The Noahide Laws, also known as the Seven Laws of Noah or the Noachide Laws, are a set of seven moral imperatives that, according to the Talmud, were given by God to Noah as a binding set of laws for all humanity. The Noahide Laws are derived primarily from Genesis 9 in the Hebrew Bible, where God makes a covenant with Noah after the flood and commands Noah and his descendants to abide by seven commandments.
The Seven Noahide Laws as traditionally enumerated are:
- Do not deny God.
- Do not blaspheme God.
- Do not murder.
- Do not engage in incest, adultery, pederasty or bestiality.
- Do not steal.
- Do not eat flesh torn from a living animal.
- Establish courts of justice.
According to Jewish tradition, non-Jews who adhere to these laws because they were commanded by Moses are said to be followers of Noahidism and regarded as righteous gentiles, who are assured of a place in the world to come. The Noahide Laws are also considered the minimal moral duties required by the Bible on all men.
While the Noahide Laws are fairly well known in Jewish theology and tradition, they are less familiar to many Christians. This article will examine the Noahide Laws from a biblical perspective, looking at relevant passages in Genesis, Acts, and elsewhere to understand their origin and purpose according to Scripture.
Genesis 9 and the Establishment of the Noahide Covenant
The passage in Genesis 9 that establishes God’s covenant with Noah and introduces the Noahide Laws reads:
And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they are delivered. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man.
“Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image. And you, be fruitful and multiply, increase greatly on the earth and multiply in it.”
Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, “Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” (Genesis 9:1-11, ESV)
This passage outlines several key components of the Noahide covenant:
- God blesses Noah and his sons and commands them to populate the earth (9:1)
- Animals will fear humans and can be eaten for food, but blood is not to be consumed (9:2-4)
- Murder is wrong because man is made in God’s image (9:5-6)
- God promises to never again destroy the earth with a flood (9:8-11)
While the Noahide Laws are not explicitly laid out here, Jewish rabbis have derived the seven main laws from an analysis of the Noahide covenant. The first prohibition against idolatry or blaspheming God comes from the covenant relationship itself, as Noah presumably had to acknowledge and worship Yahweh. The law against murder is stated explicitly. The law against theft can be inferred from the fact that God granted humanity dominion over the earth and its creatures.
The Talmud expands on the implicit Noahide Laws in Genesis 9, prohibiting certain sexual immoralities as bringing disorder into the family unit. The law against eating flesh from a living animal comes from Genesis 9:4’s prohibition on consuming blood. And the mandate to establish courts of justice is derived from the covenantal nature of God’s relationship with Noah, which implies a social order and system of laws.
Other Biblical References to the Noahide Laws
There are a few other passages in Scripture that reference the Noahide Laws or covenant:
But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled. Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us. Bondservants are to be submissive to their own masters in everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, not pilfering, but showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior. For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you. Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people. But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.
(Titus 2:1 – 3:11, ESV)
In his letter to Titus, Paul encourages proper moral behavior that lines up with several of the Noahide prohibitions, including those against idolatry, sexual immorality, and murder. He explicitly references “renounc[ing] ungodliness” (2:12) and says Christ redeemed believers from “lawlessness” (2:14).
For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.” (Acts 15:28-29, ESV)
At the Jerusalem Council described in Acts 15, the early Jewish Christians affirmed some Noahide prohibitions to Gentile believers, specifically those related to idolatry, sexual immorality, and eating blood.
So while the Noahide Laws are not spelled out identically anywhere else in Scripture, there are references affirming core elements of the Noahide code, especially as they relate to prohibiting idolatry and sexual immorality while promoting moral uprightness.
Purpose and Function of the Noahide Laws in Judaism
For observant Jews, the Noahide Laws are considered the universal, minimal moral duties that apply to all of humanity. Jewish rabbis have reasoned that if the entire world observed these basic ethical laws, it would lead to a more just, peaceful, and orderly society.
The Talmud specifies that any non-Jew who adheres to these laws is considered a “righteous gentile” and is assured of a place in the “world to come” (i.e. heaven). The rabbis thus argue that non-Jews do not necessarily need to become Jewish proselytes to attain salvation. They simply need to lead moral lives according to the ethics God laid out for Noah and his descendants.
