by Douglas Ward, Ph.D.
The nineteenth chapter of Leviticus is one of the Bible's richest sources of ethical instruction. Verse 18 includes the commandment, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself", a cornerstone of the teaching of Jesus.
Other verses in this chapter describe specific ways in which one can show love to one's neighbor. Through the centuries, the people of God have meditated on these verses, pondering the implications of every word in an earnest desire to follow their Creator faithfully.
Consider verses 17-18, the passage immediately preceding the love commandment: "You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor lest you incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people [...]." This instruction, known as the law of reproach, directs believers to confront those who have wronged them and seek reconciliation rather than nurse a grudge.
Several aspects of the law of reproach have prompted deep reflection.(1) One is the variety of sins that can result from harboring hidden hatred. These include slander (mentioned in verse 16) and deceit. If someone has offended us, we may hide our grievance in front of that person while airing it to others behind his back. Proverbs 10:18 seems to address such a scenario: "The one who conceals hatred has lying lips, and whoever utters slander is a fool."
Anger is a further negative consequence of failing to deal directly with an offense. The Wisdom of Ben Sirach (late second century B.C.) declares, "How much better it is to rebuke than to fume!" (20:2).
A second issue raised by Lev 19:17 is the question of how to apply this commandment within a community of faith. We know in part how the Qumran sectarians set up formal procedures to implement the law of reproach. Their Community Rule (IQS 5:25-6:1) specifies that a member with a complaint against another member was to bring his grievance to the second member in the presence of witnesses. If that effort to resolve the problem was unsuccessful, an official complaint could be presented to the entire group.
In Matt 18:15-17, Jesus describes a similar process for resolving conflicts in Christian communities. In the first step, the offended party goes to the offender privately to seek reconciliation. If the problem remains unresolved, the next step is to confront the offender in the presence of witnesses. Only as a last resort is the grievance brought to the whole community.
A third question about Lev 19:17 concerns the way one should "reason with" or rebuke someone who has caused offense. The Hebrew text combines the verb for "reason with" with its infinitive absolute. This grammatical construction, sometimes known as a "doubling" of the verb, frequently occurs in the Hebrew Scriptures as a form of emphasis. In English translations, the emphasis is conveyed with an appropriate adverb.
A very literal translation of Lev 19:17 would say something like, "rebuking you shall rebuke your neighbor." Modern Bible translations use a variety of verb/adverb combinations to try and capture the intended sense of this phrase.(2)
Some ancient interpreters believed that the doubling of the verb in Lev 19:17 also implied that the rebuke should be repeated if necessary. Suppose that the rebuked responds well to the words of the rebuker, leading to reconciliation. What if the rebuked repeats the offense? Sifra (a rabbinic commentary on Leviticus from about the third century A.D.) addresses such a scenario. Sifra states that in this situation, a cycle of rebuke and reconciliation can be extended four or five times. This source cautions however that such confrontation should not be repeated so much that the offender is humiliated, since Lev 19:17 warns against "incurring sin because of him.”(3) Similarly, the Babylonian Talmud, in a listing of several commandments containing doubled verbs, includes the statement that one should rebuke an offending brother "even a hundred times" if necessary.(4)
There is a gospel passage related to this discussion. After Jesus explains the conflict resolution procedure of Matt 18:15-17 to his disciples, Peter asks, "Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" (Matt 18:21) Here Peter seems to be thinking of this same sort of continuing cycle of repeated sin, rebuke, and apology. How long should this pattern be endured?
Jesus goes to the heart of the matter with a parable about an unforgiving servant (vv. 23-35). In it, a servant was forgiven a huge debt but fails to show similar mercy to someone who owes him a much smaller amount. This teaching-story reminds us that any offense we may be asked to forgive pales in comparison to how much God has forgiven us. As a result, we should place no limit on the number of times we are willing to forgive one another (v. 22).
This mandate to forgive from King Jesus points his people back to the beginning of Lev 19, "You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy". He reminds us that the foundation of biblical ethics is the character and example of YHWH. In considering how we should love our neighbor, divine love is our guide. As we read in I John 3:16, "By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers."
Amazing, isn't it? This brief study of Lev 19:17 illustrates how we are supported by a great cloud of witnesses" in our quest to be faithful. A treasure house of wisdom for each chapter and verse, gathered over centuries, enriches our Spirit-inspired efforts to hear and walk out sacred scripture in community. Their real value shines as they provide insight into the life, words and work of Jesus, the "founder and perfecter of our faith" (Heb 12:2).
Footnotes:
(1) Dr. James L. Kugel explores the history of interpretation of Lev 19:17 in Chapter 8 of his book In Potiphar's House: The Interpretive Life of Biblical Texts, HarperSanFrancisco, 1990.
(2) The ESV and NIV call for reasoning or rebuke to be done "frankly." The HCSB says, "Rebuke your neighbor directly," and the NLT says, "Confront people directly." The NKJV uses "surely rebuke," while the NASB and NET opt for "surely reprove."
(3) See Kugel, p. 225.
(4) See Baba Metzia 31a-b.
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