The Greatest Commandment: Love God and Neighbor
Mark 12:28-34
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Mark.12.28 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- Και: CONJ
- προσελθων: PART,aor,act,nom,m,sg
- εις: PREP
- των: ART,gen,pl,m
- γραμματεων: NOUN,gen,pl,m
- ακουσας: VERB,aor,act,part,nom,m,sg
- αυτων: PRON,gen,pl,m
- συζητουντων: VERB,pres,act,part,gen,pl,m
- ιδων: VERB,aor,act,part,nom,sg,m
- οτι: CONJ
- καλως: ADV
- απεκριθη: VERB,aor,mid,ind,3,sg
- αυτοις: PRO,dat,pl,3
- επηρωτησεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- αυτον·Ποια: PRON,acc,sg,3
- εστιν: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
- εντολη: NOUN,nom,sg,f
- πρωτη: ADJ,nom,sg,f
- παντων: ADJ,gen,pl,m
Parallels
- Matthew 22:36 (verbal): Parallel Gospel scene: a scribe asks the same question ('Which is the greatest commandment?') and Jesus gives the same answer.
- Luke 10:25-28 (thematic): A lawyer asks about inheriting eternal life; Jesus cites loving God and neighbor as the decisive commandments and basis for eternal life (connected teaching and ethical focus).
- Deuteronomy 6:4-5 (quotation): The Shema ('Hear, O Israel... love the LORD your God') is the Old Testament source Jesus cites as the first/primary commandment.
- Leviticus 19:18 (quotation): The command to 'love your neighbor as yourself' is the Old Testament source Jesus cites as the second commandment linked to the first.
- Romans 13:9-10 (thematic): Paul summarizes the law by saying that love fulfills the commandments, echoing Jesus' identification of love of God and neighbor as the law's core.
Alternative generated candidates
- One of the scribes came near, heard them disputing, and seeing that he had answered them well, asked him, "Which commandment is first of all?"
- Then one of the scribes came near and, having heard them disputing and seeing that he had answered them well, asked him, 'Which commandment is first of all?'
Mark.12.29 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- απεκριθη: VERB,aor,mid,ind,3,sg
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- Ιησους: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- οτι: CONJ
- Πρωτη: ADJ,nom,sg,f
- εστιν·Ακουε: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg+VERB,pres,act,imp,2,sg
- Ισραηλ: NOUN,voc,sg,m
- κυριος: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- θεος: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- ημων: PRON,gen,pl,1
- κυριος: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- εις: PREP
- εστιν: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 6:4 (quotation): The Shema — 'Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.' This is the direct source Jesus cites.
- Matthew 22:37-38 (quotation): Parallel Gospel account where Jesus cites the Shema as the first and greatest commandment.
- Luke 10:27 (thematic): Commands love of God with whole heart, soul, strength and mind — echoes the Shema's demand for total devotion.
- Isaiah 45:5 (allusion): Declaration of divine uniqueness ('I am the LORD, and there is no other') resonates with the Shema's affirmation of God's oneness.
Alternative generated candidates
- Jesus answered, "The first is, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.'
- Jesus answered, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
Mark.12.30 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- και: CONJ
- αγαπησεις: VERB,fut,act,ind,2,sg
- κυριον: NOUN,acc,sg,m
- τον: ART,acc,sg,m
- θεον: NOUN,acc,sg,m
- σου: PRON,gen,sg,2
- εξ: PREP
- ολης: ADJ,gen,sg,f
- της: ART,gen,sg,f
- καρδιας: NOUN,gen,sg,f
- σου: PRON,gen,sg,2
- και: CONJ
- εξ: PREP
- ολης: ADJ,gen,sg,f
- της: ART,gen,sg,f
- ψυχης: NOUN,gen,sg,f
- σου: PRON,gen,sg,2
- και: CONJ
- εξ: PREP
- ολης: ADJ,gen,sg,f
- της: ART,gen,sg,f
- διανοιας: NOUN,gen,sg,f
- σου: PRON,gen,sg,2
- και: CONJ
- εξ: PREP
- ολης: ADJ,gen,sg,f
- της: ART,gen,sg,f
- ισχυος: NOUN,gen,sg,f
- σου: PRON,gen,sg,2
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 6:5 (quotation): Mark's wording directly quotes the Shema command to love the Lord with all heart, soul, and strength (central Old Testament source for this command).
