Noahide Law

[Ed Hurst]

Way back in my blog archives I covered this in a whole series. Here's the shortest installment to get you started:

In the past, when discussing the Covenent of Noah, I've been told by a few people I must be making this up. Actually, this is something entirely solid in Hebrew history. Even under the mistaken notions of the Talmud, Jewish scholars today recognize it as quite ancient. I usually don't care much for the way Wikipedia covers things, but this one is rather well done: Seven Laws of Noah.

1. Prohibition of Idolatry: You shall not have any idols before God.
   
   
2. Prohibition of Murder: You shall not murder. (Genesis 9:6)
   
   
3. Prohibition of Theft: You shall not steal.
   
   
4. Prohibition of Sexual Promiscuity: You shall not commit any of a series of sexual prohibitions, which include adultery, incest, bestiality and male homosexual intercourse.
   
   
5. Prohibition of Blasphemy: You shall not blaspheme God's name.
   
   
6. Dietary Law: Do not eat flesh taken from an animal while it is still alive. (Genesis 9:4)
   
   
7. Requirement to have just Laws: You shall set up an effective judiciary to enforce the preceding six laws fairly.
   

It should be obvious the Jerusalem Council saw no need to restate 2, 3, 5 and 7. Blasphemy was too obvious, and the rest were covered under civil law already.

I note that this is pretty close to what took place in Acts 15. Here's another quote:

 [The above] represents modern Jewish scholarship on the Bible passage near the end of Genesis 8, and into chapter 9. I would suggest their current major mistake is thinking Noah falls under Moses, whereas Jesus and the Apostles said the Covenant of Moses ended at the Cross, but taught Noah was still in force, as evidenced by the results of the Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15. You'll probably notice the Apostles didn't echo all of the Seven Laws because it wasn't necessary. There were already plenty of laws against murder and theft, and blasphemy was too obvious. Besides which, the current Jewish presentation of their Noachide Laws is deeply influenced by their Talmudic approach, which is not at all Scripture. The current Talmudic version overstates things, and carries a distinct hatred for Gentiles. Still, the list seems to reflect a much older scholarship. The Council did cite three issues because it might be news to Gentile Christians: idolatry, sexual immorality and meat with blood in it (usually strangled).

I covered this somewhat in one of my books, but I kept some copies of the older stuff that was behind the books. I believe I have a long PDF on Noah's Laws.