What Are the Seven Noahide Laws and Who Must Keep Them?

Do not murder, do not steal, do not worship idols: these rules seem so obvious that it is surprising to see them gathered into a separate list. Yet for Jewish tradition they form a genuine body of law, addressed not to the Jewish people alone but to all of humanity, and the Talmud discusses their sources, their exact number, their penalties and their status with a jurist’s precision. What do they contain, where do they come from, and what do they say about Hashem’s relationship with the nations?

In one sentence: the seven Noahide laws (in Hebrew sheva mitzvot bnei Noach, “the seven commandments of the children of Noah”) are, according to the Talmud (Sanhedrin 56a), the obligations that rest on every non-Jewish human being: to establish justice, not to blaspheme, not to practice idolatry, not to commit forbidden sexual unions, not to shed blood, not to steal, and not to eat a limb torn from a living animal. A non-Jew is bound neither by Shabbat nor by the 613 commandments. According to the Rambam (Maimonides), whoever keeps them while recognizing in them the command of G-d is a chasid umot ha-olam, a “righteous person of the nations,” who has a share in the World to Come (Hilchot Melachim 8:11). The sources differ on many points, and this article presents them without adjudicating between them.

We follow here the sugya (the Talmudic discussion) of Sanhedrin 56a-59a, then the great commentators: the Rambam, the Ramban, the Tosafot, the Meiri and Rav Saadia Gaon. We set out the debate on the reason for which these laws are kept, on the study of Torah by non-Jews, on the ger toshav, and on the contemporary “Bnei Noach” movement. The lectures of Rav Raphaël Benizri are summarized separately.

What the Written Torah Says: Adam, Noah and the Covenant

The Torah contains no list of the seven laws. They are deduced from verses in Bereshit (Genesis), by methods that the Talmud discusses at length.

The first verse is Bereshit 2:16: “The L-rd G-d commanded (vayetsav) the man, saying: of every tree of the garden you may freely eat.” Rabbi Yochanan reads all seven laws into it, word by word (Sanhedrin 56b), as we shall see. A second set of verses comes after the Flood. The account of the Flood first gives the reason for the catastrophe: “the earth was corrupt before G-d, and the earth was filled with violence (chamas)” (Bereshit 6:11). After the Flood, G-d blesses Noah and his sons, then declares: “But flesh with its soul, its blood, you shall not eat. But for your blood, for your souls, I will demand an account […]. Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man (ba-adam) shall his blood be shed, for in the image of Elokim He made man” (Bereshit 9:4-6). The prohibition of a limb from a living animal and that of murder are thus both stated, each in a setting that concerns all of humanity, descended from Noah (“from these the whole earth was dispersed,” Bereshit 9:19).

Then comes the covenant: “Behold, I establish My covenant with you and with your descendants after you […]: never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood” (Bereshit 9:9-11), whose sign is the rainbow (9:12-13). The text sets no condition: G-d’s commitment is formulated without reservation, and it also concerns “every living creature.” The Sages nevertheless draw from the whole passage (9:1-7) the foundation of laws attached to it; some teachers, including Rav Benizri (see below), present the seven laws as the condition of this covenant. The scriptural basis of the list therefore remains a matter of interpretation, which is why the Talmud discusses it.

Sanhedrin 56a-b: The Baraita and the Debate on the List

The classic list appears in a baraita (a teaching from the period of the Mishna, preserved in the Talmud) at the end of Sanhedrin 56a: “The children of Noah were given seven commandments: judgments (dinim), the blessing of the Name [that is, blasphemy, by euphemism], idolatry, forbidden sexual unions, bloodshed, theft, and a limb from a living animal.” The Tosefta gives a parallel version (Avodah Zarah 8:4, or 9:4 in the numbering of the edition reproduced on Sefaria), which develops each law through practical cases, for example: “just as Jews are bound to set up courts in their towns, so are the children of Noah.” Note that the order places the courts first: justice is the condition for the application of the other laws.

The baraita continues with opinions that would widen the list (Sanhedrin 56b). Rabbi Chananya ben Gamla adds blood taken from a living animal. Rabbi Chidka adds castration. Rabbi Shimon adds sorcery, and Rabbi Yossi everything that the Torah lists under that heading (Devarim 18:9-12: the nations were driven out for such practices, so these were forbidden to them). Rabbi Elazar adds kilayim (forbidden mixtures), but specifies that the children of Noah may sow different seeds together and wear garments of linen and wool, and are forbidden only to crossbreed animals of different species and to graft trees of different species. The Rambam adopts this last position as a prohibition not carrying the death penalty (Hilchot Melachim 10:6).

