Online Journal Article: "Love Of Neighbor As Great Commandment In The Time Of Jesus: Grasping At Straws In The Hebrew Scriptures" JETS 60/2 (2017): 265–81

https://www.etsjets.org/files/JETS-PDFs/60/60-2/JETS_60-2_265-281_Kelly.pdf

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https://www.etsjets.org/files/JETS-PDFs/60/60-2/JETS_60-2_265-281_Kelly.pdf

From the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society (JETS)
JETS 60/2 (2017): 265–81
"LOVE OF NEIGHBOR AS GREAT COMMANDMENT IN THE
TIME OF JESUS: GRASPING AT STRAWS IN THE HEBREW
SCRIPTURES"
by HENRY ANSGAR KELLY
Abstract: One’s “neighbor,” generously interpreted to include everyone else in the world, even
personal and impersonal enemies, looms large in the NT, especially in the form of the second
great commandment, and in various expressions of the Golden Rule. The NT also contains
expansive claims that neighbors have a similar importance in the OT. The main basis that
commentators cite for these claims is a half-verse in the middle of Leviticus (“You shall love
your neighbor as yourself,” 19:18b), as fully justifying these claims, supported by other isolated
verses, notably, Exod 23:45, on rescuing the ass of one’s enemy. Relying on these verses has the
appearance of grasping at straws in order to justify the words of Jesus, but it seems clear that in
the time of Jesus they had indeed been searched out and elevated to new significance. John Meier
has recently argued that it was Jesus himself who gave the Levitical neighbor his high standing,
but because the Gospels present the notion as already known, this article suggests that it had
achieved a consensus status by this time.
Key words: love, neighbor, Golden Rule, Great Commandment, enemy