diff --git a/lib/handlebars/base.js b/lib/handlebars/base.js
index 7ebfc5567..02d274d3a 100644
--- a/lib/handlebars/base.js
+++ b/lib/handlebars/base.js
@@ -193,6 +193,10 @@ function registerDefaultHelpers(instance) {
     var level = options.data && options.data.level != null ? parseInt(options.data.level, 10) : 1;
     instance.log(level, context);
   });
+
+  instance.registerHelper('lookup', function(obj, field, options) {
+    return obj && obj[field];
+  });
 }
 
 export var logger = {
diff --git a/lib/handlebars/compiler/compiler.js b/lib/handlebars/compiler/compiler.js
index cfcc70ac5..21e1024f2 100644
--- a/lib/handlebars/compiler/compiler.js
+++ b/lib/handlebars/compiler/compiler.js
@@ -85,7 +85,8 @@ Compiler.prototype = {
       'if': true,
       'unless': true,
       'with': true,
-      'log': true
+      'log': true,
+      'lookup': true
     };
     if (knownHelpers) {
       for (var name in knownHelpers) {
diff --git a/spec/builtins.js b/spec/builtins.js
index 6d9fa0ba4..bbe494e08 100644
--- a/spec/builtins.js
+++ b/spec/builtins.js
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-/*global CompilerContext, shouldCompileTo, compileWithPartials */
+/*global CompilerContext, shouldCompileTo, compileWithPartials, handlebarsEnv */
 describe('builtin helpers', function() {
   describe('#if', function() {
     it("if", function() {
@@ -189,16 +189,39 @@ describe('builtin helpers', function() {
   });
 
   it("#log", function() {
-
     var string = "{{log blah}}";
     var hash   = { blah: "whee" };
 
     var levelArg, logArg;
-    handlebarsEnv.log = function(level, arg){ levelArg = level, logArg = arg; };
+    handlebarsEnv.log = function(level, arg){
+      levelArg = level;
+      logArg = arg;
+    };
 
     shouldCompileTo(string, hash, "", "log should not display");
     equals(1, levelArg, "should call log with 1");
     equals("whee", logArg, "should call log with 'whee'");
   });
 
+
+  describe('#lookup', function() {
+    it('should lookup arbitrary content', function() {
+      var string = '{{#each goodbyes}}{{lookup ../data .}}{{/each}}',
+          hash   = {goodbyes: [0, 1], data: ['foo', 'bar']};
+
+      var template = CompilerContext.compile(string);
+      var result = template(hash);
+
+      equal(result, 'foobar');
+    });
+    it('should not fail on undefined value', function() {
+      var string = '{{#each goodbyes}}{{lookup ../bar .}}{{/each}}',
+          hash   = {goodbyes: [0, 1], data: ['foo', 'bar']};
+
+      var template = CompilerContext.compile(string);
+      var result = template(hash);
+
+      equal(result, '');
+    });
+  });
 });