Where Does Each Law Come From? Rabbi Yochanan’s Derivation

The Talmud then asks where these commandments are derived from (Sanhedrin 56b). Rabbi Yochanan answers with Bereshit 2:16-17, which he reads word by word:

• vayetsav (“He commanded”): the courts, as in Bereshit 18:19 (Avraham “will command his children […] to keep the way of the L-rd, to do righteousness and justice”);
• Hashem (the divine Name): the blessing of the Name, through Vayikra 24:16;
• Elokim: idolatry (“You shall have no other gods [elohim],” Shemot 20:3);
• ha-adam (“the man”): bloodshed (Bereshit 9:6);
• lemor (“saying”): forbidden unions (Yirmiyahu 3:1, where the verb “say” introduces the case of the divorced woman);
• mikol etz ha-gan (“of every tree of the garden”): one eats only what is one’s own, hence the prohibition of theft;
• achol tochel (“you may eat”): one eats a fruit, but not a limb of a living animal.

A detail from the Talmudic school shows the subtlety of the discussion: Rav Yitzchak, who came from the Land of Israel to Babylonia, taught two of these derivations in reverse order (vayetsav for idolatry, Elokim for the judges, since judges are called elohim in Shemot 22:7). Rav Chisda and Rav Yitzchak bar Avdimi then look in Scripture for another support for “vayetsav = idolatry” (Shemot 32:8: “they have quickly turned aside from the way that I commanded [tzivitim] them”; or Hoshea 5:11: “he willingly went after the tzav“). The practical question that divides them is whether a non-Jew is already guilty when he makes an idol without worshiping it (Sanhedrin 56b).

Are Courts a Noahide Law?

The Gemara then objects: a baraita teaches that at Marah the Israelites received ten commandments, namely “seven that the children of Noah had accepted, plus the judgments, Shabbat and honoring parents.” So the judgments would not be among the seven. Rav Nachman, in the name of Rabbah bar Avuh, answers that the establishment of courts is indeed Noahide, and that Marah added only the details. Several other answers are proposed (the law of fines, the obligation to have a court in every town), and then Rava proposes that the baraita under objection represents the school of Menashe. That school taught a different list of seven laws: idolatry, forbidden unions, bloodshed, theft, a limb from a living animal, castration and kilayim, with neither courts nor blasphemy (Sanhedrin 56b). Each of these laws is deduced there from its own verse in the account of the Flood (Sanhedrin 57a): for example Bereshit 6:11-12 for idolatry and forbidden unions, Bereshit 9:3 for theft, 9:4 for a limb from a living animal, 9:7 for castration. For the other Sages, these verses merely describe the conduct of the generation of the Flood or grant permissions to eat. The Gemara also cites an opinion of Rabbi Yehuda: according to him, Adam had received only the prohibition of idolatry; Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira adds the blessing of the Name; “some say” that he had also received the courts (Sanhedrin 56b).

We can see that the list of seven is not self-evident: it is the outcome of a debate in which competing lists were set against each other. The Rambam adopts the count of the anonymous baraita, with a point of his own: Adam received six commandments (idolatry, blasphemy, murder, forbidden unions, theft, courts) and Noah additionally received the prohibition of a limb from a living animal, based on Bereshit 9:4 (Hilchot Melachim 9:1). The Talmud, for its part, reads all seven in Bereshit 2:16, following Rabbi Yochanan.

Penalty and Procedure

The Talmud also presents the penal regime of these laws (Sanhedrin 57a-b, which cites a book of aggadot from the academy of Rav). The son of Noah is condemned on the declaration of a single judge and a single witness, without prior warning; a relative may testify, but a woman may be neither witness nor judge. Each point is deduced from Bereshit 9:5-6. For Rav Huna and the disciples of Rav, the son of Noah is sentenced to death for the transgression of each of the seven laws (Sanhedrin 57a). The Rambam takes up these rules (Hilchot Melachim 9:14), specifying death by decapitation (“by the sword”). He also states that a non-Jew who transgresses unintentionally is exempt from penalty, unintentional killing receiving special treatment (Hilchot Melachim 10:1). These penal rules belong to a judicial system that does not exist today.

A Longer List: The Thirty Mitzvot

The Talmud also knows a far longer count. According to Ulla, the children of Noah had accepted thirty commandments, of which they observe only three: not to draw up a marriage contract between two men, not to weigh human flesh publicly in butcher shops, and to honor the Torah (Chullin 92a-b). Rabbi Yehuda, in the same sugya, reads this “thirty” (Zechariah 11:12) as the thirty righteous people of the nations for whose merit the world endures. This is an aggadic passage. It does not alter the halachic list of seven.

The Seven Laws, One by One

1. Idolatry (avodah zarah). The son of Noah is condemned for idolatry when he practices it in the manner in which it is customarily practiced, and for every form of idolatry that would incur the death penalty for a Jew; the forms that do not remain forbidden to him but without capital punishment (Hilchot Melachim 9:2; Sanhedrin 56b). The Rambam adds that non-Jews are not even allowed to erect monuments or make images, even for ornament.

