Deuteronomy 31 in the early church

33 passages quote, allude to, or echo Deuteronomy 31, 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: 2 · 3 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 16 · 17 · 18 · 19 · 20 · 24 · 26 · 27 · 28 · 29 · 30

Deuteronomy 31:2

he said to them, “I am now a hundred and twenty years old; I am no longer able to come and go, and the LORD has said to me, ‘You shall not cross the Jordan.’
BSB

Reference	Passage	Kind	Date
Deut 31:2	Dialogue with Trypho 126.6 · Justin Martyr	quotation, high confidence	ca. 155–160

Deuteronomy 31:3

The LORD your God Himself will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy these nations before you, and you will dispossess them. Joshua will cross ahead of you, as the LORD has said.
BSB

Reference	Passage	Kind	Date
Deut 31:3	Dialogue with Trypho 126.6 · Justin Martyr	quotation, high confidence	ca. 155–160

Deuteronomy 31:6

Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid or terrified of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.”
BSB

Reference	Passage	Kind	Date
Deut 31:6	Martyrdom of Polycarp 9.1 · Anonymous	echo, low confidence	ca. 156–160
Deut 31:6	Miscellanies 2.20.126 · Clement of Alexandria	allusion, medium confidence	ca. 198–203

Deuteronomy 31:7

Then Moses called for Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you will go with this people into the land that the LORD swore to their fathers to give them, and you shall give it to them as an inheritance.
BSB

Reference	Passage	Kind	Date
Deut 31:7	Arabic Pentateuch fragment XXVII · Hippolytus of Rome	allusion, high confidence	unknown (transmitted in a medieval Arabic catena)
Deut 31:7–30	Deuteronomy, lines 128–151 · Cyprianus Gallus	allusion, high confidence	early 5th cent.
Deut 31:7	Part 2, chapter 11 · Quodvultdeus of Carthage	allusion, high confidence	ca. 445-450
Deut 31:7	Part 2, chapter 13 · Quodvultdeus of Carthage	allusion, high confidence	ca. 445-450
Deut 31:7	Part 2, chapter 14 · Quodvultdeus of Carthage	allusion, high confidence	ca. 445-450

Deuteronomy 31:8

The LORD Himself goes before you; He will be with you. He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid or discouraged.”
BSB

Reference	Passage	Kind	Date
Deut 31:8	Arabic Pentateuch fragment XXVII · Hippolytus of Rome	allusion, high confidence	unknown (transmitted in a medieval Arabic catena)

Deuteronomy 31:9

So Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and to all the elders of Israel.
BSB

Reference	Passage	Kind	Date
Deut 31:9	Arabic Pentateuch fragment XXVII · Hippolytus of Rome	allusion, high confidence	unknown (transmitted in a medieval Arabic catena)
Deut 31:9–13	On Saint Athanasius 1.9 · Lucifer of Cagliari	quotation, high confidence	ca. 356–361

Deuteronomy 31:10

Then Moses commanded them, “At the end of every seven years, at the appointed time in the year of remission of debt, during the Feast of Tabernacles,
BSB

Reference	Passage	Kind	Date
Deut 31:10	Arabic Pentateuch fragment XXVII · Hippolytus of Rome	allusion, high confidence	unknown (transmitted in a medieval Arabic catena)

Deuteronomy 31:16

And the LORD said to Moses, “You will soon rest with your fathers, and these people will rise up and prostitute themselves with the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake Me and break the covenant I have made with them.
BSB

Reference	Passage	Kind	Date
Deut 31:16	Dialogue with Trypho 74.4 · Justin Martyr	quotation, high confidence	ca. 155–160
Deut 31:16–18	Part 2, chapter 13 · Quodvultdeus of Carthage	allusion, high confidence	ca. 445-450

Deuteronomy 31:17

On that day My anger will burn against them, and I will abandon them and hide My face from them, so that they will be consumed, and many troubles and afflictions will befall them. On that day they will say, ‘Have not these disasters come upon us because our God is no longer with us?’
BSB

