The Seven Noahide Laws

The Noahide Laws are seven ancient laws many people view as the basis of civilized society. They govern morality and represent the "bare minimum" of what God expects of humanity. They are called the "Noahide" laws because they are thought to have been given in their fullness to Noah after the flood. According to the Talmud, there were seven moral laws to govern the nations after the flood, and they are the foundation of the Law of Moses. Many years later, God would establish a special nation (Israel) with special laws, ceremonies, and a priesthood. When the Messiah came, He established a new covenant that would fulfill not only the Law of Moses but also the Noahide laws, sufficient for both the true Jew and the Gentile. Everyone would become a follower of the Messiah. 

Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn out her seven pillars (Proverbs 9:1). This verse might be a reference to the Seven Noahide Laws. When examining the original Hebrew, the word for “wisdom” is hokmot, and denotes a wise woman and the feminine personification of wisdom (Zodhiates). Hokmot is used in Proverbs 14:1: The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish tears it down with her own hands. May these wise women be Rachel & Leah, understood to be the matriarchs of Israel? If so, then Ruth 4:11 applies: All the people who were in the court, and the elders, said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built the house of Israel, and may you achieve wealth in Ephrathah and become famous in Bethlehem. As stated previously, the Seven Noahide Laws are the foundation of the Law of Moses and, thereby, the nation of Israel itself. 

Some scrolls found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, including the Ancient Seder Olam and the Ancient Book of Gad the Seer, speak of the Seven Noahide Laws. The Ancient Seder Olam 5 has a detailed explanation of the seven Noahide laws. The Ancient Book of Gad the Seer references them by stating that those forbidden to convert to Judaism must remain Noahides until the coming Messiah. The Ancient Law of Kings 9.1 reveals that the seven laws are taught in Genesis 9. 

The Talmud is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (halakha) and Jewish theology. Until recently, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the centerpiece of Jewish cultural life and was foundational to "all Jewish thought and aspirations," also serving as "the guide for the daily life" of Jews. 

1.      Do not deny God (abstain from idolatry). [Genesis 9:8-9]

2.      Do not blaspheme. [Mark 14:61-64]

3.      Do not murder. [Genesis 9:6]

4.      Do not engage in sexual immorality. [Genesis 2:24]

5.      Do not steal. [Ephesians 4:28]

6.      Do not eat a live animal (no eating flesh taken from an animal while it is still alive). [Genesis 9:4-5]

7.      Establish courts and legal systems to ensure obedience to these laws. 

According to the Babylonian Talmud, the first six of these seven laws were given to Adam in the Garden of Eden (the sixth law, not to eat live animals, was extraneous since Adam did not eat any animals). When God established His covenant with Noah, He added the seventh (and the sixth became applicable). Each of the seven Noahide Laws is seen as a summary of more detailed laws, about 211 in total. Though the number of laws was later increased to 30 with prohibitions against castration, sorcery, and other practices, the “seven laws,” with minor variations, retained their original status as authoritative commandments and as the source of other laws. As basic statutes safeguarding monotheism and guaranteeing proper ethical conduct in society, these laws provided a legal framework for alien residents in Jewish territory. Maimonides thus regarded anyone who observed these laws as one “assured of a portion in the world to come.” 

The seven laws, according to the Talmud, are derived from Genesis 2:16, And the Lord God commanded the man saying, ‘of every tree of the garden you may freely eat:’

·         "Establish courts of justice" is derived from "And the Lord God commanded" because "command" relates to justice and judgment.

·         "No blasphemy" is derived from the words "The Lord," which are used in connection with blasphemy in Leviticus: "And he who blasphemes the name of the Lord, he shall surely be put to death." [Leviticus 24:16]

·         "No idolatry" is derived from the word "God" because the word "God" is used in that context in Exodus: "You shall have no other gods before Me. "[Exodus 20:3]

·         "No murder" is derived from "the man" because the word "man" is used in that context in Genesis: "Whoever sheds man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed." [Genesis 9:6]

·         "No adultery" is derived from the word "saying" because it is used in that context in Jeremiah: "They say, 'If a man puts away his wife, and she goes from him and became another man's…'"[Jeremiah 3:1]

·         "No stealing" is derived from "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat ."Since it was necessary to authorize Adam to eat the trees of the garden, it follows that without such authorization, it was forbidden since the trees did not belong to him.

·         "No eating flesh from live animals" is derived from "You may freely eat" because it implies, "You may eat only what is ready for eating, which is not the case while the animal is alive."

