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Love Your Neighbor: How It Became the Golden Rule
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John J. Collins
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Love Your Neighbor: How It Became the Golden Rule
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The biblical precept “you shall love your neighbor as yourself” has long been understood in Jewish and Christian circles as universal, a transcendent principle encompassing the whole Torah. However, in Leviticus, it is actually one of many action-oriented commandments focused on Israelite social cohesion.
Mosaic based on Norman Rockwell’s “The Golden Rule” painting (1961). Wikimedia
We are familiar with the precept in Leviticus 19:18 וְאָהַבְתָּ לְרֵעֲךָ כָּמוֹךָ “you shall love your neighbor as yourself,” which is found in the Holiness Collection (Leviticus 17–26). The Collection, which intersperses moral laws with ritual ones, gets its name from a refrain, found for example in the introduction to this chapter:
ויקרא יט:ב ...קְדֹשִׁים תִּהְיוּ כִּי קָדוֹשׁ אֲנִי יְ־הוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם.
Lev 19:2 …You shall be holy, for I YHWH your God am holy.
The remainder of the chapter is usually divided into two panels, vv. 3–18 and 19–36, with this law, וְאָהַבְתָּ לְרֵעֲךָ כָּמוֹךָ אֲנִי יְ־הוָה“love your neighbor as yourself, I am YHWH” marking the end of the first panel. Despite general familiarity with this injunction, each of its three Hebrew words requires unpacking.
What does it mean to “love” one’s neighbor? We often think of this as requiring us to feel something, but its more probable meaning becomes clear when we look at some of the preceding laws:
ויקרא יט:יג לֹא תַעֲשֹׁק אֶת רֵעֲךָ וְלֹא תִגְזֹל לֹא תָלִין פְּעֻלַּת שָׂכִיר אִתְּךָ עַד בֹּקֶר....יט:טו לֹא תַעֲשׂוּ עָוֶל בַּמִּשְׁפָּט לֹא תִשָּׂא פְנֵי דָל וְלֹא תֶהְדַּר פְּנֵי גָדוֹל בְּצֶדֶק תִּשְׁפֹּט עֲמִיתֶךָ.יט:טז לֹא תֵלֵךְ רָכִיל בְּעַמֶּיךָ לֹא תַעֲמֹד עַל דַּם רֵעֶךָ אֲנִי יְ־הוָה.
Lev 19:13 You shall not defraud your neighbor; you shall not steal; and you shall not keep for yourself the wages of a laborer until morning….19:15 You shall not render an unjust judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great: with justice you shall judge your neighbor.19:16 You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not profit by the blood of your neighbor: I am YHWH.
Love, then, is not an emotion here, but refers to treating one’s neighbor justly—the manner you might treat someone whom you do love.[1]
Most contemporary scholars agree that the “neighbor” (רע) in Leviticus 19 refers to fellow-members of the Israelite or Judahite community.[2] Although the word itself does not necessarily refer to Israelites, the context here is determinative:
ויקרא יט:יז לֹא תִשְׂנָא אֶתאָחִיךָ בִּלְבָבֶךָ הוֹכֵחַ תּוֹכִיחַ אֶתעֲמִיתֶךָ וְלֹא תִשָּׂא עָלָיו חֵטְא.יט:יח לֹא תִקֹּם וְלֹא תִטֹּר אֶתבְּנֵי עַמֶּךָ וְאָהַבְתָּ לְרֵעֲךָ כָּמוֹךָ אֲנִי יְ־הוָה.
Lev 19:17 You shall not hateyour brother in your heart; you shall reproveyourkinsman, and not incur guilt because of him.19:18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any ofyour people, but you shall loveyour neighbor like yourself; I am YHWH.”
The term “neighbor” is the fourth in a sequence that includes “brother,” “kinsman,” and “your people.” Neighbor, like the previous three, refers to a fellow Israelite.
The most difficult part of the formulation in Leviticus 19:18 is the use of the wordkamokha.[3] The more common interpretation is to construe the phrase adverbially, i.e., the way you should love them is the same way you love yourself. For example, Abraham ibn Ezra (1089–1167) writes:
ועל דעתי: שהוא כמשמעו, שיאהב הטוב לחבירו כאשר יאהב לנפשו.
In my opinion, it means what it sounds like, that one should love for good to happen to one’s neighbor the way one would love it for oneself.
This is also the way the Greek Septuagint (LXX) translates the term, “as yourself,” ὡς σεαυτόν. Scholars almost invariably take this as “a reflexive, adverbial modifier that defines the manner in which one should love.”[4]
The other interpretation is to understand the phrase adjectivally, i.e., “(only) if he is like you.” Among medieval Jewish interpreters, this is suggested by ibn Ezra’s contemporary, Rabbi Samuel ben Meir (Rashbam):
אם הוא רעך שהוא אדם טוב כמוך.[5] אבל אם הוא רשע – כדכתיב: יראת י״י שנאת רע.
If he is your neighbor, that is he is a good person like you. But if he is wicked, it is thus written (Prov 8:13) “Fear of the LORD is hating the wicked.”
Alternatively, it could be considered as explanatory, as suggested by Hartwig Wessely (1725–1805), “love your neighbor, that is someone like you” (liebe deinen Nächsten wie dich selbst),[6]and most famously in theDie Schrift Bible translation of Martin Buber (1878–1965) and Franz Rosenzweig (1886–1929), “love your fellow, [he is] like you,” (haltelieb deinen Genossen,dir gleich).[7] All of these readings are grammatically possible, but the parallel command in the second panel of this chapter discounts this latter interpretation.
Leviticus 19:18 should not be understood in isolation. Toward the end of the second panel, we find a parallel to the love your neighbor passage:
ויקרא יט:לג וְכִי יָגוּר אִתְּךָ גֵּר בְּאַרְצְכֶם לֹא תוֹנוּ אֹתוֹ.יט:לד כְּאֶזְרָח מִכֶּם יִהְיֶה לָכֶם הַגֵּר הַגָּר אִתְּכֶם וְאָהַבְתָּ לוֹ כָּמוֹךָ כִּי גֵרִים הֱיִיתֶם בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם אֲנִי יְ־הוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם.
