Chair of Moses and Apostolic succession

[suupah]

At the end of deuteronomy Moses lays his hands upon Joshua thereby handing on his position over the Israelites to him. He was to take them into the promise land. I have three Questions.

Was this the “chair of Moses” that Jesus speaks about in the NT?

If so, is there a list anywhere of the men who occupied the chair of Moses?

Is this a strong argument for the new church having apostolic succession?

 

[Trebor135]

It’s been three years and no one’s got round to answering these questions. Who with sufficient knowledge can give them a shot?

At the end of deuteronomy Moses lays his hands upon Joshua thereby handing on his position over the Israelites to him. He was to take them into the promise land. I have three Questions.

Was this the “chair of Moses” that Jesus speaks about in the NT?

If so, is there a list anywhere of the men who occupied the chair of Moses?

Is this a strong argument for the new church having apostolic succession?

 

[Robbinson]

It’s been three years and no one’s got round to answering these questions. Who with sufficient knowledge can give them a shot?

The " chair of Moses" or “seat of moses” is not a literal “chair” (as some have said) (although there were seats of honor presumably within the Sanhedrin and many synagogues today have a special chair for the rabbi of the congregation as a symbol of his authority) but a symbol of authority. Moses had God given authority (note the rebellion against this by Miriam and Aaron and later by Korah). This authority was passed to Joshua and ultimately, understood in rabbinic Judaism (and by the Pharisees in Jesus day and acknowledged by Jesus himself) to have passed to the Sanhedrin (the ruling authority within Judaism overseen by the High Priest).

I do see the “pattern” of God given authority (to Moses and then his successors) as being, replicated more perfectly in the New Covenant in the authority given to Peter and the apostles and then to their successors. We read in the NT how the old covenant was a shadow and type of things to come. The parallels between the new covenant and old covenant are striking.

Blessings,

Brian