- Deuteronomy 6:4 (structural): The preceding line of the Shema ('Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one') frames the context for Deut 6:5 and is implicitly present in Jesus' citation.
- Matthew 22:37 (verbal): Parallel Synoptic rendering where Jesus gives the same command as the greatest commandment, nearly identical language to Mark 12:30.
- Luke 10:27 (verbal): Another Gospel parallel in which the double command (love God and love neighbor) is cited in response to the question about inheriting eternal life.
- Leviticus 19:18 (thematic): Source of the command to 'love your neighbor as yourself,' which Mark pairs with the command to love God (Mark 12:31), forming the double love-command tradition.
Alternative generated candidates
- And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength."
- 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'
Mark.12.31 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- δευτερα: ADJ,nom,sg,f
- αυτη·Αγαπησεις: PRON,nom,sg,f + VERB,fut,act,ind,2,sg
- τον: ART,acc,sg,m
- πλησιον: NOUN,acc,sg,m
- σου: PRON,gen,sg,2
- ως: ADV
- σεαυτον: PRON,acc,sg,m
- μειζων: ADJ,comp,nom,sg,m
- τουτων: PRON,gen,pl,m
- αλλη: ADJ,nom,sg,f
- εντολη: NOUN,nom,sg,f
- ουκ: PART,neg
- εστιν: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
Parallels
- Leviticus 19:18 (quotation): The original Torah injunction: 'Love your neighbor as yourself'—Jesus cites this OT law as the basis for the command.
- Matthew 22:39 (verbal): Synoptic parallel in which Jesus names this as the 'second' greatest commandment, paired with loving God (the first).
- Luke 10:27 (verbal): An expert in the law quotes the same twofold summary—love God and 'love your neighbor as yourself'—in response to 'What must I do?'.
- Romans 13:9 (allusion): Paul lists 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself' among the commandments and argues that love is the fulfillment of the law.
- Galatians 5:14 (quotation): Paul declares the whole law is fulfilled in the single command, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself,' applying it as the ethic that fulfills the law.
Alternative generated candidates
- And the second is this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these.
- 'The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.'
Mark.12.32 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- και: CONJ
- ειπεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- αυτω: PRON,dat,sg,m
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- γραμματευς·Καλως: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- διδασκαλε: NOUN,voc,sg,m
- επ᾽αληθειας: ADV
- ειπες: VERB,aor,act,ind,2,sg
- οτι: CONJ
- εις: PREP
- εστιν: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
- και: CONJ
- ουκ: PART,neg
- εστιν: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
- αλλος: ADJ,nom,sg,m
- πλην: PREP
- αυτου·: PRON,gen,sg,3
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 6:4 (quotation): The scribe's affirmation echoes the Shema ('Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one'), the central Old Testament confession of monotheism that Jesus cites earlier in the dialogue.
- Mark 12:29 (quotation): Immediately before the scribe's response Jesus himself quotes the Shema as the foremost commandment; the scribe here affirms Jesus' statement about the oneness of God within the same pericope.
- Isaiah 44:6 (allusion): Isaiah's declaration ('I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god') resonates with the scribe's exclusive affirmation of the one God, underscoring biblical monotheism and divine uniqueness.
- Exodus 20:3 (thematic): The Decalogue's command 'You shall have no other gods before me' provides the legal/ethical background for the scribe's claim that there is only one God and no other beside him.
- 1 Corinthians 8:4 (verbal): Paul's statement ('...an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no God but one') uses near-verbal language to assert the same theological conviction of monotheism echoed by the scribe in Mark.
Alternative generated candidates
- The scribe said to him, "Well said, Teacher; you have spoken rightly, that he is one and there is no other but he.
- The scribe said to him, 'Teacher, you have spoken well; you are right in saying that he is one and there is no other besides him.'
