Explore the prophetic succession outlined in Deuteronomy 18:15-22, where Moses foretells the rise of a prophet like himself from among the Israelites. This passage lays the foundation for the appointment of Joshua as Moses’ successor and establishes criteria for discerning true prophets. Delve into the significance of this succession, the essence of the renewed covenant, and the discernment of authentic prophecy within Jewish tradition, reflecting on its implications and relevance today. Lets have a look at (Deuteronomy 18:15-22)
From among your own people, your G-d Hashem will raise up for you a prophet like myself; that is whom you shall heed. This is just what you asked of your G-d Hashem at Horeb, on the day of the Assembly, saying, “Let me not hear the voice of my G-d Hashem any longer or see this wondrous fire any more, lest I die.” Whereupon G-d Hashem said to me, “They have done well in speaking thus. I will raise up for them from among their own people a prophet like yourself, in whose mouth I will put My words and who will speak to them all that I command; and anybody who fails to heed the words [the prophet] speaks in My name, I Myself will call to account. But any prophet who presumes to speak in My name an oracle that I did not command to be uttered, or who speaks in the name of other gods—that prophet shall die.” And should you ask yourselves, “How can we know that the oracle was not spoken by G-d Hashem?”— if the prophet speaks in the name of G-d Hashem and the oracle does not come true, that oracle was not spoken by G-d Hashem; the prophet has uttered it presumptuously: do not stand in dread of that person.
Moses gets a successor
Moses realized that the time had come for him to depart from the people as Numbers 27:12,13 states:
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יְהֹוָה֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה עֲלֵ֛ה אֶל־הַ֥ר הָעֲבָרִ֖ים הַזֶּ֑ה וּרְאֵה֙ אֶת־הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר נָתַ֖תִּי לִבְנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃
וְרָאִ֣יתָה אֹתָ֔הּ וְנֶאֱסַפְתָּ֥ אֶל־עַמֶּ֖יךָ גַּם־אָ֑תָּה כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר נֶאֱסַ֖ף אַהֲרֹ֥ן אָחִֽיךָ׃
G-d Hashem said to Moses, “Ascend these heights of Abarim and view the land that I have given to the Israelite people. When you have seen it, you too shall be gathered to your kin, just as your brother Aaron was.
The people cannot function without a leader, so Moses requests G-d for a suitable leader for the people, and G-d says Joshua will be his successor as Numbers 27:15-18 states:
וַיְדַבֵּ֣ר מֹשֶׁ֔ה אֶל־ד’ לֵאמֹֽר׃
יִפְקֹ֣ד ד’ אֱלֹהֵ֥י הָרוּחֹ֖ת לְכׇל־בָּשָׂ֑ר אִ֖ישׁ עַל־הָעֵדָֽה׃
אֲשֶׁר־יֵצֵ֣א לִפְנֵיהֶ֗ם וַאֲשֶׁ֤ר יָבֹא֙ לִפְנֵיהֶ֔ם וַאֲשֶׁ֥ר יוֹצִיאֵ֖ם וַאֲשֶׁ֣ר יְבִיאֵ֑ם וְלֹ֤א תִהְיֶה֙ עֲדַ֣ת יְהֹוָ֔ה כַּצֹּ֕אן אֲשֶׁ֥ר אֵין־לָהֶ֖ם רֹעֶֽה׃
וַיֹּ֨אמֶר ד’ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֗ה קַח־לְךָ֙ אֶת־יְהוֹשֻׁ֣עַ בִּן־נ֔וּן אִ֖ישׁ אֲשֶׁר־ר֣וּחַ בּ֑וֹ וְסָמַכְתָּ֥ אֶת־יָדְךָ֖ עָלָֽיו׃
Moses spoke to G-d Hashem saying, “Let G-d Hashem, Source of the breath of all flesh, appoint someone over the community who shall go out before them and come in before them, and who shall take them out and bring them in, so that G-d Hashem’s community may not be like sheep that have no shepherd.” And G-d Hashem answered Moses, “Single out Joshua son of Nun, an inspired man, and lay your hand upon him.
We know from history that Joshua succeeded him, bringing the people into the country and guiding them in G-d’s ways. End of disputation, you’d think, except for others who interpret the verse as a prophecy for the distant future. A future that will not occur until, say, 1,218 years after Moses’ death.[1] Let us therefore take a closer look at the text and its context.
The successor will come from the Jewish people in the way of Moses
Someone from “your own” people is mentioned in the text. Any prophet who is not Jewish is therefore ineligible.
It’s have to be someone like Moses. This is a unique remark because no one can possibly be greater than Moses. Deuteronomy 34:10 states:
לֹא־קָ֨ם נָבִ֥יא ע֛וֹד בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל כְּמֹשֶׁ֑ה אֲשֶׁר֙ יְדָע֣וֹ ד’ פָּנִ֖ים אֶל־פָּנִֽים׃
Never again did there arise in Israel a prophet like Moses—whom G-d Hashem singled out, face to face.