Anyone who accepts these seven commands and seriously observes them is considered one of “the pious among the Gentiles” and will merit a share in the world to come. This only applies when he accepts and fulfills them because he wants to please the Holy One in the way that the Torah commands (Numbers 15:15). Moses, our teacher, has informed us that Noah had originally given these commands to all his descendants [Genesis 9].           Ancient Law of Kings 8.11

Judaism says a Gentile does not have to follow the Mosaic Law; however, all Gentiles are obliged to follow the Noahide Laws. The laws given to Noah’s children are universally binding. A non-Jew who abides by the Noahide Laws is considered a “pious Gentile," according to Judaism, and will earn a reward in the afterlife if his obedience is coupled with a knowledge that the laws come from God. A "pious Gentile” might also be called a “righteous Gentile” or simply a “Noahide.” 

In recent years, Noahide has come to refer to non-Jews who strive to live in accord with the seven Noahide Laws; the terms "observant Noahide" or "Torah-centered Noahides" would be more precise but are infrequently used. The rainbow, referring to the Noahide or First Covenant (Genesis 9), symbolizes many organized Noahide groups. A non-Jewish person of any ethnicity or religion is referred to as a bat ("daughter") or ben ("son") of Noah, but most organizations that call themselves are composed of Gentiles who are keeping the Noahide Laws.

For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.Romans 2:14-16

The above quote from Paul suggests a reference to the Gentile who recognizes and follows the Noahide Laws. According to the Bible Knowledge Commentary,

Such persons show that the Law is not to be found only on tablets of stone and included in the writings of Moses; it is also inscribed in their hearts and is reflected in their actions, consciences, and thoughts. The Law given to Israel is, in reality, only a specific statement of God's moral and spiritual requirements for everyone. Moral Gentiles, by their actions, show that the requirements (literally, "the work") of the Law are written on their hearts. Their consciences confirm this: the faculty within human beings that evaluates their actions and thoughts that either accuse or excuse them of sin. This is why Paul called such Gentiles a law for themselves. 

Two early church fathers also wrote about the Seven Noahide Laws: 

“[Adam] teaching them by what deeds of men the one God and Lord of all is pleased; and having exhibited to them the things that are pleasing to Him, appointed a perpetual to all, which neither can be abrogated by enemies, nor is vitiated by any impious one, nor is concealed in any place, but which can be read by all. To them, therefore, by obedience to the law, all things were in abundance.”      Clementine Homily 8:10 (1^st Century AD) 

“In short, before the Law of Moses, written in stone-tables, I contend that there was a law unwritten, which was habitually understood naturally, and by the fathers was habitually kept. For whence was Noah ‘found righteous,’ if in his case the righteousness of a natural law had not preceded? Whence was Abraham accounted ‘a friend of God,’ if not on the ground of equity and righteousness, (in the observance) of a natural law? Whence was Melchizedek named ‘priest of the most high God,’ if, before the priesthood of the Levitical law, there were not Levites who were wont to offer sacrifices to God?”       Tertullian, Jews 2 (2^nd Century AD)

An implication of the existence of these laws throughout human history is that there was always a means of pleasing God apart from a formal religious program or institution. Every man can connect with the God of the Bible directly, through the covenant God made with Noah in Genesis 9:9-13, until Messiah would come to fulfill Genesis 3:15: 

“Now behold, I Myself do establish My covenant with you, and with your descendants after you; and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you; of all that comes out of the ark, even every beast of the earth. "I establish My covenant with you, and all flesh shall never again be cut off by the water of the flood, neither shall there again be a flood to destroy the earth." God said, "This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all successive generations; I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth.         Genesis 9:9-13 

According to Ken Johnson’s Ancient Law of Kings: 

Traditional Judaism (Pharisees) rejects the Messiah Yeshua, but they do teach the concept of the Noahide laws. Therefore, they would agree with the Christians that Gentiles were never supposed to follow the Mosaic law.

Messianic Judaism accepts Yeshua as the prophesied Messiah but also believes in the Noahide Laws. Gentiles have never been bound to the Mosaic Law, but they, as a group of Jews and Gentiles, choose to adhere to the Mosaic law as part of their covenant and to be a better witness to Jews.

Hebrew Roots Movement is varied. Most accept Yeshua as the Messiah but do not know about or accept the Noahide Laws. They can be subdivided into four subcategories: Noahide Hebrew Roots (Mosaic Law never intended for Gentiles), One-Law Movement (reject Noahide laws, Mosaic Law is for everyone), Two-Stick Movement (those keeping the Mosaic Law are the true Israel), and Essene Hebrew Roots (teaching of the law as interpreted by the Dead Sea Scrolls).

 

References

Johnson, Ken. “The Ancient Law of Kings”. Defender Publishing