Lev 19:33 When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress him.19:34 The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the native born among you; you shall love the alien like yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am YHWH your God.
The wordger (here rendered “alien”) occurs 92 times in the Hebrew Bible—21 times in H— and refers not to all foreigners, but only to one who has settled in the land for some time and has special legal status as a resident alien.[8] Leviticus repeatedly commands that the גר be treated like the native born, even though he is still different. In this case, the command to “love him” is identical to the earlier command to love one’s neighbor.
Since theger by definition is not an Israelite,kamokha here cannot have an adjectival force (the alien who is like you).[9] The reason given for the command to love the alien is “for you were aliens in the land of Egypt,” a reason often given in support of concern for the alien (Exod 22:20; 23:9; Deut 10:19; 23:8).Kamokha then—here and in verse 18—is adverbial, which is to say that it clarifies how one should love.[10]
This verse does not ground the command in ontology, in the creation of all human beings in the image of God. If it did, there would be no reason to distinguish between theger and other kinds of foreigners. It is grounded in analogous experience, and calls to mind the Golden Rule: one should treat others as one would wish to be treated oneself.
In short, a few things seem clear regarding the law of loving one’s neighbor as oneself, and its corollary of loving theger, in its original context:
Thus, to love one’s neighbors (fellow-Israelites) as oneself is to treat them as you yourself would wish to be treated. To treat aliens as like oneself is to treat them as one would native-born Israelites.
Second Temple authors in the Greek and Roman periods made use of these laws in their works. For example, the book of Jubilees (3rd cent. B.C.E.) makes several allusions to the love commandment, in the stories of Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, and the exodus, though it never cites the commandment to love theger, thus restricting its application to fellow Jews.[11] The Damascus Document (2nd cent. B.C.E.) clearly alludes to both, instructing the members of the group (CD 6:20):
לאהוב אישׁ את אחיהו כמוהו ולהחזיק ביד עני ואביון 〚 〛 וגר ולדרוש איש את שלום אחיהו
To love his brother like himself,[12] support the poor, destitute, andger, and to seek each man the peace of his brother.
By the time of the Scrolls, theger is probably—though not certainly—a proselyte, and thus, ipso facto, a reference only to Jews.[13] The usage in these works has the same function as in Leviticus, namely to ensure the cohesion of the group. In the first and second centuries C.E., however, the understanding of the law undergoes a change.
In a series of stories about the 1st cent. B.C.E. sage, Hillel the Elder, the Babylonian Talmud tells the following story (Venice printing):
שוב מעשה בגוי אחד שבא לפני שמאי אמר ליה גיירני ע"מ שתלמדיני כל התורה כולה כשאני עומד על רגל אחת דחפו באמת הבניין שבידו בא לפני הילל גייריה א[מר] ליה דעלך סני לחברך לא תעביד זו היא כל התורה כולה ואידך פירושה הוא זיל גמור.
It happened again that a gentile came before Shammai. He said to him: “Convert me on the condition that you teach me the entire Torah as I stand on one leg.” He pushed him away with the builder’s cubit in his hand. [The gentile] came before Hillel, who converted him. He (=Hillel) said to him: “What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. This is the whole entire Torah; the rest is its explanation. Go and learn.”
While Hillel is not quoting Leviticus, this seems to be an interpretation of that verse, since, as noted above, the verse is about actions and not about feelings. In fact, Targum Pseudo-Jonathan (ca. 6th–8th C.E.), a rabbinic-Jewish translation into Aramaic which utilizes midrashic tropes, translates Leviticus 19:18 to match Hillel’s maxim:
ותרחמיה לחברך דמן אנת סני לך לא תעביד ליה
Love your fellow, that which is hateful to you, do not do to him.[14]
What is significant here is that, to Hillel, this maxim is a transcendent moral principle, encompassing all other commandments. While Hillel lived in the 1st century B.C.E., the Babylonian Talmud was only written in the 6th century C.E., which makes it difficult to evaluate this story’s historical validity. Nevertheless, a much earlier source, the Sifra—a 3rd century rabbinic commentary on Leviticus—ascribes a similar sentiment to the 2nd cent. C.E. sage, Rabbi Akiva (Sifra, Kedoshim 2:4.12):
ואהבת לרעך כמוך, רבי עקיבא אומר זה כלל גדול בתורה
“Love your neighbor as yourself”—Rabbi Akiva says: “This is a great general principle in the Torah.”
In between Hillel and Rabbi Akiva, another Jewish teacher also advocated for this law as an overarching ethical principle.
In the Gospel of Mark, the earliest of the canonical gospels, Jesus declares this law to be one of the two most important commandments, together with the command to love God found in theShema:
Mark 12:28 One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?”12:29 Jesus answered, “The first is (Deut 6:4–5), ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one;12:30 you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’12:31 The second is this (Lev 19:18), ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”[15]
The Gospel of Matthew, which includes this story from Mark in its own words, adds “on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (22:40).[16] The parallel passage in Luke 10:25–28, the third Synoptic Gospel, runs the two passages—love God and love your neighbor—together, as if it were one passage:
Luke 10:25 Just then Torah scholar (nomikos) stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”10:26 He (Jesus) said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?”10:27 He (the Torah scholar) answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”10:28 And he (Jesus) said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”[17]
One of the prominent early apostles of Jesus, also a Jew, presents this law in a similar way as the Talmud does for Hillel. For example, in Romans, Paul writes:
Romans 13:8 Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.13:9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet”; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”13:10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.[18]
Here Paul explicitly describes the ethical commandments in the Decalogue as deriving from this principle. Similarly, Paul writes in Galatians:
Galatians 5:14 For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”[19]
From all these sources, it is clear that by the first century of the common era, Leviticus 19:18 had attained an exalted status among Jewish interpreters as an especially important commandment, transcendent in that it included all others.[20]
Nothing in the rabbinic or New Testament sources states that the law applies to all human beings. Instead, the most natural interpretation in context is that it applies within a given group: Israelites, Jews, early Christians, etc.[21] Nevertheless, some moderate expansions already appear during this period.
