Deuteronomy 17 in the early church
39 passages quote, allude to, or echo Deuteronomy 17, grouped by verse; passages on the same verse are in date order. Verse text from the Berean Standard Bible (public domain). References use the Protestant English Bible's numbering, with a writer's own numbering in brackets where it differs.
Verses: 1 · 2 · 3 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 12 · 13 · 14 · 15 · 16 · 17 · 18 · 19
Deuteronomy 17:1
You shall not sacrifice to the LORD your God an ox or a sheep with any defect or serious flaw, for that is detestable to the LORD your God.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deut 17:1 | Arabic Pentateuch fragment XXIII · Hippolytus of Rome | allusion, high confidence | unknown (transmitted in a medieval Arabic catena) |
| Deut 17:1 | Exhortation to Martyrdom 7 · Origen | quotation, high confidence | 235 |
Deuteronomy 17:2
If a man or woman among you in one of the towns that the LORD your God gives you is found doing evil in the sight of the LORD your God by transgressing His covenant
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deut 17:2–7 | On Saint Athanasius 1.6 · Lucifer of Cagliari | quotation, high confidence | ca. 356–361 |
| Deut 17:2–7 | Against Two Letters of the Pelagians 4.10 · Augustine of Hippo | allusion, medium confidence | ca. 420–421 |
Deuteronomy 17:3
and going to worship other gods, bowing down to them or to the sun or moon or any of the host of heaven—which I have forbidden—
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deut 17:3 | Arabic Pentateuch fragment XXIII · Hippolytus of Rome | allusion, high confidence | unknown (transmitted in a medieval Arabic catena) |
| Deut 17:3 | Exhortation to Martyrdom 7 · Origen | quotation, high confidence | 235 |
| Deut 17:3 | Against Faustus the Manichaean 14.1 · Augustine of Hippo | allusion, high confidence | ca. 398–400 |
| Deut 17:3 | Against Faustus the Manichaean 14.12 · Augustine of Hippo | allusion, high confidence | ca. 398–400 |
Deuteronomy 17:6
On the testimony of two or three witnesses a man shall be put to death, but he shall not be executed on the testimony of a lone witness.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deut 17:6 | Arabic Pentateuch fragment XXIII · Hippolytus of Rome | allusion, high confidence | unknown (transmitted in a medieval Arabic catena) |
| Deut 17:6–7 | Demonstration 3.4 · Aphrahat | quotation, high confidence | 337-345 |
| Deut 17:6 | Against Faustus the Manichaean 16.13 · Augustine of Hippo | allusion, medium confidence | ca. 398–400 |
| Deut 17:6 | Chapter 11 · Quodvultdeus of Carthage | allusion, high confidence | ca. 437-450 |
Deuteronomy 17:7
The hands of the witnesses shall be the first in putting him to death, and after that, the hands of all the people. So you must purge the evil from among you.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deut 17:7 | Against Marcion 5.7 · Tertullian | allusion, medium confidence | 207/208 (third edition, completed later) |
| Deut 17:7 | Against Marcion 5.14 · Tertullian | quotation, medium confidence | 207/208 (third edition, completed later) |
| Deut 17:7 | Against Marcion 5.18 · Tertullian | quotation, medium confidence | 207/208 (third edition, completed later) |
| Deut 17:7 | Commentary on 1 Corinthians 5:13 · Ambrosiaster | allusion, medium confidence | ca. 366–384 |
| Deut 17:7 | Apostolic Constitutions 2.9.3 · Anonymous | quotation, medium confidence | ca. 380 |
Deuteronomy 17:8
If a case is too difficult for you to judge, whether the controversy within your gates is regarding bloodshed, lawsuits, or assaults, you must go up to the place the LORD your God will choose.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deut 17:8–13 | On Saint Athanasius 1.6 · Lucifer of Cagliari | quotation, high confidence | ca. 356–361 |
Deuteronomy 17:12
But the man who acts presumptuously, refusing to listen either to the priest who stands there to serve the LORD your God, or to the judge, must be put to death. You must purge the evil from Israel.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deut 17:12–13 | Letter 3.1 · Cyprian of Carthage | quotation, high confidence | 249/250–258 |
| Deut 17:12–13 | Letter 4.4 · Cyprian of Carthage | quotation, high confidence | 249/250–258 |
| Deut 17:12 | Letter 43.7 · Cyprian of Carthage | quotation, high confidence | 249/250–258 |
| Deut 17:12–13 | Letter 59.4 · Cyprian of Carthage | quotation, high confidence | 249/250–258 |
| Deut 17:12–13 | Letter 66.3 · Cyprian of Carthage | quotation, high confidence | 249/250–258 |
| Deut 17:12 | Preparation for the Gospel 8.8.28 · Eusebius of Caesarea | allusion, medium confidence | ca. 313–324 |
| Deut 17:12 | On Saint Athanasius 1.7 · Lucifer of Cagliari | allusion, high confidence | ca. 356–361 |
| Deut 17:12 | Letter 14.8 · Jerome | allusion, medium confidence | ca. 370–419 |
| Deut 17:12 | Letter 98.24 · Jerome | quotation, high confidence | ca. 370–419 |
Deuteronomy 17:13
Then all the people will hear and be afraid, and will no longer behave arrogantly.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deut 17:13 | Letter 98.24 · Jerome | quotation, high confidence | ca. 370–419 |
Deuteronomy 17:14
When you enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, “Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,”
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deut 17:14–16 | On Saint Athanasius 1.7 · Lucifer of Cagliari | quotation, high confidence | ca. 356–361 |
Deuteronomy 17:15
you are to appoint over yourselves the king whom the LORD your God shall choose. Appoint a king from among your brothers; you are not to set over yourselves a foreigner who is not one of your brothers.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deut 17:15 | Letter 98.9 · Jerome | quotation, high confidence | ca. 370–419 |
| Deut 17:15 | Against Helvidius 16 · Jerome | quotation, high confidence | ca. 383 |
Deuteronomy 17:16
But the king must not acquire many horses for himself or send the people back to Egypt to acquire more horses, for the LORD has said, ‘You are never to go back that way again.’
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deut 17:16 | Homilies on Ezekiel 12.3 · Origen | quotation, high confidence | ca. 238–250 (Jerome's translation in the 380s) |
| Deut 17:16 | Prophetic Extracts 3.24 · Eusebius of Caesarea | allusion, low confidence | before 325 (probably ca. 310–320) |
| Deut 17:16 | Homilies on the Psalms 32.9 · Basil of Caesarea | quotation, high confidence | ca. 360-378 |
Deuteronomy 17:17
He must not take many wives for himself, lest his heart go astray. He must not accumulate for himself large amounts of silver and gold.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deut 17:17 | Homilies on Numbers 20.3 · Origen | quotation, high confidence | ca. 238–250 (Rufinus's translation ca. 400–410) |
Deuteronomy 17:18
When he is seated on his royal throne, he must write for himself a copy of this instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deut 17:18 | Letter to Marcellinus 32 · Athanasius of Alexandria | allusion, high confidence | uncertain, after 335 |
| Deut 17:18–20 | On Saint Athanasius 1.7 · Lucifer of Cagliari | quotation, high confidence | ca. 356–361 |
Deuteronomy 17:19
It is to remain with him, and he is to read from it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to fear the LORD his God by carefully observing all the words of this instruction and these statutes.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deut 17:19 | Letter to Marcellinus 32 · Athanasius of Alexandria | allusion, high confidence | uncertain, after 335 |
| Deut 17:19 | Explanation of Twelve Psalms 43.8.3 · Ambrose | quotation, high confidence | ca. 387-397 |