The Rashbam[2] explains it in the following way:
When the Torah wrote in Deut. 34,10 that there never again arose a prophet of the stature of Moses, what is meant is the manner in which Moses was familiar with G-d on an unprecedented level, speaking to Him at any time, and being addressed by Him without introductory formalities, i.e. פנים אל פנים, “face to face,” as the informal nature of two friends speaking with one another. The verse does not mean that subsequent prophets would have less faith in G-d than Moses had had. Concerning that aspect of Moses as a prophet, he told the people that prophets after him would display similar faith in the L-rd, i.e. כמוני. They too would faithfully deliver messages from G-d, neither withholding part nor adding something of their own and passing it off as a Divine message.
But no prophet could prophecy like Moses. To put it another way, Moses prophesied at the greatest level. As we can see from the verse above, he was the only prophet with whom G-d spoke face to face, a direct communication.
All prophets only receive their prophecy in a vision in a dream at night, or during the day when a great trance falls upn them, as it says, “In a vision I will become know to him, in a dream I will speak to him.”[3] When they receive their prophecy, their limbs shake, their body becomes weak, the lose their senses, and their mind becomes clear to understand what is sees.[4]
G-d will speak to Joshua about everything He had commanded.
Just as the people came to Moses for an explanation of the Torah, they would now go to Joshua, who would tell and explain all of G-d’s words to them. He was able to do this because he was filled with God’s spirit. (Numbers 27:18)
וַיֹּ֨אמֶר ד’ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֗ה קַח־לְךָ֙ אֶת־יְהוֹשֻׁ֣עַ בִּן־נ֔וּן אִ֖ישׁ אֲשֶׁר־ר֣וּחַ בּ֑וֹ וְסָמַכְתָּ֥ אֶת־יָדְךָ֖ עָלָֽיו׃
And G-d Hashem answered Moses, “Single out Joshua son of Nun, an inspired man, and lay your hand upon him.
The people accepted Jozua as their new leader as Joshua 1:16 states:
וַֽיַּעֲנ֔וּ אֶת־יְהוֹשֻׁ֖עַ לֵאמֹ֑ר כֹּ֤ל אֲשֶׁר־צִוִּיתָ֙נוּ֙ נַעֲשֶׂ֔ה וְאֶֽל־כׇּל־אֲשֶׁ֥ר תִּשְׁלָחֵ֖נוּ נֵלֵֽךְ׃
They answered Joshua, “We will do everything you have commanded us and we will go wherever you send us.
Chizkuni states on Deuteronomy 18:15:
אליו משמעון, “you are to be obedient to him.” Compare what is written in Deuteronomy 34,9, “all the Israelites listened to him” (were obedient).
We also find in the Book of Joshua 22,12 reports: “the Children of Israel listened to him.”
Joshua could not continue to lead the people continuously. He would have to delegate his leadership to someone else at some point.
Rashi states on Deuteronomy 18:15:1:
מקרבך מאחיך כמני [The L-rd thy G-d will raise up unto thee a prophet] from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me – This means: One who is as I am, from your midst, of your brethren, יקים לך will He raise up unto thee in my stead, and so likewise from prophet to prophet throughout all ages.
Siftei Chakhamim states on Deuteronomy 18:15:2:
Similarly, from prophet to prophet. Meaning in order that the verse should not be misunderstood that it is speaking about a specific prophet who will arise after Moshe in the future, as the heretics explained, Rashi adds and says, “Similarly from prophet to prophet” [i.e., continuously]. His proof is that the [verse’s] intent is to distant people from auguries and sorcerers and it is saying that you do not need auguries and sorcerers because there will always be prophets from your midst in every generation so that you will not need auguries.
This brings us to the concept of mesorah. The unbreakable chain of oral tradition that started with Moses and leads to the rabbis of today.[5]
True and false prophets
This shows us 1 of the important purposes of this text.
– It establishes the authority of all future prophets after Moses. If, when it says, “I will raise up a prophet”, and it refers to only one person …, where did the earlier prophets such as Isaiah and Jeremiah get their authority from?[6]
Another important objective of this text is the warning against false prophets.
“if the prophet speaks in the name of G-d Hashem and the oracle does not come true, that oracle was not spoken by G-d Hashem.”
A false prophet is identified by the fact that the word he speaks on behalf of God does not come true. Deuteronomy 13:2-6 adds two further criteria for evaluating those who claim to speak on behalf of G-d. Even if these messengers are capable of accomplishing miraculous marvels, two facts indicate convincingly that they are not of G-d:
If there appears among you a prophet or a dream-diviner, who gives you a sign or a portent, saying, “Let us follow and worship another god”—whom you have not experienced —even if the sign or portent named to you comes true, do not heed the words of that prophet or that dream-diviner. For your G-d Hashem is testing you to see whether you really love your God יהוה with all your heart and soul. It is your G-d Hashem alone whom you should follow, whom you should revere, whose commandments you should observe, whose orders you should heed, whom you should worship, and to whom you should hold fast. As for that prophet or dream-diviner, such a one shall be put to death for having urged disloyalty to your G-d Hashem —who freed you from the land of Egypt and who redeemed you from the house of bondage—to make you stray from the path that your G-d Hashem commanded you to follow. Thus, you will sweep out evil from your midst.
