HATE his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters?

[TonyChanYT]

ESV Luke 14:

26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.

The Greek and Hebrew idiom for hate is not exactly the same as the English word for hate.

hate
μισεῖ (misei)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 3404: To hate, detest, love less, esteem less. From a primary misos; to detest; by extension, to love less.

Good News Translation uses this nuance:

Those who come to me cannot be my disciples unless they love me more than they love father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and themselves as well.

There is a good example of the idiomatic usage in Genesis 29:

30 So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah, and served Laban for another seven years.
31When the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.

Here, loved Rachel more than Leah = Leah was hated.

We are commanded to love God, love our neigbours and even love our enemies. We should love our family but we must love God first and foremost.

 

[Randy Kluth]

ESV Luke 14:


The Greek and Hebrew idiom for hate is not exactly the same as the English word for hate.

hate
μισεῖ (misei)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 3404: To hate, detest, love less, esteem less. From a primary misos; to detest; by extension, to love less.

Good News Translation uses this nuance:


There is a good example of the idiomatic usage in Genesis 29:


Here, loved Rachel more than Leah = Leah was hated.

We are commanded to love God, love our neigbours and even love our enemies. We should love our family but we must love God first and foremost.

I've had this problem for eons with young Christians who in their immaturity just cannot understand how a loving God can hate and even exterminate His enemies, or send them to Hell. However, God is love by His own definition of the same, and we only derive our understanding of what true love is through reference to Him.

When we try to define love in a way that pleases us, the meaning of love is diluted and becomes a kind of selfish approach to it, favoring something that we are interested in, as opposed to how God determines people have needs or deserves things.

Unless we derive our definition of "love" from God we will not understand it properly. Hence, the things we are interested in have to take 2nd place to God. And even the enemies of God must become our enemies, out of God's determination and not our own. Otherwise, we will make ourselves into little gods, determining who deserves judgment and who deserves mercy. God must be the central focus in our defining of what "love" is!

 

[Nancy]

ESV Luke 14:


The Greek and Hebrew idiom for hate is not exactly the same as the English word for hate.

hate
μισεῖ (misei)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 3404: To hate, detest, love less, esteem less. From a primary misos; to detest; by extension, to love less.

Good News Translation uses this nuance:


There is a good example of the idiomatic usage in Genesis 29:


Here, loved Rachel more than Leah = Leah was hated.

We are commanded to love God, love our neigbours and even love our enemies. We should love our family but we must love God first and foremost.

I have read where, when God said "Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated" meant that God "preferred" Jacob over Esau. Which is what you have written with "love less"
It is kind of strange that God "loves those who love Him" yet, we are to do the opposite and love our enemies. Hmm.

 

[amadeus]

I have read where, when God said "Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated" meant that God "preferred" Jacob over Esau. Which is what you have written with "love less"
It is kind of strange that God "loves those who love Him" yet, we are to do the opposite and love our enemies. Hmm.

Could it be that God knows all of us absolutely and completely? He knows what is loveable and what is not. If ever we really become so much like Him that we will then be able to love as He loves and hate as He hates? In the interim...

 

[Nancy]

Could it be that God knows all of us absolutely and completely? He knows what is loveable and what is not. If ever we really become so much like Him that we will then be able to love as He loves and hate as He hates? In the interim...

Yes John,
Oh to be like Him in every way!