The Seven Laws of Noah (Hebrew: שבע מצוות בני נח Sheva mitzvot B'nei Noach) form the major part of the Noachide Laws, or Noahide Code.[1] This code is a set of moral imperatives that, according to the Talmud, were given by God[2] as a binding set of laws for the "children of Noah" – that is, all of humankind.[3][4] According to religious Judaism, any non-Jew who lives according to these laws is regarded as a Righteous Gentile, and is assured of a place in the world to come (Olam Haba), the final reward of the righteous.[5][6] Adherents are often called "B'nei Noach" (Children of Noah) or "Noahides" and may often network in Jewish synagogues.
The seven laws listed by the Tosefta and the Talmud are[7]
The Noachide Laws comprise the six laws which were given to Adam in the Garden of Eden, according to the Talmud's interpretation of Gen 2:16,[8] and a seventh one, which was added after the Flood of Noah. Later, at the Revelation at Sinai, the Seven Laws of Noah were re-given to humanity and embedded in the 613 Laws given to the Children of Israel along with the Ten Commandments, which are part of, and not separate from, the 613 mitzvot. These laws are derived from the Torah. According to religious Judaism, the 613 mitzvot or "commandments" given in the written Torah, as well as their reasonings in the oral Torah, were only issued to the Jews and are therefore binding only upon them, having inherited the obligation from their ancestors. At the same time, at Mount Sinai, the Children of Israel were given the obligation to teach other nations the embedded Noachide Laws. These laws also affect Jewish law in a number of ways.
While some Jewish organizations, such as Chabad have worked to promote the acceptance of Noachide laws, there are no figures for how many actually do.
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The Hebrew Bible does not mention the Law in connection with Noah, nor that there were "Seven" Laws. However Noah was able to distinguish between "clean" animals (seven of each) and "unclean animals" (two of each) when loading animals onto the ark, which indicates some existence of food laws before the Law of Moses.[9] According to the Biblical narrative, the Deluge covered the whole world, killing every surface-dwelling creature except Noah, his wife, his sons and their wives, sea creatures, and the animals taken aboard Noah's Ark. After the flood, God sealed a covenant with Noah with the following admonitions (Genesis 9):
Although other texts from the Second Temple period are not considered authoritative in Judaism, they do show reference to the concept of Noahic laws before the Talmud.
An early reference to Noachide Law may appear in the Book of Jubilees 7:20–28, which is generally dated to the 2nd century BCE:
The Jewish Encyclopedia article on Saul of Tarsus states:
Jewish Encyclopedia: New Testament — Spirit of Jewish Proselytism in Christianity states:
Some modern scholars however dispute the connection between Acts 15 and Noahide Law[12] and the Historical reliability of the Acts of the Apostles and the nature of Biblical law in Christianity.
According to Judaism, as expressed in the Talmud, the Noachide Laws apply to all humanity through humankind's descent from one paternal ancestor, the head of the only family to survive The Flood, who in Hebrew tradition is called Noah. In Judaism, בני נח B'nei Noah (Hebrew, "Descendants of Noah", "Children of Noah") refers to all of humankind.[13] The Talmud also states: "Righteous people of all nations have a share in the world to come" (Sanhedrin 105a). Any non-Jew who lives according to these laws is regarded as one of "the righteous among the gentiles". Maimonides writes that this refers to those who have acquired knowledge of God and act in accordance with the Noachide laws out of obedience to God. According to what scholars consider to be the most accurate texts of the Mishneh Torah, Maimonides goes on to say that anyone who upholds the Noachide laws only because they appear logical is not one of the "righteous among the nations," but rather he is one of the wise among them. The more prolific versions of the Mishneh Torah say of such a person: "..nor is he one of the wise among them."[14]
The Talmud states that the instruction not to eat "flesh with the life" was given to Noah, and that Adam and Eve had already received six other commandments. Adam and Eve were not enjoined from eating from a living animal; they were forbidden to eat any animal. The remaining six are exegetically derived from the sentence "And the Lord God commanded the man saying, of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat." in Gen 2:16.[15]
Historically, some rabbinic opinions consider non-Jews not only not obligated to adhere to all the remaining laws of the Torah, but are actually forbidden to observe them.[16] The Noachide Laws are regarded as the way through which non-Jews can have a direct and meaningful relationship with God, or at least comply with the minimal requisites of civilization and of divine law.
