That's not a Golden Rule. The word somewhat erroneously translated as the "neighbor" doesn't mean someone physically close or near, i.e. a literal neighbor, but rather someone actually "closely related to," a member of the same clan, or family.
The rule applied to the Jews and Jews only, just as everything else in the Torah, and is not a universally applicable Golden Rule, but a binding commandment meant to preserve and protect the Jewish clan/nation from self-destruction. A pragmatic statement aimed at self-preservation.
In that respect, JCB is quite right about the "millennial update", when he contrasts the Torah with the universally applicable Golden Rule teachings of Jesus.
Thou shalt love thy clan member as thyself? Biblical scholars tell us that the testaments, old & new, refer back and forward to each other. So, are you opining that in Matthew 20:19, for example, Christ instructs one to love one’s clan member as one’s self?
Most Christians seem to have a somewhat different understanding of the Biblical meaning of “neighbor.”
“The rule applied to the Jews and Jews only, just as everything else in the Torah, and is not a universally applicable Golden Rule, but a binding commandment meant to preserve and protect the Jewish clan/nation from self-destruction.”
Oh, I see.
Scripture continuity is evident as long as it provides an opportunity for scripture scoffing and Christian bashing. The moment the opportunity disappears, the continuity likewise disappears.
And even though the Hebrew Golden Rule is not universally applicable, the Hindu version and all the many other golden/silver rules somehow take on an added significance?
Including for non-observant Jews?
“JCB is quite right about the "millennial update"
Really?!
Where?
Observant Jews do not recognize Christ as the Messiah and take no (official) notice of the New Testament, so what “millennial updates” exist in their scriptures? If they have something wrong, perhaps they have need of your scriptural expertise to set them straight.
Christians have the New Testament, and try to read and understand the Old Testament in context with the New.
So, I ask again, what startling new revelations have magically appeared in the New Testament around approx 1000CE (Christian Era)?
It’s true generally, I think, that Christianity’s scriptural understanding has changed over the centuries. Perhaps this is equally true for Jews (I’ll leave that to them). But it’s quite another thing to try to suggest that God’s word has changed.