the Fourth Week after Easter
Click here to join the effort!
Bible Dictionaries
Neighbour
Bridgeway Bible Dictionary
or Moses’ law laid down the principle that people were to love their neighbour as themselves (Leviticus 19:17-18; see also Exodus 20:13-17; Exodus 22:10-14; Deuteronomy 15:2; Deuteronomy 27:24). In trying to avoid the responsibility this placed upon them, people sometimes asked who exactly was their neighbour. On one occasion Jesus answered the question with the story of a Samaritan who helped a man who had been attacked by robbers. The point of the story was that any person in need was one’s neighbour (Luke 10:29-37). Neighbours in this sense include even enemies (Matthew 5:43-47).
Love of God and love of one’s neighbour combine to form the basic requirements God has laid upon the human race (Matthew 22:36-40; Romans 13:8-10; Galatians 5:14; James 2:8). Those who claim to love God but do not love their neighbour are deceiving themselves (1 John 4:20; cf. Proverbs 3:28; Proverbs 14:21; see also BROTHER).
These files are public domain.
Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.
Fleming, Don. Entry for 'Neighbour'. Bridgeway Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/bbd/n/neighbour.html. 2004.
