Matthew 7:12

New Testament

10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you then, although you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! 12 In everything, treat others as you would want them to treat you, for this fulfills the law and the prophets. 13 “Enter through the narrow gate because the gate is wide and the way is spacious that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. 14 How narrow is the gate and difficult the way that leads to life, and there are few who find it!

Avot D'Rabbi Natan 26

Mishnah
Rabbinic

Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar would say: When the people of Israel are in foreign lands, they worship idolatry without meaning to. How so? A Samaritan makes a party for his son. He sends out an invitation to all the Jews in his city. Even though they eat and drink their own food, and bring their own attendants who stand and pour for them, it is still considered as if they ate from the sacrifices of the dead, as it says (Exodus 34:15), “They will call to you, and you will eat their sacrifices.”Rabbi Eliezer HaModa’i would say: Anyone who violates the Sabbath, scorns the festivals, disregards circumcision, or attempts to reveal the flaws of the Torah, even though he may be learned in Torah and have done many good deeds, he has no share in the World to Come. Rabbi Akiva would say: Anyone who marries a woman who is not proper for him transgresses five commandments: “Do not take vengeance” (Leviticus 19:18), “Do not bear a grudge” (ibid.), “Do not hate your brother in your heart” (Leviticus 19:17), “Love your fellow as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18), and “Let your brother live with you” (Leviticus 25:36). Because he will hate her he will want her to die, and this will cause fewer children to be born into the world.

 Notes and References

"... Elagabalus’s successor, Alexander Severus (222–35), according to the Historia Augusta (Alexander Severus 22.4), respected the privileges of the Jews. So great were his sympathies for the Jews that he was taunted by the people of Antioch, of Egypt, and of Alexandria with the title “Syrian synagogue-chief and high priest.” Moreover, so intense was his admiration for Abraham that he is said to have kept a bust of him (Alexander Severus 29.2), together with busts of Jesus, Orpheus, and others, in his private sanctuary. Furthermore (Alexander Severus 45.6–7), before naming anyone to important administrative or military positions, he would announce his name publicly and invite people to challenge the nomination, declaring that in doing so he was following the example of Jews and Christians, who observed this custom in announcing the names of those who were to be ordained priests. In addition, we are told (Alexander Severus 51.6–8) that he often repeated the statement that he had heard from either a Jew or a Christian, “What you do not wish that a man should do to you, do not do to him”—the Golden Rule ascribed to Hillel (Shabbath 31a), to Rabbi Akiva (Avoth de-Rabbi Nathan B 26, p. 53 (Schechter), and (and in a positive formulation) to Jesus (Matthew 7:12, Luke 6:31) ..."

Feldman, Louis H. Jew and Gentile in the Ancient World: Attitudes and Interactions from Alexander to Justinian (pp. 101-102) Princeton University Press, 1993

 User Comments

Do you have questions or comments about these texts? Please submit them here.