Matthew 5:43

ἠκούσατε ὅτι ἐρρέθη : said where, by whom, and about whom? The sentiment Jesus supposes His hearers to have heard is not found in so many words in the O. T. The first part, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour,” occurs in Leviticus 19:18. The contrary of the second part is found in Exodus 23:4, where humanity towards the straying or overburdened beast of an enemy is enjoined. It is to be hoped that even the scribes did not in cold blood sin against the spirit of this precept by teaching men to love their private friends and hate their private enemies. Does πλησίον then mean an Israelite, and ἐχθρόν a Gentile, and was the fault of the traditional law of love that it confined obligation within national limits? The context in Leviticus 19:18 gives πλ. that sense: “Thou shalt not bear any grudge against the children of thy people”. On the other hand, the tendency of Israel's election, and of certain texts (vide Exodus 23; Deuteronomy 7), was to foster aversion to the outside nations, and from Ezra onwards the spirit of Judaism was one of increasing hostility towards the goyim vide Esther. The saying quoted by Jesus, if not an exact report of Rabbinical teaching, did no injustice to its general attitude. And the average Jew in this respect followed the guidance of his teachers, loving his own countrymen, regarding with racial and religious aversion those beyond the pale.