The Scripture behind the Scripture

Love Thy Neighbour as Thyself

Leviticus 19:18 commands, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Jesus names it the second great commandment in Matthew 22:39, and Paul says it sums up the law in Romans 13:9 and Galatians 5:14.

“Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.”Leviticus 19:18

“And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”Matthew 22:39

“For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”Romans 13:9

“For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”Galatians 5:14

In its own place

In its own place. Leviticus is the book of Israel's worship and holiness, and chapter 19 gathers a wide range of commands under the heading, Ye shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. Amid laws about honesty, justice, care for the poor, and fair dealing, verse 18 says, Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, I am the Lord. In its original setting this command addresses relationships within the covenant community, forbidding vengeance and grudges and requiring active love toward one's fellow Israelite. It sits among very practical instructions, leaving gleanings for the poor, paying wages promptly, not perverting justice, honoring the elderly, and notably, a few verses later, loving the stranger as oneself. So the neighbor in Leviticus, while primarily the fellow member of the community, is not narrowly drawn, for the same chapter extends love to the resident foreigner. The command is grounded in the character of God, I am the Lord, meaning that love of neighbor flows from and reflects the holiness of the God who redeemed Israel. Far from a marginal rule, it distills the social heart of the holiness code, that God's people are to treat one another with the same care they have for themselves.

Where the New Testament takes it up

This is a direct quotation, and it becomes central in the teaching of both Jesus and Paul. In Matthew 22:39 Jesus, having named love for God as the first and great commandment, adds, And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, and declares that on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. He quotes Leviticus 19:18 exactly and gives it a place second only to the Shema, elevating a single verse from the holiness code to the summary of all human duty. Paul goes further in Romans 13:9, listing several commandments and saying they are all comprehended in this saying, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, so that love is the fulfilling of the law. In Galatians 5:14 he says all the law is fulfilled in one word, this same command. The apostles follow the Greek text. Their striking move is to make this verse the interpretive key to the whole moral law, so that every command concerning other people is fulfilled by love. Jesus also expanded the meaning of neighbor in the parable of the good Samaritan, showing that it reaches even to enemies and strangers. The New Testament thus takes a covenant community law and universalizes it as the essence of love toward all.