Mark.12.33 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- και: CONJ
- το: ART,acc,sg,n
- αγαπαν: VERB,pres,act,inf
- αυτον: PRON,acc,sg,m
- εξ: PREP
- ολης: ADJ,gen,sg,f
- της: ART,gen,sg,f
- καρδιας: NOUN,gen,sg,f
- και: CONJ
- εξ: PREP
- ολης: ADJ,gen,sg,f
- της: ART,gen,sg,f
- συνεσεως: NOUN,gen,sg,f
- και: CONJ
- εξ: PREP
- ολης: ADJ,gen,sg,f
- της: ART,gen,sg,f
- ισχυος: NOUN,gen,sg,f
- και: CONJ
- το: ART,acc,sg,n
- αγαπαν: VERB,pres,act,inf
- τον: ART,acc,sg,m
- πλησιον: NOUN,acc,sg,m
- ως: ADV
- εαυτον: PRON,acc,sg,masc,reflex
- περισσοτερον: ADV,comp
- εστιν: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
- παντων: ADJ,gen,pl,m
- των: ART,gen,pl,m
- ολοκαυτωματων: NOUN,gen,pl,n
- και: CONJ
- θυσιων: NOUN,gen,pl,f
Parallels
- Matthew 22:37-40 (quotation): Jesus cites the two greatest commandments—love God wholly and love your neighbor—as the sum of the law and prophets, paralleling the statement praised in Mark 12:33.
- Luke 10:27 (verbal): The scribe’s formulation in Luke matches the wording in Mark, pairing Deut. 6:5 and Lev. 19:18: love God with whole heart/mind/strength and love neighbor as yourself.
- Deuteronomy 6:5 (quotation): The Shema command to 'love the LORD your God with all your heart' is the Old Testament source for the first part of the double command cited in Mark 12:33.
- Leviticus 19:18 (quotation): 'Love your neighbor as yourself' is the Old Testament source for the second command in Mark 12:33 and is directly invoked as the neighbor-love command.
- Romans 13:9 (thematic): Paul cites 'Love your neighbor as yourself' as a fulfillment/summing up of the commandments, echoing Mark’s claim that love of God and neighbor transcends ritual offerings.
Alternative generated candidates
- To love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."
- 'To love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is far more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.'
Mark.12.34 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- και: CONJ
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- Ιησους: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- ιδων: VERB,aor,act,part,nom,sg,m
- αυτον: PRON,acc,sg,m
- οτι: CONJ
- νουνεχως: ADV
- απεκριθη: VERB,aor,mid,ind,3,sg
- ειπεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- αυτω·Ου: PRON,dat,sg,m
- μακραν: ADV
- ει: VERB,pres,act,ind,2,sg
- απο: PREP
- της: ART,gen,sg,f
- βασιλειας: NOUN,gen,sg,f
- του: ART,gen,sg,n
- θεου: NOUN,gen,sg,m
- και: CONJ
- ουδεις: PRON,nom,sg,m
- ουκετι: ADV
- ετολμα: VERB,impf,act,ind,3,sg
- αυτον: PRON,acc,sg,m
- επερωτησαι: VERB,aor,act,inf
Parallels
- Luke 20:39-40 (verbal): Parallel pericope in Luke: repeats Jesus' commendation ('You are not far from the kingdom of God') and the closing line that no one dared ask him any more questions.
- Matthew 22:36-40 (verbal): Parallel account of the same question about the greatest commandment; Jesus gives the same twofold answer (love God and neighbor), the immediate context for Mark 12:34.
- Luke 10:27 (verbal): An earlier Lukan episode where the expert in the law cites the identical twofold command ('Love the Lord your God... and your neighbor as yourself'), echoing the scribe's answer praised in Mark 12:34.
- Deuteronomy 6:5 (quotation): The Old Testament source for the first part of Jesus' answer ('Love the LORD your God'), which Jesus and the scribe invoke in the exchange.
- Leviticus 19:18 (quotation): The OT source for the second part of the twofold command ('Love your neighbor as yourself'), quoted by Jesus and affirmed by the scribe in the discussion praised in Mark 12:34.
Alternative generated candidates
- And when Jesus saw that he answered with insight, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And no one thereafter dared to ask him any question.
- When Jesus saw that he answered with understanding, he said to him, 'You are not far from the kingdom of God.' And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.
One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing; and seeing that he had answered them well, he asked him, "Which commandment is first of all?"
Jesus answered, "The first is: Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your understanding and with all your strength.
The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these."
The scribe said to him, "Well said, Teacher; you are right in saying that he is one, and there is no other but he. And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."
When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And after that no one dared to ask him any question.