A delicate question is that of shituf (“association”): a belief that acknowledges the Creator but associates another being with Him. The Talmud raises the question in connection with a business partnership with a non-Jew: the father of Shmuel forbade entering into partnership with him, for fear that he would have to swear by his idol (Sanhedrin 63b). The Tosafot (Sanhedrin 63b, assur le-adam she-ya’aseh shutafut, and Bechorot 2b) report Rabbenu Tam: nowadays non-Jews swear by their sacred objects without attributing divinity to them, and their intention is directed to the Creator; and if they associate the divine Name with something else, “we do not find that it is forbidden to cause them to make this association, for the children of Noah were not warned about this.” This position is taken up by the Rema (Orach Chaim 156:1, citing the Ran, Rabbenu Yerucham and the Tosafot), setting aside the objection of lifnei iver (“do not place a stumbling block before the blind”), since non-Jews are not warned against association. The Shulchan Aruch, for its part, takes the opposite view and forbids partnership with a non-Jew for this reason. The halacha on shituf is therefore nuanced and depends on the context, on the authority followed and on the religion concerned. One should consult a rabbi rather than draw a general rule from it.

2. Blasphemy (birkat Hashem, lit. “blessing of the Name”). The term is a euphemism: one says “bless” for “curse.” The Gemara (Sanhedrin 56a) makes it a subject of in-depth study based on Vayikra 24:15-16, and notes a dispute: for Rabbi Meir, the non-Jew is liable to death even for a curse uttered by means of a descriptive name (kinuyim); for the Sages, he is not sentenced to death for descriptive names, but Rav Meyasha holds him liable even according to the Sages. The Rambam rules broadly: the son of Noah is guilty whether he uses the proper Name or another name, in any language (Hilchot Melachim 9:3). These rules do not apply to Jews, whose blasphemy is governed by other laws.

3. Murder (shefichut damim). “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for in the image of Elokim He made man” (Bereshit 9:6). For Rabbi Yishmael, cited at Sanhedrin 57b, the son of Noah is condemned even for killing a fetus, since ba-adam reads “in a man” (that is, the child in its mother’s womb). The Rambam adopts this (Hilchot Melachim 9:4), as well as the liability of one who causes death in other ways (handing someone over to a lion, starving him), whereas this liability does not apply to Jews.

One textual point deserves mention. The Mishna teaches that Adam was created alone “to teach you that whoever destroys a single soul, Scripture counts it against him as if he had destroyed an entire world” (Sanhedrin 4:5). In the printed text of the Mishna and of the Babylonian Talmud (Sanhedrin 37a), we read “a single soul of Israel” (mi-Yisrael). In the Kaufmann manuscript of the Mishna and in the Jerusalem Talmud (Sanhedrin 4:9), the wording is “a single soul,” without “of Israel.” When this maxim is cited as proof of the value of every human life, one should therefore know that this is a manuscript reading, not the usual printed text.

4. Forbidden unions (gilui arayot). For non-Jews, the Rambam lists six: the mother, the father’s wife, a married woman, a maternal sister, a man, an animal (Hilchot Melachim 9:5), deduced from Bereshit 2:24 (“a man shall leave his father and his mother and cling to his wife, and they shall be one flesh”) and from Bereshit 20:12 for the mother’s daughter. A married woman is forbidden only after the first marital relations with her husband, because, for non-Jews, marriage is only effected in that way (9:7; Sanhedrin 57b-58a). The Sages debate the cases of the paternal sister, the aunt, and even the daughter: Sanhedrin 58b records these debates, including the case of Avraham and Sarah (Bereshit 20:12). We will not go into them here.

5. Theft (gezel). The Rambam extends Noahide theft to kidnapping, to withholding a worker’s wages, and to the theft of an object worth less than a perutah (the smallest coin), for which the non-Jew is condemned whereas the Jew is not (Hilchot Melachim 9:9). Its Talmudic source is Bereshit 9:3 according to Rabbi Levi (Sanhedrin 57a) and, according to the other reading, “of every tree of the garden” (56b). The reason given is that non-Jews do not readily forgive even a minimal sum (Sanhedrin 59a).

6. A limb from a living animal (ever min ha-chai). The Rambam specifies that the prohibition applies regardless of quantity, and to the flesh of a pure or impure animal (Hilchot Melachim 9:10-13). He thinks that the non-Jew is not liable to death for a limb taken from a living bird, but he rules on this only with “it seems to me” (9:11). The Rambam permits the non-Jew the blood of a living animal (9:10), against Rabbi Chananya ben Gamla, who wished to forbid it (Sanhedrin 56b, 59a). Commentators see in this law an education in compassion, a brake on cruelty at the very moment when permission to eat meat is granted (Bereshit 9:3-4). This is a moral interpretation; the Gemara is content to deduce it from the verse.

