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"Hate father and mother" means "love less"

Yeshua did not command hatred of family. In Hebrew, "hate" in a comparison means to love less.

"If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children… he cannot be My disciple" Luke 14:26. This seems to contradict the commandment to honor your father and mother Exodus 20:12, which Yeshua Himself defended Mark 7:9-13.

The Hebrew Scriptures explain the expression. Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah, and the next verse says Yahweh saw that Leah was "hated" Genesis 29:30-31, where many Bibles say "unloved." He did not hate her; he loved her less. The Torah speaks of a man with two wives, "the one loved and the other hated" Deuteronomy 21:15. And God says, "I loved Jacob, but Esau I hated" Malachi 1:2-3, speaking of choosing one nation for His purpose.

Matthew records the same teaching in plain words: "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me" Matthew 10:37. That is the meaning: God comes first, and every other love comes after.

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