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Leviticus 19 Bible study: Love your neighbor as yourself
"You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (19:18) is from Leviticus, in a chapter that makes holy practical: field corners left for the poor, wages paid before morning, fair courts, honest weights. The same "as yourself" is said of the stranger (19:34), and Jesus called 19:18 the second great commandment (Matthew 22:39).
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“‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people; but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.”
Try it · Did you catch it?
“The command "you shall love your neighbor as yourself" is in Leviticus.”
Is that in Leviticus 19, or not? Make your call.
What's really going on
Holy in the field, the court and the market
The chapter opens with a call to everyone, not only the priests: "Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and tell them, 'You shall be holy; for I, the LORD your God, am holy'" (19:2). Then it shows what holy looks like, and most of it happens far from the altar. At home: "Each one of you shall respect his mother and his father" (19:3). At harvest: "you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field" (19:9). With a worker: "The wages of a hired servant shall not remain with you all night until the morning" (19:13). In court: "You shall do no injustice in judgment" (19:15). In the market: "You shall have just balances, just weights" (19:36).
Where it leads to Jesus
The second commandment
Leviticus 19:18leads toMatthew 22:39-40
"You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD" (19:18). A lawyer asked Jesus, "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?" (Matthew 22:36). Jesus answered with Deuteronomy 6:5, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind" (Matthew 22:37), and then quoted this verse: "A second likewise is this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments" (Matthew 22:39-40).
Honest questions
Questions people ask about Leviticus 19
That was a taste
The rest of Leviticus 19 is waiting in Favor
- "I am the LORD"
- A law that reaches the heart
- The same words for the stranger
- The command Jesus called second
- Gleaning, in the law and in Ruth
- Wages before morning
- 12 questions as you read
- 11 more Hebrew words
- A short check at the end
- Your notes, saved as you go
Favor reads the Bible in order, so you'll reach Leviticus 19 with everything before it in view. First week free, then $10 a month per person.
The Hebrew word behind it
אָהַבahavsay a-HAV
Brown-Driver-Briggs: "love". Strong's: "to have affection for". Leviticus uses this verb only twice, and both are in this chapter: "you shall love your neighbor as yourself" (19:18), and of the stranger, "you shall love him as yourself" (19:34). Deuteronomy uses it for loving God: "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might" (Deuteronomy 6:5), and for the foreigner too: "Therefore love the foreigner, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt" (Deuteronomy 10:19). Jesus put Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18 side by side as the first and second commandments (Matthew 22:37-39).
For your group
Leviticus 19 Bible study questions
- 1Israel wasn't to reap to the very edge of the field, but to leave the rest "for the poor and for the foreigner" (19:10). What might leaving the edges look like in your week?
- 2"You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor" (19:17). Which is harder for you: letting go of a grudge, or speaking up honestly and kindly?
- 3Israel was to love the stranger "for you lived as foreigners in the land of Egypt" (19:34). How does remembering where you have been change the way you treat people?
Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads Leviticus 19 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.
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Questions
What is Favor?
Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the Hebrew and Greek behind the words, the details most readers miss, and how each part of the Bible leads to Jesus. Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church.
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Can I read Leviticus 19 straight away?
Favor takes the Bible as one story, in order, so you'll reach Leviticus 19 with everything that leads up to it in view. Start from Genesis, or meet Jesus first in the Gospels. You can read the text of any chapter in Favor's Look up whenever you like.
Do I need a group?
No. Many people read on their own. If you'd like to read with others, start a Bible study and share one link. Everyone's answers stay private until you meet.
I've never really read the Bible. Is this for me?
Yes. Favor starts where you are and explains as it goes. The questions along the way aren't marked right or wrong: you answer, then see what the text shows.
Which Bible does Favor use?
The World English Bible, a modern, readable translation in the public domain. God's name appears as "the LORD", as in most English Bibles.
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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home