7. Courts (dinim). The first six laws are prohibitions; the seventh is a positive obligation. For the Rambam, the children of Noah must appoint judges in every major town, to judge the other six laws and to warn the population about them (Hilchot Melachim 9:14). He draws a striking consequence: the inhabitants of Shechem deserved death because Shechem had abducted Dinah and they had seen it without bringing him to judgment. The Ramban (Bereshit 34:13) expressly rejects this explanation: if it were correct, Yaakov should have been the first to put them to death, whereas he reproached Shimon and Levi for their act and cursed their anger much later (Bereshit 34:30; 49:5-7). For the Ramban, the law of dinim includes a genuine civil law: theft, sale, wages, deposits, damages, seduction, loans, as for Israel. The obligation to appoint judges in every town is part of it, but the non-Jew who refrains from doing so is not condemned to death, because it is a positive commandment: only a prohibition (azharah) carries the death penalty. In his view, it was not for Yaakov and his sons to pass that judgment. The discussion shows that the “seventh law” is the most open of the seven.

A word on the whole: these laws say nothing of Shabbat, kashrut or prayer. They form a minimum that can be demanded, not a program for life. The Rambam also states that a non-Jew who is forced to transgress is not bound to sanctify the Name by martyrdom (Hilchot Melachim 10:2), which marks yet another difference from the 613.

Why Keep Them? Revelation, Reason and “Chasid Umot Ha-Olam”

What becomes of someone who keeps these laws? The debate begins in the Tosefta (Sanhedrin 13:2), taken up in Sanhedrin 105a. Rabbi Eliezer reads Tehillim 9:18 (“the wicked shall return to Sheol, all the nations that forget G-d”) as excluding all the nations from the World to Come. Rabbi Yehoshua answers that the verse does not say “all the nations” but “the nations that forget G-d,” and so there are righteous people among the nations who have a share in the World to Come. The halacha follows Rabbi Yehoshua (this is what the Kesef Mishneh retains on Hilchot Melachim 8:11). The Rambam teaches elsewhere that “the righteous of the nations have a share in the World to Come” (Hilchot Teshuvah 3:5).

The Rambam’s Text (Hilchot Melachim 8:11)

“Whoever accepts the seven commandments and takes care to fulfill them is among the chasidei umot ha-olam and has a share in the World to Come. And this on condition that he accepts them and fulfills them because the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded them in the Torah and made known to us through Moshe, our teacher, that the children of Noah had already been charged with them. But if he fulfills them by a conclusion of reason (hechrea ha-da’at), he is not a ger toshav, nor among the chasidei umot ha-olam, nor [according to the printed text] among their sages.”

It must be pointed out that the end of the sentence is a matter of textual dispute. The usual printed text reads “velo me-chachmeihem” (“nor among their sages”). Several authors read “ela me-chachmeihem” (“but among their sages”): the Maharam Alshekh (responsa no. 117), R. Zalman of Vilna (Toldot Adam), who finds support for it in a midrash, and the Maharatz Chayes, who proposes this correction. According to Haggahot Kevod Melachim, this is also the reading of two manuscripts of the Rambam and of two medieval authors who quote him (Yosef ben Shem Tov, Kevod Elokim; Profiat Duran, Ma’aseh Efod). According to the printed text, then, the non-Jew who acts by reason alone has none of these statuses; according to the variant, he is a sage of the nations, and his status is positive but of a different degree. The Kesef Mishneh (8:11) also observes that the Rambam seems to say this “from his own reasoning,” since he gives no Talmudic source.

The point remains philosophically important: the Rambam makes the status depend on the motivation, that is, on the recognition of the revealed source, and not on conformity of actions alone. The consequence is that “natural” morality is not enough, by itself, to make a non-Jew a chasid. But the Rambam does not say that this person is condemned, and some of the commentators understand the variant as a recognition of his wisdom.

A Tension Within the Rambam Himself

The Rambam writes, regarding the candidate for conversion, that he is told: “Know that the World to Come is reserved for the righteous, and they are the Jews” (Hilchot Issurei Biah 14:4). Commentators compare this sentence with Hilchot Teshuvah 3:5 and Melachim 8:11, and propose several reconciliations (notably: the Jew reaches it by his essence, the non-Jew must earn it by his deeds). It is a speech addressed to the future convert, but it forms part of the debate on the status of the nations.

The Position of Rav Saadia Gaon

In his lecture on Pirkei Avot, Rav Benizri points to a divergence between Rav Saadia Gaon and the Rambam: for the former, these laws were revealed to Noah and have been kept ever since; for the latter, they were so until Sinai, after which a new covenant was made. This presentation could not be verified directly in Rav Saadia’s writings; it is reported here as the Rav’s teaching. What can be verified is that Rav Saadia, at the beginning of treatise III of his Emunot ve-De’ot, distinguishes “rational” commandments, which the intellect recognizes as needing to be commanded (gratitude toward the Creator, the prohibition of cursing Him, the prohibition of wrongs between people: justice, homicide, adultery, theft), from “revealed” commandments, which the intellect does not dictate and which the Torah adds. This first category largely overlaps with the seven laws (blasphemy, justice, murder, adultery, theft), which feeds the comparison the Rav makes. The Rambam, for his part, ties the obligation of non-Jews to the revelation made to Moshe (Hilchot Melachim 8:11; 9:1).

