Texts in Conversation
Matthew 7 and 2 Enoch 61 both use the Golden Rule, teaching to treat others in ways they themselves would want to be treated. The shared teaching points to a widespread ethical tradition throughout Jewish, Christian, and other cultures.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
2 Enoch 61:1
Secrets of Enoch
Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
1 And now, my children, keep your hearts from every injustice, which the Lord hates. Just as a man asks for his own soul from God, so let him do to every living soul, 2 because I know all things, how in the great time many dwellings are prepared for men, good for the good, and bad for the bad, many without number.
Date: 1–100 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
Matthew 7:12
New Testament
7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened for you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 Is there anyone among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 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.
Date: 70–90 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Hillel, like Philo, derives the notion from the Law. A special case is 2 Enoch 61:1: 'And just as a person makes request for his own soul from God, in the same manner let him behave toward every living soul.' Although this formula lacks mutuality and identity of actions, it begins with the desires of the human heart and requests corresponding conduct toward the other. The work, however, is undatable and so full of Christian scribal glosses that it is difficult to know if it is a predecessor of Jesus' own formulation ..."
John Topel, “The Tarnished Golden Rule (Luke 6:31): The Inescapable Radicalness of Christian Ethics,” TS 59 (1998): 475–485.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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