Theology

Isaiah 11:3b-5

He shall not judge by what his eyes see,

or decide by what his ears hear;

4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,

and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;

he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,

and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.

5 Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist,

and fa

Matt 7:2 Measure
The imagery of the second comes from grain contracts in which it was frequently specified that grain delivery and payment therefore would be measured with the same instrument — that of  [Matt., p. 319] the purchaser (see Couroyer, RB 77 [1970] 366–70). S

Hillel and the Golden Rule:

The statement attributed to Hillel, "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor; this is the whole Torah; all the rest is commentary," appears in the Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Shabbat 31a. Here's the relevant passage:

> אָמַר הִלְיוּן אַבְטָא רַבּוּת שֶׁמָּה נָבוֹן וּמָה נָבוֹן אֵלֶּה שֶׁנֶּאֱמָר לְךָ בְּשַׁבּ

Tobit 4:15 and the Golden Rule:

15 And what you hate, do not do to anyone

The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), Tob 4:14–15.

ISBE on the Intertexts to the Golden Rule

The general principle of reciprocity embodied in the “golden rule” is not unique to Jesus’ teaching. Among the Greeks, Isocrates stated a similar principle: “You should be such in your dealings with others as you expect me to be in my dealings with you” (Nicocles or The Cyprians 49). Similar maxims are found

2 Chronicles 7:14 in Rabbinic Literature

Jerusalem Talmud Taʿanit 2.65B.3: R. Eleazar (ca. 270) said, “Three things cancel a hard (divine) decree, namely, prayer, almsgiving, and repentance, and all three are contained in one scriptural verse; see 2 Chr 7:13: ‘Then when my people bow down, over whom my name is named, and when they pray,’ this refers

Jesus on Matt 7:5

Jesus is drawing attention to a curious feature of the human race in which a profound ignorance of oneself is so often combined with an arrogant presumption of knowledge about others, especially about their faults. First gets the priorities right; that which matters most is to deal with the plank. The would-be helper’s first priori

The Problem with Judging

Chrysostom, “thou art making the judgment-seat dreadful to thyself, and the account strict,” p. 158)

Matthew 7:5 and the hypocrite:
He is a hypocrite because his unkind criticism takes the outward form of a kindly act.

Because Wants to Hear the Prayers of His People

Genesis Rabbah 45 (28C): Why were the matriarchs (of Israel) barren? R. Levi (ca. 300) said in the name of R. Shela of Kefar Temarta (the village of dates; ca. 280) and R. Helbo (ca. 300) in the name of R. Yohanan († 279), “Because God desired their prayers and their words.”—The same is found in Midr.