For example, the version of the story in the Gospel of Luke (quoted above) broadens the horizon, if only somewhat, in the parable of the Good Samaritan. After Jesus elicits the response from the questioner that loving God and loving one’s neighbor are the most important commandments, the story continues with the law expert challenging Jesus with “and who is my neighbor?” Jesus responds with a parable in which a priest (kohen) and a Levite fail to take care of a fellow injured Jew, and instead a Samaritan does so.
Jesus then asks which one of these three people fulfilled the principle of love your neighbor, and the man answers that it was the Samaritan. The point here is that the Samaritan, a “Jew-like” person—Samaritans see themselves as Israelites and follow (a version of) the Torah similar to but distinct from the Masoretic Text—but not actually a Jew, and one who certainly does not belong to the questioner’s core group, counts as a neighbor. This is a somewhat expansive definition of neighbor, but it is unclear that it would apply to gentiles, who are in no way connected to Israel.[22]
The most striking innovation in the Gospels, exceptional in ancient literature, is the command to love one’s enemies, which is framed as an expansion of the laws in Leviticus. Thus, in the Gospel of Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says:
Matthew 5:43 You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.”5:44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,5:45 so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.5:46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors (=bad people) do the same?5:47 And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?[23]
From the final verse, it is clear that Jesus is speaking only to Jews. Moreover, his opening reference about hating enemies is not from the Hebrew Bible. Nevertheless, neither is loving one’s enemy, though a number of texts from the Hebrew Bible comment on the importance of treating one’s enemy properly:
שמות כג:ד כִּי תִפְגַּע שׁוֹר אֹיִבְךָ אוֹ חֲמֹרוֹ תֹּעֶה הָשֵׁב תְּשִׁיבֶנּוּ לוֹ.כג:ה כִּי תִרְאֶה חֲמוֹר שֹׂנַאֲךָ רֹבֵץ תַּחַת מַשָּׂאוֹ וְחָדַלְתָּ מֵעֲזֹב לוֹ עָזֹב תַּעֲזֹב עִמּוֹ.
Exod 23:4 4 When you encounter your enemy’s ox or ass wandering, you must take it back to him.23:5 When you see the ass of your enemy lying under its burden and would refrain from raising it, you must nevertheless raise it with him.
משלי כד:יז בִּנְפֹל (אויביך) [אוֹיִבְךָ] אַל תִּשְׂמָח וּבִכָּשְׁלוֹ אַל יָגֵל לִבֶּךָ.
Prov 24:17If your enemy falls, do not exult; If he trips, let your heart not rejoice.
משלי כה:כא אִם רָעֵב שֹׂנַאֲךָ הַאֲכִלֵהוּ לָחֶם וְאִם צָמֵא הַשְׁקֵהוּ מָיִם.
Prov 25:21 If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; If he is thirsty, give him water to drink.
None of the sources speak of loving the enemy, thus Jesus can be seen as taking the biblical values a step further, which is an important theme in Sermon on the Mount. (In both cases, “enemy” likely refers to “enemy Jews.”) The connection between Jesus’ speech and the verses in the Hebrew Bible is clearer when we remember that “love” here, as in Leviticus 19, refers mainly to actions and not feelings.
A parallel command appears in Luke’s Sermon on the Plain:
Luke 6:27 But I say to you that listen, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,6:28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.6:29 If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt.6:30 Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again.6:31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.6:32 If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.6:33 If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.6:34 If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again.6:35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.[24]
That Jesus is referring to actions rather than feelings is even clearer in Luke than in Matthew, as he adduces practical examples such as charity, praying for one’s enemies, and allowing them to abuse you.
The command to love one’s neighbor as oneself is undoubtedly one of the great contributions of the Hebrew Bible to the ethical development of humanity. In context, the law was primarily concerned with the cohesion and identity of a particular people, yet the application of the “neighbor” would in time be extended to all people, and grounded in the recognition of shared humanity.
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Footnotes
Published
April 27, 2020
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[1] See discussion in, Jon D. Levenson,The Love of God: Divine Gift, Human Gratitude, and Mutual Faithfulness in Judaism (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2016), 1–58.
[2] A notable exception is Richard Elliott Friedman, “Love Your Neighbor – Only Israelites or Everyone?”Biblical Archaeology Review(Sept-Oct 2014): 48-52;idem,“The Exodus, the Alien, and the Neighbor,”TheTorah (2017).
[3] For a recent, thorough, overview, see Kengo Akiyama,The Love of Neighbour in Ancient Judaism. The Reception of Leviticus 19:18 in the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint, the Book of Jubilees, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the New Testament. AGJU 105 (Leiden: Brill, 2018).
[4] Akiyama,The Love of Neighbour, 68.
[5] The Hebrew here follows MS Munich 252.
[6] In this case, Wessely, who was commissioned to write the commentary on Leviticus for Moses Mendelssohn’sBeur, is debating Mendelssohn’s own translation—Mendelssohn translates adverbially, “love your neighbor as you love yourself” (liebe dienen Nächstern wie du dich selbst liebst). Wessely explains the verse to mean that Israelites should love all humanity, since all humans are the same, but his rendering could just as easily be understood to mean “because all Israelites are the same.”
[7] Martin Buber, with Franz Rosenzweig,Die funf Bücher der Weisung(Berlin: Schneider, 1930), 326. Editor’s note: For more on this translation, see Orr Scharf,“Die Schrift: A Non-Territorial Translation of the Land,”TheTorah (2019).
