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Give Without Return

Data

(1) GThom. 95
(2a) 1Q: Luke 6:30,34,35b = Matt 5:42
(2b) Did. 1:4b,5a

Texts

(1) GThom. 95

[Jesus said], "If you have money, don't lend it at interest.
Rather, give [it] to someone from whom you won't get it back." [Complete Gospels]

(2a) Luke 6:30,34,35b

6:27 "But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 6:28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 6:29 If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. 6:30 Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. 6:31 Do to others as you would have them do to you. 6:32 "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 6:33 If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 6:34 If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. 6:35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. 6:36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

= Matt 5:42
5:21 "You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, 'You shall not murder'; and 'whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.' 5:22 But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, 'You fool,' you will be liable to the hell of fire. 5:23 So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 5:24 leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. 5:25 Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. 5:26 Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny. 5:27 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' 5:28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 5:29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 5:30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell. 5:31 "It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' 5:32 But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. 5:33 "Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, 'You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.' 5:34 But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 5:35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 5:36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 5:37 Let your word be 'Yes, Yes' or 'No, No'; anything more than this comes from the evil one. 5:38 "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' 5:39 But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; 5:40 and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; 5:41 and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. 5:42 Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you. 5:43 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 5:44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 5:45 so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. 5:46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 5:47 And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 5:48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

 

(2b) Did. 1:4b,5a

/4b/ If anyone strikes you on your right cheek, turn your other one to him too, and you will be perfect. If someone presses you onto one mile of service, go along with him two. If someone takes your cloak, give him your tunic as well. If someone takes away from you what is yours, do not demand it back–(since you cannot do so anyway). /5a/ Give to everyone what he asks of you and do not ask for it back …

Ben Sira 20:15b

He gives little and upbraids much;
     he opens his mouth like a town crier.
Today he lends and tomorrow he asks it back;
    such a one is hateful to God and humans.

IQP

The International Q Project reconstructs the original Q saying as follows:

To the one who asks of you, give;
and [from the one who borrows], do not [ask] back [what is] yours.

And if you [lend <to those> from whom you have hope to receive,
what <reward do> you <have>?] Do not even [the Gentiles] do the same?

Jesus Seminar

Text	Item	Source	JS Mtg	%Red	%Pink	%Gray	%Black	W Avg	Color
Give to beggars
Luke 6:30a	8	Q	85StMk	20	17	23	40	0.39	Gray
Luke 6:30a	8	Q	89Tor	67	10	23	0	0.81	Red
Matt 5:42a	8	Q	85StMk	23	17	23	40	0.41	Gray
Matt 5:42a	8	Q	89Tor	67	10	23	0	0.81	Red
Did 1:5a	8	Q	85StMk	17	17	13	53	0.32	Gray
Did 1:5a	8	Q	89Tor	50	21	18	11	0.70	Pink
Lend without return
Thom 95:1-2	34	Q, T	85StMk	57	13	7	23	0.68	Pink
Thom 95:1-2	34	Q, T	89Tor	17	67	11	6	0.65	Pink
Luke 6:35c	34	Q	89Tor	0	18	45	36	0.27	Gray
Matt 5:42b	34	Q, T	85StMk	17	47	10	27	0.51	Pink
Matt 5:42b	34	Q, T	89Tor	10	34	52	3	0.51	Pink

The commentary in The Five Gospels (p. 294f) notes the complex relationship of the variants found in Luke and Matthew to the original in Q/Thomas:

This is the sequence of injunctions in Luke 6:30:

1. Give to everyone who begs from you;
2. and when someone takes your things, don't ask for them back.

This series addresses two topics, begging and robbery. The parallel sequence in Matthew (5:42) clearly treats begging and lending:

1. Give to the one who begs from you;
2. and don't turn away the one who tries to borrow from you.

Since both Matthew and Luke took the sequence from Q, the question arises, which is the Q version?

Text detectives will look around for clues. Luke 6:30, 34, 35 provide an important hint. These verses, whoch are summary statements (note the series of three in Luke 6:32-34), prove that Luke also knew a lending injunction not unlike the one that Matthew preserves in 5:42b. Indeed, Luke 6:35 ... presupposes an admonition like the one found in Thom 95:1-2:

If you have money, don't lend it at interest.
Rather, give it to someone from whom you won't get it back.

Luke 6:35 provides evidence that Thomas 95 may be the more original form of the saying. A command to lend only to those from whom one cannot expect to have any return, either interest or capital, sounds more like the paradoxical sage who advised people to love their enemies.

 

Samuel T. Lachs

Lachs [Rabbinic Commentary on the New Testament, 105] observes:

Give to him who begs from you As part of the original antithesis or even as an addition to it, this verse is difficult. Both Matthew and Luke agree on the reading of the first half, i.e., Give to him (Luke: everyone) that begs from you, which probably means even though you might not be repaid. It could conceivably refer to requests for loans just beofre the Sabbatical year, when all loans were automaticaly canceled. The second part can be understood simply as part of a Semitic parallelism to "give him" -- "do not refuse." Manson, on the basis of the Lucan reading, suggests that "when someone has borowed your property, do not be constantly dunning him to let you have it back. In all these transactions delicacy and consideration of the feelings of the other man are essential." He cites Sira 20:15, "Today he lendeth, tomorrow he will demand it back; hateful is such a one."

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