Non-Jews, Torah and Reward

Studying Torah: A Prohibition and Its Reconciliation

Rabbi Yochanan teaches: “a non-Jew who engages in Torah is liable to death, for it is written: ‘Moshe commanded us a Torah, an inheritance (morashah) of the congregation of Yaakov’ (Devarim 33:4): an inheritance for us, not for them” (Sanhedrin 59a). The Gemara asks why this prohibition is not among the seven; it answers that it is included in theft (the non-Jew “steals” what is Israel’s inheritance), or, according to the reading me’orasah (“betrothed”), that it is likened to relations with a betrothed woman. It then sets against this the baraita of Rabbi Meir: “How do we know that even a non-Jew who engages in Torah is like a high priest? It says: ‘…which man (ha-adam) shall do and live by them’ (Vayikra 18:5); it does not say ‘priests, Levites, Israelites’ but ‘man'” (Sanhedrin 59a; Avodah Zarah 3a; Bava Kamma 38a). The reconciliation that the Gemara itself gives is: “Here, it concerns the study of their seven commandments” (Sanhedrin 59a).

The Rambam rules accordingly: “a non-Jew who engages in Torah is liable to death; he should engage only in his seven commandments”; he adds that the court beats him and informs him that he is liable to death, “but he is not executed” (Hilchot Melachim 10:9). According to the Kesef Mishneh, the Rambam sees here guilt before Heaven, not a court penalty, since he retains the death penalty only for the seven laws. The Lechem Mishneh adds that it is a rule of rabbinic origin with a scriptural support (asmachta). The same chapter specifies, however, that a non-Jew who observes the seven laws is not to be prevented from fulfilling another mitzvah in order to receive a reward (Hilchot Melachim 10:10: his offerings are accepted, and so is his tzedakah). The practical bearing of these texts on the study of Torah by a non-Jew today is debated, depending on the nature of the study. One should consult a rabbi.

Is a Non-Jew Rewarded for His Mitzvot?

The Talmud examines the question at Avodah Zarah 3a and Bava Kamma 38a. The assertion (of Rav Yosef) that they receive no reward for the seven laws is contradicted by the baraita of Rabbi Meir cited above. The Gemara answers: “they receive a reward, but not like one who is commanded and fulfills; like one who is not commanded and fulfills,” and Rabbi Chanina teaches that one who is commanded and fulfills is greater than one who is not commanded and fulfills. This is not an arbitrary downgrading: it is the idea that obligation gives an act a weight that free initiative does not have, while the Talmud also recognizes in initiative the value of a real act.

Bava Kamma 38a also reports the saying of Rabbi Abbahu, who reads Habakkuk 3:6: G-d saw the seven commandments that the children of Noah accepted, they did not keep them, and He therefore permitted their property to the Jews. This text is difficult, and should not be cited without its context, that of the laws of damages (the liability of the owner of a goring ox). For a reading that limits its scope, see the Meiri below.

The Meiri and the Universalism of the “Civilized Nations”

The Meiri (Rabbi Menachem Ha-Meiri, Provence, 13th-14th centuries) returns to this point several times. On Bava Kamma 113b, he writes that “the peoples who keep to the ways of religion and acknowledge divinity, even if their belief is far from ours,” are, for the rules of restitution, of error and “everything else,” “like Israel, without any difference.” In his commentary on Avodah Zarah 20a, he defines the ger toshav as “a complete son of Noah, who fulfills the seven commandments,” and he establishes that the restrictive laws concerning non-Jews are aimed at the ancient peoples “who were not surrounded by the ways of religion,” not at “the nations that keep to the ways of religion and acknowledge divinity” (on Avodah Zarah 20a and 26a). This distinction, which has been used to justify broad openings, is debated on the question of which religions and which periods it applies to. It should therefore be cited with its references, not as a general principle.

613 and 7

The Talmud (Makkot 23b) reports the teaching of Rabbi Simlai: 613 commandments were given to Moshe, namely 365 prohibitions (the days of the solar year) and 248 positive commandments (the limbs of the body). Israel committed itself to them at Sinai with: “All that the L-rd has spoken we will do and we will hear” (Shemot 24:3, 7). The differences from the seven laws come down to three points.