[8] Rolf Rendtorff, “TheGer in the Priestly Laws of the Pentateuch,” inEthnicity and the Bible, ed. Mark G. Brett (Leiden: Brill, 1996), 77-87. Some scholars have argued that the “aliens” in Leviticus and Deuteronomy were either displaced Israelites after the collapse of the northern kingdom or disenfranchised Judeans in the period after the Exile. See Akiyama,The Love of Neighbour, 47-48. The more persuasive view, however, is that they were foreigners, living permanently in Israel or Judah. While theger in Deuteronomy appears to be indigent, he is relatively independent in Leviticus, though still a vulnerable member of society.
[9] Jacob Milgrom,Leviticus 17-22, AB 3A (New York: Doubleday, 2000), 1655. This objection cannot be evaded by appealing to the theory that the “aliens” are either displaced northern Israelites or southerners who have been disenfranchised. The fact that they are called גרים shows that they are not accepted by the author as ethnic Israelites.
[10] This is in accordance with a principle that is stated repeatedly in H. See, e.g., Lev 24:22, מִשְׁפַּט אֶחָד יִהְיֶה לָכֶם כַּגֵּר כָּאֶזְרָח יִהְיֶה “you shall have one law for the alien and for the native born.”
[11] Atar Livneh, “Love Your Fellow as Yourself: The Interpretation of Leviticus 19:17-18 in the Book of Jubilees,”DSD 18(2001): 173-99; Akiyama,The Love of Neighbour, 79-95
[12] Meir,A Marginal Jew, 504, does not accept this as a citation of Lev 19:18b, since the object of love is not the רע but the אח, which he takes to mean a member of the Essene community.
[13] The גר does not appear at all inSerek ha-Yahad, the Community Rule. Editor’s note: For more on the development of the term ger from biblical through Second Temple and rabbinic texts, see Ishay Rosen-Zvi,“In the Torah, Is theGer Ever a Convert?”TheTorah (2019).
[14] In Jewish sources, the maxim phrased this way goes back to the 2nd cent. B.C.E. book of Tobit (4:15), “That which you hate, do not do to anyone” (καὶ ὃ μισεῖς, μηδενὶ ποιήσῃς) and also appears in Philo (ca. 20 B.C.E.–ca. 50 C.E.): “what a man would hate to suffer, he should not do himself to others” (ἅ τις παθεῖν ἐχθαίρει, μὴ ποιεῖν αὐτόν; Hypothetica, 7:6).
[15] All English translations from the New Testament are based on the NRSV but with adjustments.
Κατά Μάρκον 12:28Καὶ προσελθὼν εἷς τῶν γραμματέων ἀκούσας αὐτῶν συζητούντων, ἰδὼν ὅτι καλῶς ἀπεκρίθη αὐτοῖς ἐπηρώτησεν αὐτόν· ποία ἐστὶν ἐντολὴ πρώτη πάντων12:29 ἀπεκρίθη ὁ Ἰησοῦς ὅτι πρώτη ἐστίν· ἄκουε, Ἰσραήλ, κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν κύριος εἷς ἐστιν12:30 καὶ ἀγαπήσεις κύριον τὸν θεόν σου ἐξ ὅλης τῆς καρδίας σου καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ψυχῆς σου καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς διανοίας σου καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ἰσχύος σου.12:31δευτέρα αὕτη· ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν. μείζων τούτων ἄλλη ἐντολὴ οὐκ ἔστιν.
[16] The full passage in Matthew reads:
Matthew 22:34 When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together,22:35 and one of them, an expert in Jewish law asked him a question to test him.22:36 "Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?"22:37 He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’22:38 This is the greatest and first commandment.22:39 And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
Κατά Μαθθαίον 22:34Οἱ δὲ Φαρισαῖοι ἀκούσαντες ὅτι ἐφίμωσεν τοὺς Σαδδουκαίους συνήχθησαν ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό,22:35 καὶ ἐπηρώτησεν εἷς ἐξ αὐτῶν [νομικὸς] πειράζων αὐτόν·22:36 διδάσκαλε, ποία ἐντολὴ μεγάλη ἐν τῷ νόμῳ;22:37 ὁ δὲ ἔφη αὐτῷ· ἀγαπήσεις κύριον τὸν θεόν σου ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ καρδίᾳ σου καὶ ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ ψυχῇ σου καὶ ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ διανοίᾳ σου·22:38 αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ μεγάλη καὶ πρώτη ἐντολή.22:39 δευτέρα δὲ ὁμοία αὐτῇ· ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν.22:40 ἐν ταύταις ταῖς δυσὶν ἐντολαῖς ὅλος ὁ νόμος κρέμαται καὶ οἱ προφῆται.
[17]
ΚατάΛουκάν 10:25 Καὶ ἰδοὺ νομικός τις ἀνέστη ἐκπειράζων αὐτὸν λέγων· διδάσκαλε, τί ποιήσας ζωὴν αἰώνιον κληρονομήσω;10:26 ὁ δὲ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτόν· ἐν τῷ νόμῳ τί γέγραπται; πῶς ἀναγινώσκεις;10:27ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν· ἀγαπήσεις κύριον τὸν θεόν σου ἐξ ὅλης [τῆς] καρδίας σου καὶ ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ ψυχῇ σου καὶ ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ ἰσχύϊ σου καὶ ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ διανοίᾳ σου, καὶ τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν.10:28 εἶπεν δὲ αὐτῷ· ὀρθῶς ἀπεκρίθης· τοῦτο ποίει καὶ ζήσῃ.
[18]
Προς Ρωμαίους 13:8 Μηδενὶ μηδὲν ὀφείλετε εἰ μὴ τὸ ἀλλήλους ἀγαπᾶν· ὁ γὰρ ἀγαπῶν τὸν ἕτερον νόμον πεπλήρωκεν.13:9 τὸ γὰρ οὐ μοιχεύσεις, οὐ φονεύσεις, οὐ κλέψεις, οὐκ ἐπιθυμήσεις, καὶ εἴ τις ἑτέρα ἐντολή, ἐν τῷ λόγῳ τούτῳ ἀνακεφαλαιοῦται [ἐν τῷ]· ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν.13:10 ἡ ἀγάπη τῷ πλησίον κακὸν οὐκ ἐργάζεται· πλήρωμα οὖν νόμου ἡ ἀγάπη.
