The Great Commandment (or Greatest Commandment) is a name used in the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chris ...

to describe the first of two commandments cited by

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...

in , , and in answer to him in : Most

Christian denomination A Christian denomination is a distinct Religion, religious body within Christianity that comprises all Church (congregation), church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadersh ...

s consider these two commandments as, together, forming the core of the

Christian religion Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

New Testament accounts

Gospel of Matthew

Gospel of Mark

In the Gospel of Mark, the

Shema ''Shema Yisrael'' (''Shema Israel'' or ''Sh'ma Yisrael''; he , שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל ''Šəmaʿ Yīsrāʾēl'', "Hear, O Israel") is a Jewish prayer (known as the Shema) that serves as a centerpiece of the morning and evening Jewis ...

is included:

Gospel of Luke

Old Testament references

Leviticus 19:18

Deuteronomy

Love the Lord thy God

Matthew Henry Matthew Henry (18 October 166222 June 1714) was a Nonconformist minister and author, who was born in Wales but spent much of his life in England. He is best known for the six-volume biblical commentary ''Exposition of the Old and New Testaments ...

sums up the question of which is the great commandment: Adam Clarke, in his ''Commentary on the Bible'', wrote: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God" is explained to mean "Act in such a manner that God will be beloved by all His creatures." Consequently,

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, being, as the priest-people, enjoined like the Aaronite priest to sanctify the

name of God There are various names of God, many of which enumerate the various qualities of a Supreme Being. The English word ''god'' (and its equivalent in other languages) is used by multiple religions as a noun to refer to different deities, or spec ...

and avoid whatever tends to desecrate it (Lev. xxii. 32), is not only obliged to give his life as witness or martyr for the maintenance of the true faith (see Isa. xliii. 12, μάρτυρες; and Pesik. 102b; Sifra, Emor, ix.), but so to conduct himself in every way as to prevent the name of God from being dishonored by non-Israelites. Twice every day the Jew recites the ''

Shema Yisrael ''Shema Yisrael'' (''Shema Israel'' or ''Sh'ma Yisrael''; he , שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל ''Šəmaʿ Yīsrāʾēl'', "Hear, O Israel") is a Jewish prayer (known as the Shema) that serves as a centerpiece of the morning and evening Jewi ...

'', which contains the words: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy might" (Deut. vi. 5). This verse is understood to enjoin him to willingly surrender life and fortune whenever the cause of God demands it, while it at the same time urges him to make God beloved by all his creatures through deeds of kindness, as

Abraham Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Je ...

did (Sifre, Deut. 32). Although only asked about the first commandment, Jesus included the second commandment in his answer. This double reference has given rise to differing views with regard to the relationship that exists between the two commandments, although typically "love thy God" is referred to as "the first and greatest commandment", with "love thy neighbor" being referred to as "the second great commandment". It may simply reflect the " seven rules (Middot) of Hillel", in this case the first one, called Ḳal wa-ḥomer (Hebrew: קל וחומר).

Love your neighbor as yourself

When asked what the greatest commandment is, the Christian New Testament depicts Jesus answering: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind," before adding: "‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these." Most Christian denominations view these two commandments as, together, forming the core of the Christian religion. The second passage is considered to be a form of the Golden Rule. Plaut, ''The Torah — A Modern Commentary''; Union of American Hebrew Congregations, New York 1981; pp.892.

References

Notes

Citations

{{Authority control Biblical law Biblical phrases Book of Deuteronomy Book of Leviticus Christian ethics in the Bible Christian terminology Codes of conduct Commandments Doctrines and teachings of Jesus Early Christianity and Judaism Gospel of Mark Gospel of Matthew Gospel of Luke Jewish theology Love New Testament theology Positive Mitzvoth Superlatives in religion