀποστέλλεται µεταθήσων τὸ σῶμα, εἶτα τοῦ διαβόλου κατὰ τοῦ Μωυσέως βλασφημοῦντος καὶ Φογέα ἀναγορεύοντος διὰ τὸ πατάξαι τὸν Αἰγύπτιον, οὐκ ἐνεγκὼν τὴν Kat’ αὐτοῦ βλασφημίαν ὁ ἄγγελος, Ἐπιτιμήσαι σοι ὁ Θεὸς, πρὸς τὸν διάβολον ἔφη. Charles in his edition of the Assumption thus summarises the fragments dealing with the funeral of Moses: (1) Michael is commissioned tc: bury Moses, (2) Satan
opposes his burial on two grounds: (a) he claims to be the lord of matter (hence the body should be handed over to him). To this claim Michael rejoins, ‘“ lhe Lord rebuke thee, for it was God’s spirit which created the world and all man- kind’’. (b) He brings the charge of murder against Moses (the answer to this is wanting). The story is based upon Deut. xxxiv. 6 (R.V.), ‘he buried him (mg. he was buried) in the valley . .. but no man knoweth of his sepul- chre unto this day’’. Compare the vain search for Elijah (2 Kings ii. 16, 17). Further details in Josephus (Ant. iv. 8, 48), νέφους αἰφνίδιον ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ στάντος ἀφανίζεται κατά τινος φάραγ- yos. Ὑέγραφε δὲ αὐτὸν ἐν ταῖς ἱεραῖς βίβλοις Ἁτεθνεῶτα, δείσας μὴ SV ὑπερβολὴν τῆς περὶ αὐτὸν ἀρετῆς πρὸς τὸ θεῖον αὐτὸν ἀναχωρῆσαι τολµήσωσιν εἰπεῖν, Philo i. p. 165, and Clem. ΑΙ. (δέν. vi. § 132, p. 807) where it is said that Caleb and Joshua witnessed the assumption of Moses to heaven, while his body was buried in the clefts of the
mountain. See comment in the larger edition, pp. 74-76. takpivopevos. Here used in the
1
sense of ‘‘ disputing,” as in Jer. xv. Io, ἄνδρα διακρινόµενον πάσῃ τῇ yi, Joel iii. 2, Acts xi. 2. See my note on James i. 6 and below ver. 22.
διελέγετο. Cf. Mark ix. 34, πρὸς ἀλλήλους διελέχθησαν, τίς μείζων.
οὐκ ἐτόλμησεν κρίσιν ἐπενεγκεῖν βλασφημίας. I take βλασφημίας to be gen. qualitatis, expressed by the adjective βλάσφημον in 2 Peter: see below on ver. 18, James i. 25, ἀκροατὴς ἐπιλησμονῆς, ii. 4 κριταὶ διαλογισμῶν πονηρῶν, ili. 6, 6 κόσμος τῆς ἀδικίας, also 2 Peter ii. 1, αἱρέσεις ἀπωλείας, ji. 10, ἐπιθυμίᾳ μιασμοῦ. For érev- εγκεῖν see Plat. Legg. ix. 856 προ- δόσεως αἰτίαν ἐπιφέρων, 1b. 043,τιµωρίαν ἐπιφ. The word occurs elsewhere in N.T. only in Rom. iii, 5. Field (On’ Translation of N.T. p. 244) compares Acts xxv. I8 ot κατήγοροι οὐδεμίαν αἰτίαν ἔφερον ὧν ἐγὼ ὑπενόουν, Diod. xvi. 20, δίκην ἐπήνεγκαν κατὰ τῶν Σπαρτιατῶν, {0. xx. 10, κρίσεις ἀδίκους ἐπιφέροντες, xx. 62, φοβηθεὶς τὰς ém- φεροµένας κρίσεις, tom. x. p. 171 ed. Bip. ἐπήνεγκαν κρίσιν περὶ ὕβρεως, and