t12papocrypha
Testament of Levi 5
Levi is brought before the Most High — El Elyon — enthroned in the holy temple, where the priesthood blessing is formally conferred on his lineage until Jehovah Himself comes to dwell among Israel. The interceding angel, distinct from El Elyon, is named as the guardian of Israel against the assault of every evil spirit — a figure who operates between the throne and the earth, bearing a commission. The chapter then turns to the Shechem judgment: heaven sanctions the sword, and the acts recorded match what is written in the heavenly tablets, establishing that covenant violence is heaven-ordered and court-recorded, not merely tribal.
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And the angel opened to me the gates of heaven, and I saw the holy temple, and the Most High upon a throne of glory. And He said to me, Levi, I have given thee the blessings of the priesthood until that I shall come and sojourn in the midst of Israel. Then the angel brought me to the earth, and gave me a shield and a sword, and said, Work vengeance on Shechem because of Dinah, and I will be with thee, because the Lord hath sent me. And I destroyed at that time the sons of Hamor, as it is written in the heavenly tablets. And I said to Him, I pray Thee, O Lord, tell me Thy name, that I may call upon Thee in a day of tribulation. And He said, I am the angel who intercedeth for the race of Israel, that He smite them not utterly, because every evil spirit attacketh it. And after these things I was as it were awaked, and blessed the Most High, and the angel that intercedeth for the race of Israel, and for all the righteous.
