Third Baruch

And when these things were finished, night came, and with it the moon and the stars.

And I, Baruch, said, “Lord, show me this too, I pray: how does it come forth? And where does it go? And in what form does it move?”

And the angel said, “Wait, and you will see this one too very soon.” And on the next day, I saw this one too, in the form of a woman, seated on a wheeled chariot. And before her were oxen, and lambs in the chariot, and a multitude of angels likewise.

And I said, “Lord, what are the oxen and the lambs?” And he said to me, “They too are angels.”

And again I asked, “And why is it that sometimes it increases, and sometimes it wanes?”

“Listen, Baruch: this one whom you see was beautifully created by God, like no other.”

“And in the transgression of the first Adam, she joined with Samael when he took the serpent as a garment; she was not hidden but she grew brighter. And God was angry with her, and afflicted her, and shortened her days.”

And I said, “And how is it that it does not shine at all times, but only at night?” And the angel said, “Listen: just as servants cannot speak freely before a king, so neither can the moon and stars shine brightly before the sun. For the stars always hang, but they are scattered by the sun. And the moon, being whole, is consumed by the sun's heat.”