23. Honor those who teach and know the Torah

The 23rd commandment of Mosaic Law is to honor those who teach and know the Torah

Where in scripture?

Leviticus  19:32

Stand up in the presence of the aged, and show respect for the old

Jewish tradition interprets Leviticus 19:32 as a requirement to respect the wise. It also requires standing in the presence of a scholar. This law applies even to a scholar that is not one’s own teacher.

New Testament References

Matthew 10:41

Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is righteous will receive a righteous man's reward.

1 Timothy 5:17

Presbyters who preside well deserve double honor, especially those who toil in preaching and teaching.

1 Peter 2:17

Give honor to all

St. Thomas Aquinas

Summa Theologica

…honor is nothing but an acknowledgment of a person's excelling goodness. …(Even) A wicked superior is honored for the excellence, not of his virtue but of his dignity, as being God's minister, and because the honor paid to him is paid to the whole community over which he presides. …In every man is to be found something that makes it possible to deem him better than ourselves, according to Philippians 2:3, "In humility, let each esteem others better than themselves," and thus, too, we should all be on the alert to do honor to one another.

Conclusion

Binding on Christians