Maimonides states, in Mishneh Torah[17] that a non-Jew who is precise in the observance of these seven Noachide commandments is considered to be a Righteous Gentile and has earned a place in the world to come. This follows a similar statement in the Talmud.[18]
Noachide law differs radically from Roman law for gentiles (Jus Gentium), if only because the latter was enforceable judicial policy. Rabbinic Judaism has never adjudicated any cases under Noachide law (per Novak, 1983:28ff.), although scholars disagree about whether Noachide law is a functional part of Halakha ("Jewish law") (cf. Bleich).
In recent years, the term "Noahide" has come to refer to non-Jews who strive to live in accord with the seven Noachide Laws; the terms "observant Noahide" or "Torah-centered Noahides" would be more precise but are infrequently used. Support for the use of Noahide in this sense can be found with the Ritva, who uses the term Son of Noah to refer to a Gentile who keeps the seven laws, but is not a Ger Toshav.[19] The rainbow, referring to the Noachide or First Covenant (Genesis 9), is the symbol of many organized Noahide groups, following Genesis 9:12-17. A non-Jew of any ethnicity or religion is referred to as a bat ("daughter") or ben ("son") of Noah, but most organizations that call themselves בני נח (b'nei noach) are composed of gentiles who are keeping the Noachide Laws.
Various rabbinic sources have different positions on the way the seven laws are to be subdivided in categories. Maimonides[20] lists other additional Noahide commandments, including the coupling of different kinds of animals and the grafting of different species (as defined by Jewish law) of trees. Rabbi David ben Solomon ibn Abi Zimra (Radbaz), a contemporary commentator on Maimonides, expressed surprise that he left out castration and sorcery which were listed in the Talmud.[21]
The 10th century Rabbi Saadia Gaon added tithes and levirate marriage. The 11th century Rav Nissim Gaon included "listening to God's Voice", "knowing God" and "serving God" besides going on to say that all religious acts which can be understood through human reasoning are obligatory upon Jew and Gentile alike. The 14th century Rabbi Nissim ben Reuben Gerondi added the commandment of charity.
The 16th century work Asarah Maamarot by Rabbi Menahem Azariah of Fano (Rema mi-Fano) enumerates thirty commandments, listing the latter twenty-three as extensions of the original seven, which includes prohibitions on various forms of sorcery, as well as incest and bestiality. Another commentator, Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Chajes (Kol Hidushei Maharitz Chayess I, end Ch. 10) suggests these are not related to the first seven, nor based on Scripture, but were passed down by oral tradition. The number thirty derives from the statement of the Talmudic sage Ulla in tractate Hullin 92a, though he lists only three other rules in addition to the original seven, consisting of details of the prohibitions against homosexuality and cannibalism, as well as the imperative to honor the Torah.
Talmud commentator Rashi remarks on this that he does not know the other Commandments that are referred to. Though the authorities seem to take it for granted that Ulla's thirty commandments included the original seven, an additional thirty laws is also possible from the reading.
The 10th century Shmuel ben Hophni Gaon lists thirty Noahide Commandments based on Ulla's Talmudic statement, though the text is problematic.[22] He includes the prohibitions against suicide and false oaths, as well as the imperatives related to prayer, sacrifices and honoring one's parents.
The contemporary Rabbi Aaron Lichtenstein counts 66 instructions but Rabbi Harvey Falk has suggested that much work remains to be done in order to properly identify all of the Noahide Commandments, their divisions and subdivisions.
Theft, robbery and stealing covers the appropriate understanding of other persons, their property and their rights. The establishment of courts of justice promotes the value of the responsibility of a corporate society of people to enforce these laws and define these terms. The refusal to engage in unnecessary lust or cruelty demonstrates respect for the creation itself as renewed after the Flood. The prohibition against committing murder includes a prohibition against human sacrifice.
Maimonides, in his Mishnah Torah, interpreted the prohibition against homicide as including a prohibition against abortion.[23]
In earlier times, a Gentile living in the Land of Israel who accepted the Seven laws in front of a rabbinical court was known as a Ger toshav (literally Stranger/Resident) or "Resident Alien". Jewish law recognizes a Biblical obligation to help a Ger toshav in time of need (as opposed to the rabbinic obligation help all Gentiles who live among Jews). The regulations regarding Jewish-Gentile relations are modified in the case of a Ger toshav.[24]
Jewish law only allows the official acceptance of a Ger Toshav as a resident in the Land of Israel during a time when the Year of Jubilee (yovel) is in effect. There is discussion in the sources as to whether some of the laws that apply to a Ger Toshav may be applied to some modern Gentiles, particularly Muslims.[24]
A Ger Toshav should not be confused with a Ger Tzedek, who is a person who prefers to proceed to total conversion to Judaism, a procedure that is traditionally only allowed to take place after much thought and deliberation over converting.