– Any divergence from the Laws revealed to Moses by G-d
– Any presentation of G-d that we – the Jewish people – did not previously know
Listening to false prophets or leaders and not listening to authorized leaders has terrible consequences, according to verse 19:
…I Myself will call to account…
Was Jesus a true prophet?
– If the prophet speaks in the name of G-d Hashem and the oracle does not come true, that oracle was not spoken by G-d Hashem
Verily I say unto you, There stand here some who shall not taste death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom. (Matthew 16:28)
In this passage, Jesus tells his disciples that he will return to establish his kingdom before some of them die. Apparently, he did not, and has not for the past 2,000 years.
– Any divergence from the Laws revealed to Moses by G-d
Therefore some of the Pharisees said: This man is not of G-d, because he does not keep the Sabbath. Others said: How can a man who is a is sinner do such miracles? (John 9:16)
It should be noted that a miracle is not proof that someone is preaching the truth or has been sent by G-d.
If there appears among you a prophet or a dream-diviner, who gives you a sign or a portent, saying, “Let us follow and worship another god”—whom you have not experienced —even if the sign or portent named to you comes true, do not heed the words of that prophet or that dream-diviner. For your G-d Hashem is testing you to see whether you really love your G-d Hashem with all your heart and soul. It is your G-d Hashem alone whom you should follow, whom you should revere, whose commandments you should observe, whose orders you should heed, whom you should worship, and to whom you should hold fast. As for that prophet or dream-diviner, such a one shall be put to death for having urged disloyalty to your G-d Hashem —who freed you from the land of Egypt and who redeemed you from the house of bondage—to make you stray from the path that your G-d Hashem commanded you to follow. Thus you will sweep out evil from your midst. (Deuteronomy 13:2-6)
– Any presentation of G-d that we – the Jewish people – did not previously know
It is essential for the Jewish people to understand that there is no passage in our Bible that describes G-d and His nature in words – not even a hint – in relation to a trinitarian vision or human form.
אַתָּה֙ הׇרְאֵ֣תָ לָדַ֔עַת כִּ֥י ד’ ה֣וּא הָאֱלֹקִ֑ים אֵ֥ין ע֖וֹד מִלְּבַדּֽוֹ׃
It has been clearly demonstrated to you that Hashem alone is G-d; there is none else. (Deuteronomy 4:35)
הַגִּ֣ידוּ וְהַגִּ֔ישׁוּ אַ֥ף יִֽוָּעֲצ֖וּ יַחְדָּ֑ו מִ֣י הִשְׁמִ֩יעַ֩ זֹ֨את מִקֶּ֜דֶם מֵאָ֣ז הִגִּידָ֗הּ הֲל֨וֹא אֲנִ֤י ד’ וְאֵֽין־ע֤וֹד אֱלֹקים֙ מִבַּלְעָדַ֔י אֵל־צַדִּ֣יק וּמוֹשִׁ֔יעַ אַ֖יִן זוּלָתִֽי׃
Speak up, compare testimony— Let them even take counsel together!
Who announced this aforetime, Foretold it of old? Was it not I the ETERNAL One ?
Then there is no god beside Me, No G-d exists beside Me Who foretells truly and grants success.(Isaiah 45:21)
וְאָנֹכִ֛י ד’ אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרָ֑יִם וֵאלֹקים זוּלָתִי֙ לֹ֣א תֵדָ֔ע וּמוֹשִׁ֥יעַ אַ֖יִן בִּלְתִּֽי׃
Only I the ETERNAL One have been your G-d Ever since the land of Egypt; You have never known a [true] G-d but Me, You have never had a helper other than Me. (Hosea 13:4)[7]
That true leaders, and rabbis who can tell and explain G-d’s Word to us, guide and inspire us. That we may be cautioned against false prophets who take us away from the truth, preventing us from having a good relationship with G-d and spiritually developing.
By Angelique Sijbolts
Sources:
[1] We are now living in the year 5783. If we subtract 2023 from that, we end up in the year 3760 which we can then think of as the year 1. Moses died in the year 2552. That makes a difference of 1218 years. See also:The Jewish Calendar
[2] Rashbam on Deuteronomy 18:15:1
[3] Numbers 12:6
[4] Seven Gates of Righteous Knowledge by Rabbi Moshe Weiner and Dr. Michael Schulman p. 51
[5] Exodus 19:9 – Mesorah – Chain of Transmission
The full chain of transmission can be found here.
[6] Choose Life by Rabbi Rick Halpern
[7] See for more information: Choose Life by Rabbi Rick Halpern
Text Sefaria.org
With thanks to Yoeri Shepens for the inspiration
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