# Details on the sevens law of Noah **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 6, 2011, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/details-on-the-sevens-law-of-noah/595426 "2011-09-06T19:53:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/details-on-the-sevens-law-of-noah/595426/1 "2011-09-06T19:53:32Z")
All children of Noah are to observe the following rules: 1.Prohibition of Idolatry 2.Prohibition of Murder 3.Prohibition of Theft 4.Prohibition of Sexual immorality 5.Prohibition of Blasphemy 6.Prohibition of eating flesh taken from an animal while it is still alive 7.Establishment of courts of law Some of them are rather clear (theft, blasphemy) but what counts as sexual immorality? Incest and bestiality, perhaps, but what else and how is sexual immorality determined? Eating the flesh taken from a live animal might sound weird, but my very limited Hebrew tells me, perhaps mistakenly, that “treif” means “torn of” but also “not kosher” so a sloppy translation would confuse meat that’s been torn off with meat that isn’t kosher. One of the biggest kashrut pohibitions is on eating meat with blood still in it. Genesis 9:3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things 9:4 But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. So the dietary Noahide law is actually a proscription on eating meat with blood in it, right? What are the punishments supposed to be for breaking Noahide laws? The last Noahide law says courts of justice should be set up, presumably to enforce the Noahide laws because if Noahide laws require the enforcement of any law, it ought to be the Noahide laws themselves. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/details-on-the-sevens-law-of-noah/595426/2 "2011-09-06T19:56:16Z")
Fortunately, breaking the rules of grammar is not against God’s will. If a mod sees this, could you change “sevens law” for “seven laws”? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/details-on-the-sevens-law-of-noah/595426/3 "2011-09-06T20:06:11Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > Genesis > 9:3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things > 9:4 But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. > > So the dietary Noahide law is actually a proscription on eating meat with blood in it, right? I think that’s the Rawhide law. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/details-on-the-sevens-law-of-noah/595426/4 "2011-09-06T20:15:59Z")
Seeing as how these foreshadow the Ten Commandments, would it be wrong to assume that “sexual immorality” would be “adultery”? ---
**Author:** ![Uber\_the\_Goober](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/58956e/32.png) [@Uber\_the\_Goober](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uber_the_Goober)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/details-on-the-sevens-law-of-noah/595426/5 "2011-09-06T23:10:03Z")
Yes, the prohibition referring to eating “life” was about not eating blood (Gen 9:4). It’s reiterated later in the Jewish laws (Leviticus 3:17; Leviticus 7:26; Leviticus 17:14, Deuteronomy 12:16,23; Deuteronomy 15:23), and in the Christian congregation’s “laws” (Acts 15:20,29). The punishments for breaking these laws were not specifically listed…because, you know, death and smiting were assumed. There was a death penalty for murder, but the others were just really strong “don’t do it” kind of laws, and I’m sure if he were here he could tell us how it all went down when someone broke the law. Among other interesting things…like what punishment **he got** for violating physical laws by cramming all that biomass into a relatively tiny wooden box for over a year and floating it around on a worldwide ocean…and stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/details-on-the-sevens-law-of-noah/595426/6 "2011-09-06T23:34:23Z")
> [@echo6160](#): > > . . . Among other interesting things…like what punishment **he got** for violating physical laws by cramming all that biomass into a relatively tiny wooden box for over a year and floating it around on a worldwide ocean…and stuff. He was tasked with cleaning up the biomass “byproducts.” ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/details-on-the-sevens-law-of-noah/595426/7 "2011-09-06T23:41:20Z")
The seventh is a nod to law and order. No one is ‘punished’ for breaking Noahide laws per se - just the ones of the land, wherever that may be. It’s the idea that all nations should adhere to those principles. It was also a requirement for non-Jews who live in the Land of Israel (with a temple and Jewish law - not the modern one). ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/details-on-the-sevens-law-of-noah/595426/8 "2011-09-07T00:09:52Z")
> [@CitizenPained](#): > > The seventh is a nod to law and order. No one is ‘punished’ for breaking Noahide laws per se - just the ones of the land, wherever that may be. The seventh commandment, though, is that people should set up courts of law to enforce those laws. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/details-on-the-sevens-law-of-noah/595426/9 "2011-09-07T00:15:50Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > Some of them are rather clear (theft, blasphemy) but what counts as sexual immorality? Incest and bestiality, perhaps, but what else and how is sexual immorality determined? Engaging in sex with people involved in worshiping foreign gods. ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/details-on-the-sevens-law-of-noah/595426/10 "2011-09-07T00:19:41Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > The seventh commandment, though, is that people should set up courts of law to enforce those laws. I guess what I mean is that courts is a system of justice based on morality. So even though, “Though shalt not defame another person” isn’t specifically listed, it’s reasonable to think that there’d be recourse for that in a just world. But if I’m a nonJew and I decide to follow these laws, I’m not expected to set up a vigilante system of justice, nor is a bet din (to my understanding) going to (literally) judge me if I have a burger medium rare. Perhaps I used ‘per se’ incorrectly. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/details-on-the-sevens-law-of-noah/595426/11 "2011-09-07T21:42:22Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > Some of them are rather clear (theft, blasphemy) but what counts as sexual immorality? Good question. Sages have debated that for centuries. Don’t expect a single, definitive answer anytime soon.