The Talmud laid down the statutory punishment for transgressing any one of the Seven Laws of Noah (but not other parts of the Noahide code) as capital punishment [25] by decapitation, which is considered one of the lightest[26] of the four modes of execution of criminals. According to some opinions, punishment is the same whether the individual transgresses with knowledge of the law or is ignorant of the law.[27]
Some modern views hold that penalties are a detail of the Noahide Laws and that Noahides themselves must determine the details of their own laws for themselves. According to this school of thought – see N. Rakover, Law and the Noahides (1998); M. Dallen, The Rainbow Covenant (2003) – the Noahide Laws offer mankind a set of absolute values and a framework for righteousness and justice, while the detailed laws that are currently on the books of the world's states and nations are presumptively valid.
After the late Rebbe of Chabad Lubavitch Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson started his Noahide Campaign in the 1980s, the number of Gentiles, willing to keep the Seven Laws of Noah as described in the Torah is increasing continuously. A codification of the exact obligations of the Gentiles in the spirit of the classical Shulchan Aruch was needed. In 2005 the scholar Rabbi Moshe Weiner of Jerusalem accepted to produce an in-depth codification of the Noahide precepts.[28] The work is called Sefer Sheva Mitzvot HaShem, published 2008/ 2009. As it is approved by both Chief Rabbis of Israel, Rabbi Shlomo Moshe Amar and Rabbi Yonah Metzger, as well as other Hasidic- and non-Hasidic halachic authorities like Rabbi Zalman Nechemia Goldberg, Rabbi Gedalia Dov Schwartz and Rabbi Jacob Immanuel Schochet, it can claim an authoritative character and is referred as a "Shulchan Aruch"[29] for Gentiles at many places.
The Seven Laws of Noah were recognized by the United States Congress in the preamble to the 1991 bill that established Education Day in honor of the birthday of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the leader of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement:
Whereas Congress recognizes the historical tradition of ethical values and principles which are the basis of civilized society and upon which our great Nation was founded; Whereas these ethical values and principles have been the bedrock of society from the dawn of civilization, when they were known as the Seven Noahide Laws.[30]
In January 2004, the spiritual leader of the Druze community in Israel, Sheikh Mowafak Tarif, signed a declaration calling on all non-Jews in Israel to observe the Noahide Laws as laid down in the Talmud and expounded upon in Jewish tradition. The mayor of the Galilean city of Shefa-'Amr (Shfaram), where Muslim, Christian and Druze communities live side by side, also signed the document. The declaration includes the commitment to make a better, more humane world based on the Seven Noahide Commandments and the values they represent commanded by the Creator to all mankind through Moses on Mount Sinai.
Support for the spread of the Seven Noahide Commandments by the Druze leaders reflects the Biblical narrative itself. The Druze community reveres the non-Jewish father-in-law of Moses, Jethro, whom Arabs call Shoaib. According to the Biblical narrative, Jethro joined and assisted the Jewish people in the desert during the Exodus, accepted monotheism, but ultimately rejoined his own people. In fact, the tomb of Jethro in Tiberias is the most important religious site for the Druze community.[31]
Christian views on the old covenant vary. Most Christian denominations incorporate the Ten Commandments, the Great Commandment, and The Golden Rule, however some believe in the complete Abrogation of Old Covenant laws. The only Noahide law that is not part of the standard moral teaching of mainstream Christianity is the prohibition against eating the flesh of an animal while it is still alive (number 6 above). By many interpretations, Acts and the Pauline Epistles make clear that the Jewish dietary laws as a whole are not binding on gentile Christians, though the Apostolic Decree which is still observed by the Orthodox includes some food restrictions.[32] However, the Historical reliability of the Acts of the Apostles and the relationship between Paul of Tarsus and Judaism are still disputed.
The 18th-century Rabbi Jacob Emden proposed that Jesus, and Paul after him, intended to convert the Gentiles to the Noahide laws while allowing the Jews to follow full Mosaic Law.[33]
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