Reference	Passage	Kind	Date
Deut 31:17	Dialogue with Trypho 74.4 · Justin Martyr	quotation, high confidence	ca. 155–160
Deut 31:17	Demonstration 16.5 · Aphrahat	quotation, high confidence	337-345

Deuteronomy 31:18

And on that day I will surely hide My face because of all the evil they have done by turning to other gods.
BSB

Reference	Passage	Kind	Date
Deut 31:18	Dialogue with Trypho 74.4 · Justin Martyr	quotation, high confidence	ca. 155–160

Deuteronomy 31:19

Now therefore, write down for yourselves this song and teach it to the Israelites; have them recite it, so that it may be a witness for Me against them.
BSB

Reference	Passage	Kind	Date
Deut 31:19	Commentary on the Song of Songs 0.81 · Origen	quotation, high confidence	ca. 240–245 (Rufinus's translation ca. 410)
Deut 31:19	Letter to Marcellinus 32 · Athanasius of Alexandria	allusion, high confidence	uncertain, after 335
Deut 31:19	Questions and Answers to the Orthodox 53–54 · Anonymous	allusion, medium confidence	5th century (disputed)

Deuteronomy 31:20

When I have brought them into the land that I swore to give their fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey, they will eat their fill and prosper. Then they will turn to other gods and worship them, and they will reject Me and break My covenant.
BSB

Reference	Passage	Kind	Date
Deut 31:20	The Instructor 1.10.91 · Clement of Alexandria	quotation, medium confidence	ca. 190–200
Deut 31:20	Refutation of All Heresies 5.8.30 · Hippolytus of Rome	allusion, medium confidence	ca. 222–235

Deuteronomy 31:24

When Moses had finished writing in a book the words of this law from beginning to end,
BSB

Reference	Passage	Kind	Date
Deut 31:24–30	Part 2, chapter 13 · Quodvultdeus of Carthage	allusion, high confidence	ca. 445-450

Deuteronomy 31:26

“Take this Book of the Law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, so that it may remain there as a witness against you.
BSB

Reference	Passage	Kind	Date
Deut 31:26	Arabic Pentateuch fragment XXVII · Hippolytus of Rome	allusion, high confidence	unknown (transmitted in a medieval Arabic catena)

Deuteronomy 31:27

For I know how rebellious and stiff-necked you are. If you are already rebelling against the LORD while I am still alive, how much more will you rebel after my death!
BSB

Reference	Passage	Kind	Date
Deut 31:27	Demonstration 19.3 · Aphrahat	quotation, high confidence	337-345

Deuteronomy 31:28

Assemble before me all the elders of your tribes and all your officers so that I may speak these words in their hearing and call heaven and earth to witness against them.
BSB

Reference	Passage	Kind	Date
Deut 31:28	Tractates on the Psalms 118.1.7 · Hilary of Poitiers	allusion, high confidence	ca. 360–367
Deut 31:28	Tractates on the Psalms 118.5.11 · Hilary of Poitiers	allusion, high confidence	ca. 360–367
Deut 31:28	Tractates on the Psalms 118.14.19 · Hilary of Poitiers	allusion, high confidence	ca. 360–367

Deuteronomy 31:29

For I know that after my death you will become utterly corrupt and turn from the path I have commanded you. And in the days to come, disaster will befall you because you will do evil in the sight of the LORD to provoke Him to anger by the work of your hands.”
BSB

Reference	Passage	Kind	Date
Deut 31:29	Demonstration 15.6 · Aphrahat	quotation, high confidence	337-345
Deut 31:29	Demonstration 16.5 · Aphrahat	allusion, medium confidence	337-345
Deut 31:29	Demonstration 19.3 · Aphrahat	quotation, high confidence	337-345

Deuteronomy 31:30

Then Moses recited aloud to the whole assembly of Israel the words of this song from beginning to end:
BSB

Reference	Passage	Kind	Date
Deut 31:30	Pilgrimage (Itinerarium) 10.6 · Egeria	allusion, high confidence	ca. 381-395