Deuteronomy 32:9Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

His affection for Abraham, who was a Persian, exemplifies this, as He inspired him; through Abraham, He imparted knowledge to the Egyptians, the Canaanites, and the Persians. Additionally, through Abraham’s descendants, many neighbors were guided back to the truth, as far as was within His power. When Moses was born, God used the history of the Jewish people to enlighten not only the Egyptians and the inhabitants of Palestine but also the Babylonians.

It should not be perceived that God ruled over the Jews in a manner separate from the oversight of other nations, nor that angels were granted equal authority alongside Him, or that there existed other deities. This statement should be interpreted correctly: God did not distribute His sovereign rule over us among other gods or angels while reserving His supervision over Israel; rather, His singular Providence, which encompasses all, entrusted His angels to guide humanity toward salvation for their benefit. In this light, Israel uniquely recognized the true Lord and received genuine enlightenment from Him.

Consequently, theology affirms that Israel submitted itself to the service of the true God: ‘and there was a part of the Lord’; indicating that, similar to other nations, Israel was designated to one of the holy angels to gain knowledge of the one Beginning of all things, as indicated by the placement of Michael over the Jewish people (Dan. 10:13, 21). This clearly demonstrates the existence of a singular Providence that governs all things, both visible and invisible, and that all angels, assigned to their respective nations, strive to lead those who willingly follow them to Him, their true Beginning.

The account of Moses being endowed with wisdom by Gabriel is found in the Chronographic edition of Paley and in the 'Speech of the Philosopher' from the ‘Tale of Bygone Years.’ Initially, this was seen as evidence of Paley's influence on the chronicle. However, V. M. Istrin presented compelling evidence that the varying biographical details of Moses across different Paley editions originate from a shared source, which is a blend of biblical and apocryphal narratives about Moses. The historical records regarding Moses also trace back to this same origin. A. A. Shakhmatov proposed that the similarities found in 'The Philosopher's Speech' suggest that both the scribe and the creator of early texts drew from this common source.

What stands out in this context is that the compiler was familiar with these apocryphal elements and included them in his own text, reflecting the breadth of his perspective. This demonstrates that, in this instance and many others, the author engaged with material beyond the traditional paleo sources.