Love Your Neighbor: How It Became the Golden Rule

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.

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).

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).

Akiyama, The Love of Neighbour, 68.

The Hebrew here follows MS Munich 252.

In this case, Wessely, who was commissioned to write the commentary on Leviticus for Moses Mendelssohn’s Beur, 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.”

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).

Rolf Rendtorff, “The Ger in the Priestly Laws of the Pentateuch,” in Ethnicity 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 the ger in Deuteronomy appears to be indigent, he is relatively independent in Leviticus, though still a vulnerable member of society.

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.

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.”

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

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.

The גר does not appear at all in Serek 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 the Ger Ever a Convert?” TheTorah (2019).

In Jewish sources, the maxim phrased this way goes back to the 2^nd 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).

All English translations from the New Testament are based on the NRSV but with adjustments.

^{Κατά Μάρκον 12:28} Καὶ προσελθὼν εἷς τῶν γραμματέων ἀκούσας αὐτῶν συζητούντων, ἰδὼν ὅτι καλῶς ἀπεκρίθη αὐτοῖς ἐπηρώτησεν αὐτόν· ποία ἐστὶν ἐντολὴ πρώτη πάντων ^12:29 ἀπεκρίθη ὁ Ἰησοῦς ὅτι πρώτη ἐστίν· ἄκουε, Ἰσραήλ, κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν κύριος εἷς ἐστιν ^12:30 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. ^12:31 δευτέρα αὕτη· ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν. μείζων τούτων ἄλλη ἐντολὴ οὐκ ἔστιν.

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 22:34} Οἱ 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.

^{Κατά Λουκάν 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; ^10:27 ὁ 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.

^{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.

^{προς Γαλάτες} ὁ γὰρ πᾶς νόμος ἐν ἑνὶ λόγῳ πεπλήρωται, ἐν τῷ· ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν.

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).

John P. Meier, A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus. IV. Law and Love. AYBRL (New Haven: Yale, 2009), 493.

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; ^10:30 Ὑπολαβὼν 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. ^10:33 Σαμαρίτης δέ τις ὁδεύων ἦλθεν κατ᾽ αὐτὸν καὶ ἰδὼν ἐσπλαγχνίσθη, ^10:34 καὶ 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.

^{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;

^{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.