• Number and nature. The seven laws are almost all prohibitions; the 613 include Shabbat, the festivals, kashrut, worship, purity, and so on. A Jew also remains bound by the seven laws: he is not exempted from them by Sinai, because the law given at Sinai takes up rules already valid for the children of Noah (Sanhedrin 59a: a mitzvah stated to Noah and repeated at Sinai applies to both groups, according to Rabbi Yose bar Chanina).
• Vocation. Israel received the mission of being “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Shemot 19:6). The nations are not meant to imitate this way of life; the Rambam even forbids the non-Jew to create a new religion or to set commandments for himself on his own authority: “they are not allowed to innovate a religion or invent mitzvot of their own accord; either they become genuine converts and accept all the mitzvot, or they remain in their own Torah, neither adding nor subtracting” (Hilchot Melachim 10:9).
• Shabbat. For the Rambam, a non-Jew who observes a weekly rest “like a Shabbat,” even on a weekday, is “liable to death,” but the court merely beats him and warns him (Hilchot Melachim 10:9, based on Sanhedrin 58b). The rule is aimed not at the fact of resting, but at making a religious law out of that rest.

See also the article What Are the 613 Commandments (Mitzvot)?.

The Ger Toshav: The Resident Non-Jew

The term ger toshav (“resident stranger”) appears in the Torah, for example Vayikra 25:35 and 25:47, where it designates the social setting of an impoverished Israelite. On the first verse, Rashi, following the Sifra, understands it thus: “What is a toshav? One who has undertaken not to practice idolatry, but who eats animals not ritually slaughtered (nevelot).”

The Talmud gives three definitions (Avodah Zarah 64b). For Rabbi Meir, it is one who has undertaken “before three chaverim” (scholars scrupulous in Torah observance) not to practice idolatry. For the Sages, it is one who has accepted the seven commandments of the children of Noah. Others say: these are not yet gerei toshav; the ger toshav is the convert who eats animals not ritually slaughtered and who has accepted all the mitzvot of the Torah apart from this prohibition. The Rambam adopts the definition of the Sages: acceptance of the seven laws, “before three chaverim,” in any place (Hilchot Melachim 8:10; see Hilchot Issurei Biah 14:7). The ger toshav is neither circumcised nor immersed; he is accepted and is regarded as one of the “righteous of the nations.”

The Rambam specifies that this status is conferred only at a time when the Jubilee is observed (Hilchot Issurei Biah 14:8), in other words when all Israel dwells on its land. This text is read with difficulty alongside Melachim 8:10 (“in any place”); the question is one for specialists. According to the notes of the Touger edition, the Rambam deduces from Hilchot Avodah Zarah 10:6 that, as long as Israel has sovereignty over the land, a non-Jew may reside there only under this status. This point is contested by the Ra’avad, and the Kesef Mishneh considers that even the Rambam would admit that a moral non-Jew is not to be removed. Tradition moreover commands us to support the ger toshav, as one supports a poor Israelite, and to let him live among us (Sifra on Vayikra 25:35; Rambam, Hilchot Melachim 10:12, based on Devarim 14:21, “give it to the stranger who is within your gates”). The same text of the Rambam prescribes, “for the sake of peace,” visiting the non-Jewish sick, burying their dead and supporting their poor, citing Tehillim 145:9: “The L-rd is good to all, and His mercy is over all His works.”

This status is not applied in its formal shape today. It nevertheless retains a value of principle: the Torah does not imagine the stranger as an enemy, but as a resident endowed with rights and duties.

Does Judaism Seek to Convert? The Rambam’s Texts

This is one of the most widespread preconceptions: Judaism supposedly wants to win the world to its faith. The Talmud says almost the opposite. The candidate for conversion is first discouraged: “Why do you want to convert? Do you not know that Israel at this time is wretched, driven out, despised, harassed and afflicted with suffering?” If he answers “I know, and I am not worthy of being part of it,” he is accepted at once (Yevamot 47a; Rambam, Hilchot Issurei Biah 14:1).

The Rambam writes that Moshe bequeathed the Torah and the mitzvot only to Israel and to those who wish to convert, “but whoever does not wish to, he is not forced to accept the Torah and the mitzvot” (Hilchot Melachim 8:10). The next sentence, however, says: “likewise, Moshe our teacher commanded, from the mouth of the Almighty, to compel (lichof) all the inhabitants of the world to accept the commandments imposed on the children of Noah; and whoever does not accept them is put to death.” An honest reader must cite this passage. It is read in its context: the laws of kingship and war, in a framework where Israel is sovereign, where a Sanhedrin sits and where the peoples are under its authority (the Rambam speaks of “one who is under our authority” at 8:9). It does not define the conduct of individuals or a mission for today, and no one invokes it. Several contemporary thinkers draw opposite conclusions from it: some see in it a duty to make the seven laws known (this is notably the orientation of the Chabad movement), others see in it a provision tied to a situation that does not exist. Rav Benizri, as we will see, warns against those who would give lessons in Noahide laws to others. This question should be reserved for a rabbi.

The Universalism of the Torah

The Noahide laws express a central conviction: every human being is created “in the image.” The Mishna says: “Beloved is man (adam), for he was created in the image of G-d; and still more beloved, for it was made known to him that he was created in the image, as it is said: ‘for in the image of Elokim He made man'” (Pirkei Avot 3:14). The same mishna goes on to say “Beloved is Israel…,” in a way that does not contradict the first: the universal and the particular are affirmed together.

