The transmission narrative in Harba de-Moshe (the Sword of Moses) is one of the most elaborate chains of divine authority in all of Jewish literature. It traces a path from God to Moses to the angel Metatron, then cascading down through the angelic hierarchy of the seven heavens until it reaches the human practitioner.
The chain begins at Sinai. When Moses ascended the mountain (Exodus 19:20), he received not only the Torah but also—according to this text—a body of hidden names that constituted the "Sword." Moses did not pass this knowledge directly to the Israelites. Instead, he transmitted it upward to Metatron, the Sar HaPanim (שר הפנים), the Prince of the Countenance, who stands closest to the divine throne.
From Metatron, the Sword was passed to Azbogah (אזבוגה), the great heavenly scribe sometimes identified with Metatron himself in Hekhalot (the heavenly palaces) literature. Azbogah transmitted it to seven named angels, one for each heaven: in the seventh heaven to Margiel, in the sixth to Gariel, descending through Tatrasiel, Sabriel, Padael, Harshiel, and finally in the first heaven to Shamshiel—the angel of the sun. Each angel received the Sword with the charge to guard it and transmit it only to those who were worthy.
The text then specifies the requirements for worthiness. The practitioner must fast, purify themselves in a mikveh (ritual immersion pool), refrain from eating meat or drinking wine for a set period, and recite the preparatory prayers with complete kavvanah (focused intention). Only then may they invoke the names and expect the angels to respond.
This elaborate chain serves as both legitimation and protection. It legitimates the text by anchoring it to the highest possible authority—God via Moses—while the purity requirements protect against casual or unworthy use. The structure mirrors the rabbinic concept of the mesorah (מסורה), the chain of tradition, applying it to mystical power rather than legal authority.