Archelaus of Carrhae

But after Moses had made his appearance, and had given the law to the children of Israel, and had made them aware of all the requirements of the law and everything that it required people to observe and to do, and when he declared that only those who should transgress the law would die, then death no longer reigned over all people. For death then reigned only over sinners, as the law said, “Do not touch those who keep my precepts.” Moses therefore served the ministration of this word on death, while he delivered up to destruction all others who were transgressors of the law. For Moses did not come so that death would not reign anywhere at all, since multitudes were definitely held under the power of death even after Moses. The law was called a “ministration of death” from the fact that then only transgressors of the law were punished, and not those who kept it and who obeyed and observed the things that the law requires, as Abel did, whom Cain, who was made a vessel of the wicked one, killed. However, even after these things death wanted to break the covenant that had been made through the instrumentality of Moses and to reign again over the righteous—and in keeping with this intent it did indeed assail the prophets, killing and stoning those who had been sent by God, down to Zacharias. But my Lord Jesus, maintaining the righteousness of the law of Moses, was angry with death for its transgression of the covenant and of that whole ministration, and he condescended to appear in a human body, for the purpose of avenging not himself but Moses and those who in a continuous succession after him had been oppressed by the violence of death.