Are there any positive statements of the golden rule in extra-biblical literature?
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What is commonly called the golden rule is stated by Jesus in Matthew 7:12:
> In everything, treat others as you would want them to treat you, for
> this fulfills the law and the prophets. (NET)
Commentators often notice that the golden rule appears in extra-biblical literature, but often in negative form.
For example, Ben Witherington states:
> Jesus was by no means the first or only person to come up with a
> version of the Golden Rule. There is the famous saying of Rabbi
> Hillel, for example: “What is hateful to you, do not do to your
> neighbor: that is the whole Torah, while the rest is commentary on it;
> go and learn” (b. Sabb. 31a cf. Tob 4.15; 2 En. 61.1-2). It is worth
> pointing out that Jesus insists on a positive formulation of the
> maxim, where as other forms of it, both Jewish and Greco-Roman (cf.
> Isocrates Nic. 61; Herodotus 3.142), tend to be negative.
Are there any positive statements of this principle to be found in extra-biblical literature? (Excluding, of course, Christian literature or later literature influenced by Christianity)
Asked by למה זה תשאל לשמי
(1210 rep)
Feb 13, 2017, 07:50 AM
Last activity: Feb 14, 2017, 12:02 AM
Last activity: Feb 14, 2017, 12:02 AM