The Noahide Laws provide the minimal moral system binding on all humans and prohibit idolatry, blasphemy, murder, sexual immorality, theft, eating limb torn from a live animal, and failing to establish courts of justice. However, Jews were also given additional laws at Sinai including the Ten Commandments, kosher dietary restrictions, and Sabbath observance. These 613 commandments in the Torah provide further guidance for how Jews are to live in covenant relationship with God.
Thus for Jewish thinkers, the Noahide Laws represent God’s basic requirements for gentiles. Jews have a further covenant obligation to follow the 613 mitzvot in the Torah given specifically to the people of Israel at Sinai.
Christian Views on the Noahide Laws
Throughout church history, there has been debate among Christian theologians about the continued applicability of the Noahide Laws. When Christianity spread to the gentile nations, questions arose about whether Noahide law applied to non-Jews who converted to Christianity.
The New Testament book of Acts makes clear that Gentile converts to Christianity are not obligated to follow the entirety of the Mosaic Law and become circumcised. However, the Jerusalem Council still commanded new Gentile Christians to observe core moral laws, including abstaining from sexual immorality, idolatry, and consuming blood (Acts 15:19-21, 28-29).
Based on this biblical precedent, the early church father Tertullian argued that the core of Noahide ethics remained binding on gentiles. However, he still saw it as a temporary set of laws prior to Christians receiving the higher New Covenant law.
The Catholic Church has debated the ongoing applicability of Noahide law throughout its history. Thomas Aquinas argued that the Noahide commandments were a permanent part of natural law, while other thinkers saw them as only a temporary stage. Modern Catholic theology has tended to view the Noahide precepts as permanent moral laws binding on all humanity.
Among modern Protestant evangelicals, views vary on the Noahide Laws. Some argue these laws applied only prior to Sinai and that we are now under the law of Christ in the New Covenant. Others contend that Noahide ethics remain binding as part of God’s overarching moral requirements for humanity.
Those who see ongoing biblical support for Noahide ethics today argue that sexual immorality, idolatry, murder, and theft are still morally wrong according to New Testament principles. But ceremonial aspects like diet and circumcision have been fulfilled in Christ.
So in summary, Christian perspectives on whether the Noahide code applies today are mixed. But most agree that the moral aspects prohibiting idolatry, sexual immorality, murder, and theft align with biblical morality for Christians as well.
Potential End Time Role
Some Christian eschatologists have linked the Noahide Laws to end times prophecy. This is based primarily on speculation about the one-world religion and government described in the books of Daniel and Revelation.
Hal Lindsey’s Late Great Planet Earth, published in 1970, connected the Noahide Laws to the Antichrist’s one-world government. In this view, interest in Noahide law represents Jewish and secular efforts to bring world faiths together and impose external conformity rather than true inward faith in Christ.
Other prophecy writers like Gary Kah have envisioned a scenario where the Antichrist ratifies the Noahide Laws as a global standard, punishing Christians who do not conform. This is thought by some to fulfill Revelation 13’s warnings about not being able to “buy or sell” without the mark of the beast.
However, these connections between Noahide legislation and the end times Antichrist are speculative. The Bible does not mention Noahide Law with respect to last days prophecy. Responsible Christians should take care not to demonize groups like Jews by associating Noahide ethics with unbiblical conspiracy theories.
In any case, Christians need not fear persecution based on hypothetical Noahide legislation. Jesus told his followers they would suffer for his sake (John 15:20). But he also said the true believer will overcome by faith in Christ (Rev. 12:11).
Key Points
In summary, here are some key facts to understand about the Noahide Laws:
- The Noahide Laws are seven moral imperatives believed to have been given by God to Noah after the Flood.
- They are derived from Genesis 9 and expanded on in the Talmud, including prohibitions on idolatry, sexual immorality, murder, theft, etc.
- Jewish thinkers see the Noahide code as the minimal ethics required of all humanity, while Jews have added responsibilities.
- Christian perspectives vary, but most see Noahide principles as consistent with New Testament ethics on immorality.
- Speculation about Noahide Laws in prophecy is unsupported by Scripture.
- Christians need not fear persecution but trust God if suffering for the gospel.
In the end, the Noahide Laws highlight God’s desire for all humanity to follow basic standards of morality and justice, while only Israel was given the Law at Sinai. Christians are now under the new covenant in Christ, whose moral standards align with but fulfill and exceed those given to Noah.