The prophets draw a horizon from this. Isaiah announces that the Temple “shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples” (Yeshayahu 56:7), and Tzefaniah promises: “Then I will give the peoples a pure language, that they may all call on the name of the L-rd and serve Him with one accord” (Tzefaniah 3:9). The Rambam describes the messianic times in this way: the nations will return to the true faith and will no longer steal or destroy (Hilchot Melachim 12:1); and, in the last halacha of his code, “the occupation of the whole world will be only to know G-d” (12:5).

History: From the Talmud to Today’s “Bnei Noach”

The seven laws are attested from the period of the Mishna (baraita of Sanhedrin 56a, Tosefta Avodah Zarah 8:4). The Rambam, in the twelfth century, places them at the end of his code, in the laws of kings and wars, between the laws on conquest and those on the Messiah (Hilchot Melachim 8-12), which shows that they belong to his overall vision of the world.

In the modern period, the English jurist John Selden (1584-1654) published in 1640 De jure naturali et gentium juxta disciplinam Ebraeorum (“On the Law of Nature and of Nations according to the Teaching of the Hebrews”), in seven books. He devotes one book to each Noahide law and makes them the foundation of universal natural law, which he derives from revelation and not from reason alone. The work had great influence on European legal thought.

In the nineteenth century, the rabbi of Livorno Eliyahu (Elie) Benamozegh developed, in Israël et l’Humanité (published posthumously in Paris in 1914 by Leroux, with a preface by Hyacinthe Loyson), the thesis of a universal religion: Israel follows the Torah of Moshe, and the rest of humanity follows the Noahide religion. This thesis has been debated and is not the unanimous position of the rabbis.

In the twentieth century, the Chabad-Lubavitch movement made the seven laws known to the non-Jewish public. It was in this context that President Reagan signed Proclamation 4921 of April 3, 1982, “National Day of Reflection” (96 Stat. 2721), in honor of the eightieth birthday of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. It rests on House Joint Resolution 447 of Congress and speaks of “the eternal validity of the seven Noahide laws, a moral code for all of us whatever our faith.” It is a symbolic proclamation, with no legislative force on the substance of the laws.

Around these laws a movement of non-Jews has formed who call themselves “Bnei Noach” or “Noahides”: people of varied traditions who choose to live by the seven laws and to study their meaning, without becoming Jewish. It is not a structured church, and situations vary widely.

Contemporary Questions: A Neutral Presentation

Several questions are debated among authorities, and we do not settle them.

• The seven laws as a religious identity. For the Rambam (Hilchot Melachim 10:9), the non-Jew must not create a religion for himself or new commandments. This invites caution toward “Noahide” practices that would imitate Judaism.
• Torah study. See above: the source is Sanhedrin 59a; the extent of what a non-Jew may study is the subject of varied positions.
• Shituf. The question of what a non-Jew’s belief in G-d must be is debated (Tosafot, Rema, see above).
• The role of Jews toward Noahides. Some rabbis gladly answer their questions; others are reserved.

None of these questions is resolved by a formula: each situation calls for the opinion of a competent rabbi.

Common Misconceptions About the Noahide Laws

“The Noahide laws are a separate religion.” No. They are neither a cult nor a church, but rules of conduct; the Rambam even forbids the non-Jew to make them the starting point of a new religion (Hilchot Melachim 10:9).

“Only those who keep the seven laws are saved.” This is not the formulation of the tradition: the righteous of the nations have a share in the World to Come (Tosefta Sanhedrin 13:2), and it is nowhere said that the rest of humanity is condemned. Judgment belongs to G-d alone.

“A Jew is not bound by the Noahide laws.” Yes, he is: a Jew is bound by them as well (Sanhedrin 59a). Rav Benizri describes them as the crown added to the 613 mitzvot.

“Judaism wants everyone to become Jewish.” This is false: the tradition even discourages the candidate (Yevamot 47a).

Frequently Asked Questions About the Seven Noahide Laws

What are the seven Noahide laws?

Courts, blasphemy, idolatry, forbidden sexual unions, bloodshed, theft and a limb from a living animal (baraita of Sanhedrin 56a). Six are prohibitions; one is a positive duty.

Why are they called “Noahide”?

Because they are associated with Noah, from whom all people descend (Bereshit 9:19). According to the Rambam, Adam had already received six of these commandments and Noah added the seventh (Hilchot Melachim 9:1); the Talmud reads all seven in Bereshit 2:16 (Sanhedrin 56b).

Must a non-Jew keep Shabbat or kashrut?

No: these commandments are part of the 613 mitzvot of the Jewish people. The Rambam even specifies that a non-Jew must not make a Shabbat for himself on his own initiative (Hilchot Melachim 10:9).

What reward is there for those who keep them?

The Rambam writes that whoever fulfills them because G-d commanded them is a chasid umot ha-olam and has a share in the World to Come (Hilchot Melachim 8:11). The Talmud grants him a reward, lesser than that of one who is commanded (Avodah Zarah 3a).

