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Deuteronomy 6:16

The New Testament’s use of Deuteronomy

4 places · 3 kinds of echo

The source

You shall not tempt Yahweh your God, as you tempted him in Massah.

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Where this passage surfaces again, sorted by the strength of the link. Each kind of reuse — formal quotation, deliberate allusion, faint echo, figural pattern — carries its own mark. Follow any reference to read it in place.

Quotation2

A formal citation — high verbal volume, often introduced by a saying-formula.

Luke 4:1-13

'You shall not tempt the Lord your God' quotes Deuteronomy 6:16 (LXX), which itself recalls Israel's testing of God at Massah (Exod 17:1-7). Verbatim citation answering the pinnacle temptation; strong Recurrence with the other Deuteronomy quotations in the pericope.

High confidence
Matt 4:1-11

Jesus' second reply (v.7) quotes 'You shall not test the LORD your God.' Formula 'it is written' + verbatim citation. In Deut 6:16 the warning is 'as you tested him at Massah' (water from the rock); Jesus refuses to coerce God's protective care, again reversing Israel's wilderness failure.

High confidence

Allusion1

A deliberate verbal borrowing without a citation formula.

Acts 5:1-11 ?

'You shall not test the LORD your God' is the legal locus of the prohibition Sapphira violates; reinforces the 'tempt the Spirit' motif.

Low confidence

Echo1

A fainter, low-volume reuse, carried by recurrence or thematic coherence.

Mark 8:11-13

'You shall not put the LORD your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah' provides the legal-theological frame for Jesus' refusal: the sign-demand is itself the forbidden testing. Coherence is strong with v.11's language of peirazo (testing).

Medium confidence
Elsewhere in Deuteronomy 6
Deuteronomy 6:4-5 4Deuteronomy 6:4 9Deuteronomy 6:5 16Deuteronomy 6:6-7 3Deuteronomy 6:8 2Deuteronomy 6:13 5Deuteronomy 6:22 3Deuteronomy 6:25 2