[19]
προς Γαλάτες ὁ γὰρ πᾶς νόμος ἐν ἑνὶ λόγῳ πεπλήρωται, ἐν τῷ· ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν.
[20] The Johannine tradition does not have this story, but it does have a similar sounding commandment from Jesus himself:
John 13:34 I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.
Κατά Ιωάννην 13:34 Ἐντολὴν καινὴν δίδωμι ὑμῖν, ἵνα ἀγαπᾶτε ἀλλήλους, καθὼς ἠγάπησα ὑμᾶς ἵνα καὶ ὑμεῖς ἀγαπᾶτε ἀλλήλους.
John 15:12 This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
Κατά Ιωάννην 15:12 Αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ ἐντολὴ ἡ ἐμή, ἵνα ἀγαπᾶτε ἀλλήλους καθὼς ἠγάπησα ὑμᾶς.
For fuller discussion of the love commandment in the New Testament see Victor Paul Furnish,The Love Command in the New Testament (Nashville: Abingdon, 1972).
[21] John P. Meier,A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus. IV. Law and Love. AYBRL (New Haven: Yale, 2009), 493.
[22] The entire passage reads:
Luke 10:29 But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”10:30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead.10:31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.10:32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.10:33 But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity.10:34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.10:35 The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’10:36 Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?”10:37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
Κατά Λουκάν 10:29 ὁ δὲ θέλων δικαιῶσαι ἑαυτὸν εἶπεν πρὸς τὸν Ἰησοῦν· καὶ τίς ἐστίν μου πλησίον;10:30Ὑπολαβὼν ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν· ἄνθρωπός τις κατέβαινεν ἀπὸ Ἰερουσαλὴμ εἰς Ἰεριχὼ καὶ λῃσταῖς περιέπεσεν, οἳ καὶ ἐκδύσαντες αὐτὸν καὶ πληγὰς ἐπιθέντες ἀπῆλθον ἀφέντες ἡμιθανῆ.10:31 κατὰ συγκυρίαν δὲ ἱερεύς τις κατέβαινεν ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ ἐκείνῃ καὶ ἰδὼν αὐτὸν ἀντιπαρῆλθεν·10:32 ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ Λευίτης [γενόμενος] κατὰ τὸν τόπον ἐλθὼν καὶ ἰδὼν ἀντιπαρῆλθεν.10:33Σαμαρίτης δέ τις ὁδεύων ἦλθεν κατ᾽ αὐτὸν καὶ ἰδὼν ἐσπλαγχνίσθη,10:34καὶ προσελθὼν κατέδησεν τὰ τραύματα αὐτοῦ ἐπιχέων ἔλαιον καὶ οἶνον, ἐπιβιβάσας δὲ αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τὸ ἴδιον κτῆνος ἤγαγεν αὐτὸν εἰς πανδοχεῖον καὶ ἐπεμελήθη αὐτοῦ.10:35 καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν αὔριον ἐκβαλὼν ἔδωκεν δύο δηνάρια τῷ πανδοχεῖ καὶ εἶπεν· ἐπιμελήθητι αὐτοῦ, καὶ ὅ τι ἂν προσδαπανήσῃς ἐγὼ ἐν τῷ ἐπανέρχεσθαί με ἀποδώσω σοι.10:36 τίς τούτων τῶν τριῶν πλησίον δοκεῖ σοι γεγονέναι τοῦ ἐμπεσόντος εἰς τοὺς λῃστάς;10:37 ὁ δὲ εἶπεν· ὁ ποιήσας τὸ ἔλεος μετ᾽ αὐτοῦ. εἶπεν δὲ αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς· πορεύου καὶ σὺ ποίει ὁμοίως.
[23]
Κατά Μαθθαίον 5:43 Ἠκούσατε ὅτι ἐρρέθη· ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου καὶ μισήσεις τὸν ἐχθρόν σου.5:44 ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω ὑμῖν· ἀγαπᾶτε τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ὑμῶν καὶ προσεύχεσθε ὑπὲρ τῶν διωκόντων ὑμᾶς,5:45 ὅπως γένησθε υἱοὶ τοῦ πατρὸς ὑμῶν τοῦ ἐν οὐρανοῖς, ὅτι τὸν ἥλιον αὐτοῦ ἀνατέλλει ἐπὶ πονηροὺς καὶ ἀγαθοὺς καὶ βρέχει ἐπὶ δικαίους καὶ ἀδίκους.5:46 ἐὰν γὰρ ἀγαπήσητε τοὺς ἀγαπῶντας ὑμᾶς, τίνα μισθὸν ἔχετε; οὐχὶ καὶ οἱ τελῶναι τὸ αὐτὸ ποιοῦσιν;5:47 καὶ ἐὰν ἀσπάσησθε τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς ὑμῶν μόνον, τί περισσὸν ποιεῖτε; οὐχὶ καὶ οἱ ἐθνικοὶ τὸ αὐτὸ ποιοῦσιν;
[24]
Κατά Λουκάν 6:27 Ἀλλ᾽ ὑμῖν λέγω τοῖς ἀκούουσιν· ἀγαπᾶτε τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ὑμῶν, καλῶς ποιεῖτε τοῖς μισοῦσιν ὑμᾶς,6:28 εὐλογεῖτε τοὺς καταρωμένους ὑμᾶς, προσεύχεσθε περὶ τῶν ἐπηρεαζόντων ὑμᾶς.6:29 τῷ τύπτοντί σε ἐπὶ τὴν σιαγόνα πάρεχε καὶ τὴν ἄλλην, καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ αἴροντός σου τὸ ἱμάτιον καὶ τὸν χιτῶνα μὴ κωλύσῃς.6:30 Παντὶ αἰτοῦντί σε δίδου, καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ αἴροντος τὰ σὰ μὴ ἀπαίτει.6:31 Καὶ καθὼς θέλετε ἵνα ποιῶσιν ὑμῖν οἱ ἄνθρωποι ποιεῖτε αὐτοῖς ὁμοίως.6:32 καὶ εἰ ἀγαπᾶτε τοὺς ἀγαπῶντας ὑμᾶς, ποία ὑμῖν χάρις ἐστίν; καὶ γὰρ οἱ ἁμαρτωλοὶ τοὺς ἀγαπῶντας αὐτοὺς ἀγαπῶσιν.6:33 καὶ [γὰρ] ἐὰν ἀγαθοποιῆτε τοὺς ἀγαθοποιοῦντας ὑμᾶς, ποία ὑμῖν χάρις ἐστίν; καὶ οἱ ἁμαρτωλοὶ τὸ αὐτὸ ποιοῦσιν.6:34 καὶ ἐὰν δανίσητε παρ᾽ ὧν ἐλπίζετε λαβεῖν, ποία ὑμῖν χάρις [ἐστίν]; καὶ ἁμαρτωλοὶ ἁμαρτωλοῖς δανίζουσιν ἵνα ἀπολάβωσιν τὰ ἴσα.6:35 πλὴν ἀγαπᾶτε τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ὑμῶν καὶ ἀγαθοποιεῖτε καὶ δανίζετε μηδὲν ἀπελπίζοντες· καὶ ἔσται ὁ μισθὸς ὑμῶν πολύς, καὶ ἔσεσθε υἱοὶ ὑψίστου, ὅτι αὐτὸς χρηστός ἐστιν ἐπὶ τοὺς ἀχαρίστους καὶ πονηρούς.