Can one convert to Judaism after observing the Noahide laws?

One can, but it is not an automatic transition: conversion goes through a rabbinic court and a commitment to the 613 mitzvot (see Who Is Jewish? And How Does One Become Jewish?). The candidate is first discouraged (Yevamot 47a).

Are the Bnei Noach a Jewish movement?

No. They are non-Jews who choose to live by the seven laws; the rabbis consulted vary in how they accompany them, and each situation calls for the opinion of a competent rabbi.

Are the Noahide laws state laws?

No. They have no legal status in a modern country; the American proclamation of 1982 is symbolic. Their authority is moral and religious.

Further Reading

The seven Noahide laws tell how Judaism thinks about humanity: a world in which everyone has a place, and where the Jewish people do not hold a monopoly on the relationship with G-d, but a particular charge. To continue:

• Noach: Discovering Elokim, a lecture by Rav Benizri
• Noach: The Tower of Babel
• Pirkei Avot: Acquiring the Torah Before Shavuot
• Yitro: Who Was Yitro?
• Bereshit Rabbah 39, Part 1: Lech Lecha
• Glossary of Hebrew Words in Judaism
• What Are the 613 Commandments (Mitzvot)?
• The Ten Commandments: Text, Meaning and Place in Judaism
• What Does “Chosen People” Mean in Judaism?

Sources and references (35)

• Bereshit (Genesis) 2:16-17; 2:24; 6:11-12; 9:1-19; 18:19; 20:12; 34:13; 49:5-7
• Shemot (Exodus) 19:6; 20:3; 22:7; 24:3 and 7; 32:8
• Vayikra (Leviticus) 18:5; 24:15-16; 25:35
• Devarim (Deuteronomy) 14:21; 18:9-12; 33:4
• Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 56:7; Tzefaniah 3:9; Hoshea 5:11; Tehillim (Psalms) 9:18; 145:9
• Mishna, Sanhedrin 4:5 (printed text and Kaufmann manuscript); Jerusalem Talmud, Sanhedrin 4:9
• Mishna, Pirkei Avot 3:14
• Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 37a; 56a-b; 57a-b; 58b; 59a; 63b; 105a
• Babylonian Talmud, Avodah Zarah 3a; 64b
• Babylonian Talmud, Bava Kamma 38a
• Babylonian Talmud, Makkot 23b; Yevamot 47a; Chullin 92a-b
• Tosefta, Avodah Zarah 8:4 (9:4 in the Sefaria edition); Tosefta, Sanhedrin 13:2
• Rashi on Vayikra 25:35 (following the Sifra)
• Tosafot on Sanhedrin 63b and on Bechorot 2b (assur le-adam she-ya’aseh shutafut)
• Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Melachim 8:10-11; 9:1-14; 10:1-2; 10:6; 10:9-10; 10:12; 12:1 and 12:5
• Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Teshuvah 3:5; Hilchot Issurei Biah 14:1-8
• Kesef Mishneh on Hilchot Melachim 8:11 and 10:9-10; Lechem Mishneh on 10:9; Haggahot Kevod Melachim and Maharatz Chayes on 8:11
• Ramban on Bereshit 34:13
• Meiri (Beit Ha-Bechirah) on Avodah Zarah 20a and 26a; on Bava Kamma 113b
• Rema, Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 156:1
• Rav Saadia Gaon, Emunot ve-De’ot, treatise III, chapters 1-2
• John Selden, De jure naturali et gentium juxta disciplinam Ebraeorum, London, 1640
• Elie Benamozegh, Israël et l’Humanité, Paris, Leroux, 1914 (posthumous)
• Ronald Reagan, Proclamation 4921, “National Day of Reflection,” April 3, 1982, 96 Stat. 2721 (based on House Joint Resolution 447)
• Rav Raphaël Benizri, Noach: Discovering Elokim
• Rav Raphaël Benizri, Noach: The Tower of Babel
• Rav Raphaël Benizri, Inscribe Us in the Book of Life: Rosh Hashanah
• Rav Raphaël Benizri, Pirkei Avot: Acquiring the Torah Before Shavuot
• Rav Raphaël Benizri, Yitro: Who Was Yitro?
• Rav Raphaël Benizri, Bereshit Rabbah 39, Part 1: Lech Lecha
• Rav Raphaël Benizri, Bereshit Rabbah 39, Part 2: Lech Lecha
• Rav Raphaël Benizri, Mishpatim: The Hebrew Slave and Freedom
• Rav Raphaël Benizri, Bereshit Rabbah 39, Part 7: Be a Blessing
• Rav Raphaël Benizri, Yom Kippur: The Book of Yonah and Teshuvah
• Rav Raphaël Benizri, Pesach: Where to Begin the Haggadah?

Article by the Pensées Juives editorial team. Passages attributed to Rav Raphaël Benizri are taken from his lectures published on this site.