Deuteronomy in the Matthean and Lucan Temptation in Light of Early Jewish Antidemonic Tradition

The temptation narratives in Matthew 4:1–11 and Luke 4:1–13 depict Jesus answering Satan with quotations from Deuteronomy. This study asks what those scriptural responses mean when read beside early Jewish practices intended to ward off demonic harm.

Morris distinguishes exorcism—responding to a present affliction—from apotropaism, a preventative defense against future evil. He then measures the temptation narratives against traditions preserved among the Dead Sea Scrolls, including the Damascus Document, and considers how the comparison affects the larger portrayals of Jesus and demonic activity in Matthew and Luke.

The result places a familiar Gospel scene in its Second Temple Jewish demonological setting. Scripture is not merely cited as information or proof; its recitation participates in resistance to evil.