[1] See discussion in, Jon D. Levenson,The Love of God: Divine Gift, Human Gratitude, and Mutual Faithfulness in Judaism (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2016), 1–58.
[2] A notable exception is Richard Elliott Friedman, “Love Your Neighbor – Only Israelites or Everyone?”Biblical Archaeology Review(Sept-Oct 2014): 48-52;idem,“The Exodus, the Alien, and the Neighbor,”TheTorah (2017).
[3] For a recent, thorough, overview, see Kengo Akiyama,The Love of Neighbour in Ancient Judaism. The Reception of Leviticus 19:18 in the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint, the Book of Jubilees, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the New Testament. AGJU 105 (Leiden: Brill, 2018).
[4] Akiyama,The Love of Neighbour, 68.
[5] The Hebrew here follows MS Munich 252.
[6] In this case, Wessely, who was commissioned to write the commentary on Leviticus for Moses Mendelssohn’sBeur, is debating Mendelssohn’s own translation—Mendelssohn translates adverbially, “love your neighbor as you love yourself” (liebe dienen Nächstern wie du dich selbst liebst). Wessely explains the verse to mean that Israelites should love all humanity, since all humans are the same, but his rendering could just as easily be understood to mean “because all Israelites are the same.”
[7] Martin Buber, with Franz Rosenzweig,Die funf Bücher der Weisung(Berlin: Schneider, 1930), 326. Editor’s note: For more on this translation, see Orr Scharf,“Die Schrift: A Non-Territorial Translation of the Land,”TheTorah (2019).
[8] Rolf Rendtorff, “TheGer in the Priestly Laws of the Pentateuch,” inEthnicity and the Bible, ed. Mark G. Brett (Leiden: Brill, 1996), 77-87. Some scholars have argued that the “aliens” in Leviticus and Deuteronomy were either displaced Israelites after the collapse of the northern kingdom or disenfranchised Judeans in the period after the Exile. See Akiyama,The Love of Neighbour, 47-48. The more persuasive view, however, is that they were foreigners, living permanently in Israel or Judah. While theger in Deuteronomy appears to be indigent, he is relatively independent in Leviticus, though still a vulnerable member of society.
[9] Jacob Milgrom,Leviticus 17-22, AB 3A (New York: Doubleday, 2000), 1655. This objection cannot be evaded by appealing to the theory that the “aliens” are either displaced northern Israelites or southerners who have been disenfranchised. The fact that they are called גרים shows that they are not accepted by the author as ethnic Israelites.
[10] This is in accordance with a principle that is stated repeatedly in H. See, e.g., Lev 24:22, מִשְׁפַּט אֶחָד יִהְיֶה לָכֶם כַּגֵּר כָּאֶזְרָח יִהְיֶה “you shall have one law for the alien and for the native born.”
[11] Atar Livneh, “Love Your Fellow as Yourself: The Interpretation of Leviticus 19:17-18 in the Book of Jubilees,”DSD 18(2001): 173-99; Akiyama,The Love of Neighbour, 79-95
[12] Meir,A Marginal Jew, 504, does not accept this as a citation of Lev 19:18b, since the object of love is not the רע but the אח, which he takes to mean a member of the Essene community.
[13] The גר does not appear at all inSerek ha-Yahad, the Community Rule. Editor’s note: For more on the development of the term ger from biblical through Second Temple and rabbinic texts, see Ishay Rosen-Zvi,“In the Torah, Is theGer Ever a Convert?”TheTorah (2019).
[14] In Jewish sources, the maxim phrased this way goes back to the 2nd cent. B.C.E. book of Tobit (4:15), “That which you hate, do not do to anyone” (καὶ ὃ μισεῖς, μηδενὶ ποιήσῃς) and also appears in Philo (ca. 20 B.C.E.–ca. 50 C.E.): “what a man would hate to suffer, he should not do himself to others” (ἅ τις παθεῖν ἐχθαίρει, μὴ ποιεῖν αὐτόν; Hypothetica, 7:6).
[15] All English translations from the New Testament are based on the NRSV but with adjustments.
