Noahide Laws

The Noahides laws are the laws that Judaism teaches that all of mankind is morally bound to follow. They are first mentioned in Tosefta 9:4 and Talmud Sanhedrin 56a/b.

Table of contents

1 Commandments
2 Background
3 History
4 Further reading

Commandments

The commandments are:

To not engage in idolatry
To not blaspheme God
To not murder
To not engage in sexual immorality
To not steal
To not eat flesh cut from a living animal
To establish courts and a system of justice.

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. To not do murder would include human sacrifice as being forbidden.

Background

All denominations of Judaism hold that gentiles (non-Jews) are not obligated to follow Jewish law and custom; only Jews are obligated do so. Since traditional rabbinic Judaism has always affirmed a fairly strong view of religious pluralism, it teaches that gentiles are not obligated to convert to Judaism; as long as people live in accord with a basic set of moral laws, they can and do have a meaningful relationship with God.

The Noahide laws are those laws of God which are seen as binding upon all people, due to the agreement of Noah and his family to abide by them. According to the biblical account, the great flood killed all of mankind except Noah's family, hence all people now alive are held to be descendants of Noah.

There are differing accounts of the obligations thereby imposed on man: Islam for instance interprets them with additional tales of Noah.

Anyone who lives by these laws is termed a Noahide (follower of the covenant of Noah), also called a righteous gentile.

Maimonides states in his work Yad ha-Chazaka (The laws of kings and their rulership 8:11) that a non-Jew who keeps the Seven Noahide commandments is considered to be a Righteous Gentile and has earned the afterlife.

History

According to the tradition, the first six were given to Adam and Eve in Paradise and the last one to Noah (see Genesis chapter 9). A non-Jew is considered a Ger Toshav (gentile inhabitant) of Israel if he keeps the Seven Noahide commandments.