The 7 Noahide Commandments

G-d gave the first six commandments to Adam and Hava (Eve). These were repeated to Noah after the Flood, and a seventh was added, when G-d established the Covenant of the Rainbow with Noah and all of the world’s creatures. At Mount Sinai, G-d taught the Torah’s precepts through Moses, including G-d’s directive for all Gentiles to observe the 7 Noahide Laws. A Gentile merits to receive a place in the eternal future World to Come, in the Messianic Era, through careful and pious observance of these universal commandments. Information about the Noahide Laws in the Biblical text and their great significance is given in the categories below.

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An Introduction to the 7 Noahide Commandments

G-d gave six commandments to Adam, and He added a seventh in the Covenant of the Rainbow with Noah. These seven precepts are known as the Noahide Commandments.

Prohibition of Eating Meat of a Live Animal; Animal Welfare/Humane Slaughter

Don't eat meat removed from a living land mammal or bird, such as bobbed lambs' tails.

Sources and Timeline for the 7 Commandments

The 7 Noahide Laws are coded in Genesis 2:16. Five are explicitly found in verses in Genesis, one is in Leviticus. The timeline at Mount Sinai is in Exodus.

The Command to Establish Just Laws and Courts

God commanded about court trial of murderers in Gen. 9:6, “Whoever sheds the blood of man, among man, his blood shall be shed.”

The Prohibition of Blasphemy against G-d

The prohibition of blasphemy means not curse the Creator as He is known by His holy Names. This prohibits the worst form of speech directed against the Creator.

The Prohibition of Forbidden Sexual Relations

Genesis states, "a man shall leave his father and his mother and cling to his wife, and they shall become one flesh" (by conceiving a child).

The Prohibition of Idolatry

Belief in G-d & the prohibition of idolatry are the foundation of the Noahide Code. Any other entity that a person worships as an independent power is his idol.

The Prohibition of Murder and Injury

The Noahide prohibition of murder is given in Genesis 9:6, “Whoever sheds the blood of man, among man, his blood shall be shed."

The Prohibition of Theft

One must be very careful about theft, since there are many details and one naturally covets money. The focus of this command is to respect other's property.