Κατά Μάρκον 12:28Καὶ προσελθὼν εἷς τῶν γραμματέων ἀκούσας αὐτῶν συζητούντων, ἰδὼν ὅτι καλῶς ἀπεκρίθη αὐτοῖς ἐπηρώτησεν αὐτόν· ποία ἐστὶν ἐντολὴ πρώτη πάντων12:29 ἀπεκρίθη ὁ Ἰησοῦς ὅτι πρώτη ἐστίν· ἄκουε, Ἰσραήλ, κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν κύριος εἷς ἐστιν12:30 καὶ ἀγαπήσεις κύριον τὸν θεόν σου ἐξ ὅλης τῆς καρδίας σου καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ψυχῆς σου καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς διανοίας σου καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ἰσχύος σου.12:31δευτέρα αὕτη· ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν. μείζων τούτων ἄλλη ἐντολὴ οὐκ ἔστιν.
[16] The full passage in Matthew reads:
Matthew 22:34 When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together,22:35 and one of them, an expert in Jewish law asked him a question to test him.22:36 "Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?"22:37 He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’22:38 This is the greatest and first commandment.22:39 And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
Κατά Μαθθαίον 22:34Οἱ δὲ Φαρισαῖοι ἀκούσαντες ὅτι ἐφίμωσεν τοὺς Σαδδουκαίους συνήχθησαν ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό,22:35 καὶ ἐπηρώτησεν εἷς ἐξ αὐτῶν [νομικὸς] πειράζων αὐτόν·22:36 διδάσκαλε, ποία ἐντολὴ μεγάλη ἐν τῷ νόμῳ;22:37 ὁ δὲ ἔφη αὐτῷ· ἀγαπήσεις κύριον τὸν θεόν σου ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ καρδίᾳ σου καὶ ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ ψυχῇ σου καὶ ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ διανοίᾳ σου·22:38 αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ μεγάλη καὶ πρώτη ἐντολή.22:39 δευτέρα δὲ ὁμοία αὐτῇ· ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν.22:40 ἐν ταύταις ταῖς δυσὶν ἐντολαῖς ὅλος ὁ νόμος κρέμαται καὶ οἱ προφῆται.
[17]
ΚατάΛουκάν 10:25 Καὶ ἰδοὺ νομικός τις ἀνέστη ἐκπειράζων αὐτὸν λέγων· διδάσκαλε, τί ποιήσας ζωὴν αἰώνιον κληρονομήσω;10:26 ὁ δὲ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτόν· ἐν τῷ νόμῳ τί γέγραπται; πῶς ἀναγινώσκεις;10:27ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν· ἀγαπήσεις κύριον τὸν θεόν σου ἐξ ὅλης [τῆς] καρδίας σου καὶ ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ ψυχῇ σου καὶ ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ ἰσχύϊ σου καὶ ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ διανοίᾳ σου, καὶ τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν.10:28 εἶπεν δὲ αὐτῷ· ὀρθῶς ἀπεκρίθης· τοῦτο ποίει καὶ ζήσῃ.
[18]
Προς Ρωμαίους 13:8 Μηδενὶ μηδὲν ὀφείλετε εἰ μὴ τὸ ἀλλήλους ἀγαπᾶν· ὁ γὰρ ἀγαπῶν τὸν ἕτερον νόμον πεπλήρωκεν.13:9 τὸ γὰρ οὐ μοιχεύσεις, οὐ φονεύσεις, οὐ κλέψεις, οὐκ ἐπιθυμήσεις, καὶ εἴ τις ἑτέρα ἐντολή, ἐν τῷ λόγῳ τούτῳ ἀνακεφαλαιοῦται [ἐν τῷ]· ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν.13:10 ἡ ἀγάπη τῷ πλησίον κακὸν οὐκ ἐργάζεται· πλήρωμα οὖν νόμου ἡ ἀγάπη.
[19]
προς Γαλάτες ὁ γὰρ πᾶς νόμος ἐν ἑνὶ λόγῳ πεπλήρωται, ἐν τῷ· ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν.
[20] The Johannine tradition does not have this story, but it does have a similar sounding commandment from Jesus himself:
John 13:34 I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.
Κατά Ιωάννην 13:34 Ἐντολὴν καινὴν δίδωμι ὑμῖν, ἵνα ἀγαπᾶτε ἀλλήλους, καθὼς ἠγάπησα ὑμᾶς ἵνα καὶ ὑμεῖς ἀγαπᾶτε ἀλλήλους.
John 15:12 This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
Κατά Ιωάννην 15:12 Αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ ἐντολὴ ἡ ἐμή, ἵνα ἀγαπᾶτε ἀλλήλους καθὼς ἠγάπησα ὑμᾶς.
For fuller discussion of the love commandment in the New Testament see Victor Paul Furnish,The Love Command in the New Testament (Nashville: Abingdon, 1972).
[21] John P. Meier,A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus. IV. Law and Love. AYBRL (New Haven: Yale, 2009), 493.
[22] The entire passage reads:
Luke 10:29 But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”10:30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead.10:31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.10:32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.10:33 But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity.10:34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.10:35 The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’10:36 Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?”10:37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
Κατά Λουκάν 10:29 ὁ δὲ θέλων δικαιῶσαι ἑαυτὸν εἶπεν πρὸς τὸν Ἰησοῦν· καὶ τίς ἐστίν μου πλησίον;10:30Ὑπολαβὼν ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν· ἄνθρωπός τις κατέβαινεν ἀπὸ Ἰερουσαλὴμ εἰς Ἰεριχὼ καὶ λῃσταῖς περιέπεσεν, οἳ καὶ ἐκδύσαντες αὐτὸν καὶ πληγὰς ἐπιθέντες ἀπῆλθον ἀφέντες ἡμιθανῆ.10:31 κατὰ συγκυρίαν δὲ ἱερεύς τις κατέβαινεν ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ ἐκείνῃ καὶ ἰδὼν αὐτὸν ἀντιπαρῆλθεν·10:32 ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ Λευίτης [γενόμενος] κατὰ τὸν τόπον ἐλθὼν καὶ ἰδὼν ἀντιπαρῆλθεν.10:33Σαμαρίτης δέ τις ὁδεύων ἦλθεν κατ᾽ αὐτὸν καὶ ἰδὼν ἐσπλαγχνίσθη,10:34καὶ προσελθὼν κατέδησεν τὰ τραύματα αὐτοῦ ἐπιχέων ἔλαιον καὶ οἶνον, ἐπιβιβάσας δὲ αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τὸ ἴδιον κτῆνος ἤγαγεν αὐτὸν εἰς πανδοχεῖον καὶ ἐπεμελήθη αὐτοῦ.10:35 καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν αὔριον ἐκβαλὼν ἔδωκεν δύο δηνάρια τῷ πανδοχεῖ καὶ εἶπεν· ἐπιμελήθητι αὐτοῦ, καὶ ὅ τι ἂν προσδαπανήσῃς ἐγὼ ἐν τῷ ἐπανέρχεσθαί με ἀποδώσω σοι.10:36 τίς τούτων τῶν τριῶν πλησίον δοκεῖ σοι γεγονέναι τοῦ ἐμπεσόντος εἰς τοὺς λῃστάς;10:37 ὁ δὲ εἶπεν· ὁ ποιήσας τὸ ἔλεος μετ᾽ αὐτοῦ. εἶπεν δὲ αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς· πορεύου καὶ σὺ ποίει ὁμοίως.
