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Who Is the Neighbour?

Rocker

An exchange with Simon Rocker who is a journalist with the Jewish Chronicle

Is the neighbour spoken about in Leviticus 19.18 a brother Israelite or just any fellow human being?

In his ‘Face to Faith’ article in the Guardian newspaper of Saturday 13th September 2008 Simon Rocker drew attention to some popular misconceptions which have grow up concerning the Bible. He kicked of by referring to the strange conviction that Jews have horns; a belief which stems from the Vulgate’s mistranslation of Exodus 34.29. The Latin translation affirms that as a result of taking face to face with God Moses grew horns whereas what the Hebrew text in fact says is that his face glowed. Rocker warns us not only to remember that translations ‘should be read in conjunction with a commentary that is familiar with the nuances of the original language and the traditions of exegesis’. He also suggests that ‘the meaning of a biblical text is not necessarily set in stone’ and that scope should always remain for reinterpretation:

Some, for example, argue that the principle in Leviticus of loving one's neighbour is a tribal sentiment applying only to fellow Israelites. It occurs in the context of a set of social laws that refer variously to "your brother" and "your people" - while also including the injunction to love the resident "stranger". (On the other hand, a verse in Exodus which clearly indicates a fellow Israelite uses a different word for "neighbour" from that in the Leviticus passage.)

He concludes:

Ultimately, the original connotations of "neighbour" remain a matter of scholarly debate, but there are certainly strands in classical rabbinic thinking that allow a broader definition to emerge. [The American scholar] Alter is clear - he translates the line to: "And you shall love your fellowman as yourself."

I found Rocker’s article fascinating and well researched. However, I have to say that I remained somewhat unconvinced by his argument that room had to be left for scholarly reinterpretation. Exactly how does this ‘reinterpretation’ business succeed in persuading one to move from reading ‘neighbour’ in Leviticus 19.18 as ‘fellow Israelite’ to reading it as ‘fellow human being’, which is to say in universal terms, I wondered? Rocker never lets on so I can only suppose he remains unsure how this move comes about. For if he knew the answer then surely he would not have kept us in the dark? So let’s see what a god-of-the-marginals perspective can bring by way of illumination.

The god-of-the-marginals strategy (which I maintain is the axis about which the Bible as a whole turns) goes something like this:
If Israelites as true servants of the god-of-the-marginals live together in such a way as to end marginalization in their midst by loving each other as they love themselves then the Gentile world (civilisation) itself will eventually be shamed and all relationships world-wide will be changed.

Note that though this strategy begins with what might be called ‘a tribal manifestation of loving’ put on as a display the fact is that from the very beginning the objective is world transformation involving everyone. There can be, therefore, no dichotomy for what we are talking about in Leviticus is not a form of existence set in stone but rather a strategy for changing civilisation (what the Bible refers to as either the Gentiles or the world).

So if I am right it would appear to be the case that Rocker is being unintentionally misleading when he talks about the need to leave scope for scholarly reinterpretation. For interpretations are intrinsically dubious especially when they are justified by nothing more substantial than scholarly status, or so it seems to me. In any case reinterpretations are the last things needed in this instance for what we are talking about (the god-of-the-marginals strategy for world transformation) is something intrinsically universal even though it involves a demonstration that is communal. So all talk of tribal sentiments is quite beside the point, regardless of the academic status of those doing the talking.

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