Go to Related Reading
About this book

Mark

About this book
Chapter 12

1 Then he began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a fence around it,⁠ dug a pit for its winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and went on a journey. 2 At harvest time he sent a slave to the tenants to collect from them his portion of the crop. 3 But those tenants seized his slave, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. 4 So he sent another slave to them again. This one they struck on the head and treated outrageously. 5 He sent another, and that one they killed. This happened to many others, some of whom were beaten, others killed. 6 He had one left, his one dear son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’⁠ 7 But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and the inheritance will be ours!’ 8 So they seized him, killed him, and threw his body out of the vineyard. 9 What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.⁠ 10 Have you not read this scripture:⁠ “‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.⁠ 11 This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?” 12 Now they wanted to arrest him (but they feared the crowd), because they realized that he told this parable against them. So they left him and went away. 13 Then they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to trap him with his own words. 14 When they came they said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are truthful and do not court anyone’s favor because you show no partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we?” 15 But he saw through their hypocrisy and said to them, “Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.”⁠ 16 So they brought one, and he said to them, “Whose image is this, and whose inscription?” They replied, “Caesar’s.” 17 Then Jesus said to them, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”⁠ And they were utterly amazed at him. 18 Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection) also came to him and asked him, 19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us: ‘If a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, that man must marry the widow and father children for his brother.’⁠ 20 There were seven brothers. The first one married, and when he died he had no children. 21 The second married her and died without any children, and likewise the third. 22 None of the seven had children. Finally, the woman died too. 23 In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For all seven had married her.” 24 Jesus said to them, “Aren’t you deceived for this reason because you don’t know the scriptures or the power of God? 25 For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.⁠ 26 Now as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? 27 He is not the God of the dead but of the living. You are badly mistaken!” 28 Now one of the experts in the law came and heard them debating. When he saw that Jesus answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The most important is: ‘Listen, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’⁠ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32 The expert in the law said to him, “That is true, Teacher; you are right to say that he is one, and there is no one else besides him. 33 And to love him with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your strength and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 When Jesus saw that he had answered thoughtfully, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” Then no one dared any longer to question him. 35 While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he said, “How is it that the experts in the law say that the Christ is David’s son? 36 David himself, by the Holy Spirit, said, “‘The Lord said to my lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet.”’ 37 If David himself calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” And the large crowd was listening to him with delight.⁠ 38 In his teaching Jesus also said, “Watch out for the experts in the law. They like walking around in long robes and elaborate greetings in the marketplaces, 39 and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 40 They devour widows’ property, and as a show make long prayers. These men will receive a more severe punishment.” 41 Then he sat down opposite the offering box, and watched the crowd putting coins into it. Many rich people were throwing in large amounts.⁠ 42 And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, worth less than a penny. 43 He called his disciples and said to them, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the offering box than all the others. 44 For they all gave out of their wealth. But she, out of her poverty, put in what she had to live on, everything she had.”⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare LXX Leviticus 19:18 and Mark 12:31 and Pirkei Avot 2:10

Septuagint · New Testament · Rabbinic

Share:

Summary

Leviticus 19 commands love for a neighbor. In Mark 12, Jesus treats this as a central command. Rabbinic tradition in Pirkei Avot similarly values a neighbor's honor, showing how the command develops in later Jewish teaching.

Passages

LXX Leviticus 19:18

Septuagint
17 You shall not hate your brother in your heart: you shall surely rebuke your neighbor, so you shall not bear sin on his account. 18 And your hand shall not avenge you; and you shall not be angry with the children of your people; and you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord. 19 You shall observe my law: you shall not let your cattle breed with one of a different kind, and you shall not sow your vineyard with diverse seed; and you shall not put upon yourself a mingled garment woven of two materials.
300–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in LXX Leviticus

Mark 12:31

New Testament
30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32 The expert in the law said to him, “That is true, Teacher; you are right to say that he is one, and there is no one else besides him.
60–75 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Mark

Pirkei Avot 2:10

Rabbinic · Mishnah
10 They each said three things. Rabbi Eliezer said: Let the honor of your friend be as dear to you as your own; do not be easily provoked to anger; and repent one day before your death. He also said: warm yourself before the fire of the wise, but beware of being singed by their glowing coals, for their bite is the bite of a fox, their sting is the sting of a scorpion, their hiss is the hiss of a serpent, and all their words are like coals of fire. 11 Rabbi Joshua said: an evil eye, the evil inclination, and hatred for humankind put a person out of the world. 12 Rabbi Yose said: Let the property of your fellow be as precious to you as your own; make yourself fit to study Torah, for it will not be yours by inheritance; and let all your actions be for the sake of the name of Heaven.
190–230 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Pirkei Avot

References

"... Despite the fact that the book of Leviticus is not frequently quoted among those from the Pentateuch by Mark, Matthew and the Lukan writings, at least one clear allusion and five explicit quotations from Leviticus are to be found in the Synoptic Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles ... in the early second century CE, Rabbi Akiba “spoke of the same passage (Leviticus 19:18) as ‘the greatest general principle in the Torah’” (see Genesis Rabbah 24:7 and Sifra on Leviticus 19:18). Other pre-Christian Jewish sources which also include the summary of the law, are to be found in “Tobit 4:15 (compare Sirach 31:15), Letter of Aristeas 207-208 (with the positive also indicated), and the Jerusalem Targum of Leviticus 19:18.” Despite being rare, the positive form can also be found in pre-Christian Jewish literature (Letter of Aristeas 20; 2 Enoch 61:2; Pirkei Avot 2.10, 12) ... Some interesting intertextual connections regarding Leviticus 19:18 can also be found in both the Testament of Dan, as well as in the Testament of Issachar. But it is especially Leviticus 19:18 which displays a broad early Christian trajectory, covering the Pauline and Gospel traditions, the Western text, Acts 15:20 and 15:28, as well as the Didache (Didache 1:2), the early Church Fathers (Barnabas 19.5; Justin Martyr, Dialogue 93.2) and the Coptic Gospel of Thomas 6. It is no surprise that the New Testament writers frequently quote the so-called “golden rule”, or “rule of reciprocity” from Leviticus 19:18. They probably traced the origins of the “golden rule” back to a Logion in the Jesus-tradition which contained Jesus’ own summary of the law ..."
Gert J. Steyn, “The Text Form of the Leviticus Quotations in the Synoptic Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles,” in The Text of Leviticus: Proceedings of the Third International Colloquium of the Dominique Barthélemy Institute, ed. Innocent Himbaza (Leuven: Peeters, 2020), 205–242.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

Tags

Your feedback

LXX Leviticus 19:18 and Mark 12:31 and Pirkei Avot 2:10

Leave a comment

Your questions and comments are welcome!

Comments

Glossary

Search the Library