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Κατά Μαθθαίον 5:43 Ἠκούσατε ὅτι ἐρρέθη· ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου καὶ μισήσεις τὸν ἐχθρόν σου.5:44 ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω ὑμῖν· ἀγαπᾶτε τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ὑμῶν καὶ προσεύχεσθε ὑπὲρ τῶν διωκόντων ὑμᾶς,5:45 ὅπως γένησθε υἱοὶ τοῦ πατρὸς ὑμῶν τοῦ ἐν οὐρανοῖς, ὅτι τὸν ἥλιον αὐτοῦ ἀνατέλλει ἐπὶ πονηροὺς καὶ ἀγαθοὺς καὶ βρέχει ἐπὶ δικαίους καὶ ἀδίκους.5:46 ἐὰν γὰρ ἀγαπήσητε τοὺς ἀγαπῶντας ὑμᾶς, τίνα μισθὸν ἔχετε; οὐχὶ καὶ οἱ τελῶναι τὸ αὐτὸ ποιοῦσιν;5:47 καὶ ἐὰν ἀσπάσησθε τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς ὑμῶν μόνον, τί περισσὸν ποιεῖτε; οὐχὶ καὶ οἱ ἐθνικοὶ τὸ αὐτὸ ποιοῦσιν;
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Κατά Λουκάν 6:27 Ἀλλ᾽ ὑμῖν λέγω τοῖς ἀκούουσιν· ἀγαπᾶτε τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ὑμῶν, καλῶς ποιεῖτε τοῖς μισοῦσιν ὑμᾶς,6:28 εὐλογεῖτε τοὺς καταρωμένους ὑμᾶς, προσεύχεσθε περὶ τῶν ἐπηρεαζόντων ὑμᾶς.6:29 τῷ τύπτοντί σε ἐπὶ τὴν σιαγόνα πάρεχε καὶ τὴν ἄλλην, καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ αἴροντός σου τὸ ἱμάτιον καὶ τὸν χιτῶνα μὴ κωλύσῃς.6:30 Παντὶ αἰτοῦντί σε δίδου, καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ αἴροντος τὰ σὰ μὴ ἀπαίτει.6:31 Καὶ καθὼς θέλετε ἵνα ποιῶσιν ὑμῖν οἱ ἄνθρωποι ποιεῖτε αὐτοῖς ὁμοίως.6:32 καὶ εἰ ἀγαπᾶτε τοὺς ἀγαπῶντας ὑμᾶς, ποία ὑμῖν χάρις ἐστίν; καὶ γὰρ οἱ ἁμαρτωλοὶ τοὺς ἀγαπῶντας αὐτοὺς ἀγαπῶσιν.6:33 καὶ [γὰρ] ἐὰν ἀγαθοποιῆτε τοὺς ἀγαθοποιοῦντας ὑμᾶς, ποία ὑμῖν χάρις ἐστίν; καὶ οἱ ἁμαρτωλοὶ τὸ αὐτὸ ποιοῦσιν.6:34 καὶ ἐὰν δανίσητε παρ᾽ ὧν ἐλπίζετε λαβεῖν, ποία ὑμῖν χάρις [ἐστίν]; καὶ ἁμαρτωλοὶ ἁμαρτωλοῖς δανίζουσιν ἵνα ἀπολάβωσιν τὰ ἴσα.6:35 πλὴν ἀγαπᾶτε τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ὑμῶν καὶ ἀγαθοποιεῖτε καὶ δανίζετε μηδὲν ἀπελπίζοντες· καὶ ἔσται ὁ μισθὸς ὑμῶν πολύς, καὶ ἔσεσθε υἱοὶ ὑψίστου, ὅτι αὐτὸς χρηστός ἐστιν ἐπὶ τοὺς ἀχαρίστους καὶ πονηρούς.
Prof. John J. Collins is Holmes Professor Emeritus of Old Testament Criticism and Interpretation at Yale University. He received his Ph. D. from Harvard (1972) and holds honorary degrees from the University College Dublin and the University of Zurich. Collins' most recent books areThe Invention of Judaism. Torah and Jewish Identity from Deuteronomy to Paul (University of California, 2017), andWhat Are Biblical Values? (Yale, 2019). He serves as general editor of the Anchor Yale Bible and Anchor Yale Bible Reference Library and has received the Burkitt medal for biblical scholarship from the British Academy.
Prof. John J. Collins is Holmes Professor Emeritus of Old Testament Criticism and Interpretation at Yale University. He received his Ph. D. from Harvard (1972) and holds honorary degrees from the University College Dublin and the University of Zurich. Collins' most recent books areThe Invention of Judaism. Torah and Jewish Identity from Deuteronomy to Paul (University of California, 2017), andWhat Are Biblical Values? (Yale, 2019). He serves as general editor of the Anchor Yale Bible and Anchor Yale Bible Reference Library and has received the Burkitt medal for biblical scholarship from the British Academy.
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