I do not know the name of the author only that it comes from "The Path of Abraham" But I found it very interesting and informative. I hope you agree.
Path of Abraham
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| Introduction to Laws of Noah | |
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In writing about the Laws of Noah, I make a few basic assumptions
concerning the reader:
1) He acknowledges the Reality of the Absolute Authority over existence -- the Creator.
2) He is not a moral-relativist. He accepts that there must be absolutes regarding
what is right and what is wrong, independent of personal feelings or opinions.
3) He already more-or-less accepts the Hebrew Bible / "Old Testament" as expressive of the
Creator's "Word."
Whoever desires to know the Creator's Will must first and foremost
accept the Reality of His Existence,
and that regardless of anyone's current beliefs or practices, the
Creator is the Ultimate Authority in
determining what is right and wrong, moral and immoral. Against our
will
we were given existence. According to
His Will we are sustained.
If the above does not apply to you, then the following information may only cause frustration.
Let
not your emotions determine for you whether something
is acceptable or unacceptable. If we were
all to do so then anarchy would rule. It was for this very reason
that the world was flooded in the days of
Noah (see below). Much of the information below may be new to
you,
possibly even strange or extreme. If so,
remember that we are not the Authority over creation. Try to imagine
how strange the popular religions of the
modern world were when they first entered history -- yet what follows
preceded
them all:
INTRODUCTION
The Almighty commanded six categorical laws
to Adam. These were to be taught generation
after generation. Mankind quickly abandoned the Almighty's Instruction.
Ultimately the world was so corrupt in its
rebellion that only the household of Noah merited to be saved from the
expression of the Almighty's Will in
relation to the situation. This was the Great Flood.
Ever
wondered what it was that
made the generation of Noah worthy of such
an extreme consequence? The reason for this consequence is referred
to in Genesis 6:11-13 only by means of two words whose meanings do not specify the violation of any particular law -- though I am of the
opinion that they imply violation of the Law to Establish an Upright Judicial System. This itself is one of the Laws of Noah. The two Hebrew words used in describing the reason for the Great Flood
are "nish'hhatha" and "hhamas." Nish'hhatha literally means ruin, and implies a state of
corruption. Hhamas is roughly translated as tumult or social-disorder, and implies lawlessness and anarchy; yet these words by themselves do not give clear
indication of exactly what laws that generation was rebelling against, or
what orders they ceased to heed. The text makes one thing clear,
whatever
laws they had cast aside, they were laws
which the Almighty Creator expected them to uphold, upon which their
existence on
the Earth depended.
The Book of Jonah begs the same question. Yona [Jonah] was sent to Neen'weh [Nineveh]
to warn the non-Israelites living there that they must repent, lest the
Almighty bring judgment upon their great city.
They repented in the end, but what sins were
they repenting from? When they repented, what commandments of the
Creator did
they resume keeping which previously they had
turned against?
There
is found no where in the
Bible any straight forward list of the
obligations the Almighty commands the nations of the world to keep. It
should be clear
to all from the Bible's introduction to the
'Ten Commandments' that the 'Ten Commandments' were only directed
to the People of Israel. Immediately preceding the giving of the 'Ten Commandments,' (more
properly: the Ten Matters) it is recorded in Deuteronomy 5:1-4 the following:
"And
Moses called to
all of Israel and said unto them, 'Harken O
Israel, to the statutes and to the judgments that I am speaking in your
ears
this day, that you should learn them and keep
them - to do them... The TRANSCENDENT One did not make this
Covenant with our fathers, but rather, He made it with us - we who are here alive this day, all of us."
"..His Covenant that He commanded
to you to do, the Ten Matters.." (Deuteronomy 4:13)
In
addition to this, there are
laws contained in the Torah [Law of Moses]
which clearly indicate a distinction between Israelites and a
non-Israelite.
"You
shall not eat anything
that died on its own; you may give it to the
immigrant in your gates, and he shall eat it; or sell it to the
foreigner; for
you are a people set apart to the
TRANSCENDENT One your Venerable Authority.." (Deuteronomy 14:21)
* the Hebrew word gehr,
usually translated as "stranger," is here translated as immigrant.
From
this verse we learn of three
types of people distinct from the native-born
Israelite. We learn of an "immigrant in your gates" to whom we
"give," who
is distinct from the "foreigner" to whom we
"sell;" and because the "immigrant in your gates" mentioned in this
verse is
allowed to eat that which is forbidden to
Israel, we see that he is distinct from the immigrant mentioned in Numbers 15:15-16 "who permanently sojourns" with Israel; for unlike the immigrant of Deut. 14:21, the immigrant of Numbers 15:15-16 is obligated in Torah just as a native-born Israelite:
"As for the congregation,
the same statute is for you and for the immigrant who sojourns [immigrates] with you; an everlasting statute
for
your generations; as you are, so shall
the immigrant be, before the TRANSCENDENT One. The same Torah and the
same
adjudication shall be for you and for the
immigrant who sojourns [immigrates] with you." (Numbers 15:15-16)
(A side
note: The Written Torah does not explain how an individual changes from any one of these statuses
to another.)
By now, with all this information
in mind, a few things should be apparent to us:
1* that the Bible assumes
obligations for the non-Israelite nations of the world.
2* the obligations of the non-Israelite
nations are distinct from the obligations of the people of Israel
3* among people who are not native-born
Israelites there are three basic types -- a "foreigner" (nokhrey), a "immigrant of gates" (gehr be-sha'arekhem), and
a "immigrant who sojourns" (gehr ha-gor ita'khem);
4* the Bible is being vague regarding
these issues;
So
how can we know more about
these three types of status among
non-native-born Israelites? And the main question: With the Bible
being so vague,
how are we to know what commandments the non-Israelite nations are obligated to keep?
THE ANSWER
The
people of Israel inherited
from their righteous ancestors certain
teachings which preceded the Covenant made with Israel at Mt. Sinai.
Some of these
teachings are alluded to in the written text of the Torah [Law of Moses.] The most essential teachings which the People of Israel inherited from their ancestors are the Laws of Noah. It is these laws that are incumbent upon all mankind.
Throughout
history, while the
majority of humankind would be turning away
from surrendering to their Creator, there remained a remnant of people,
sometimes
just individuals, who preserved the chain of
instruction passed down from generation to generation, going all the way
back
to the first man (Adam) who received them
from the Almighty. The instruction of the 7 categorical laws, often
called the 7
laws of Noah because the 7th was given via
Noah, were kept by very few until Abraham's lifetime.
Abraham
not only preserved the
7 laws, he also strove to spread the
knowledge of and submission to the will of the One Creator to the
masses. Genesis 12:5 refers to “..souls they made in Haran.." The souls they made
can’t refer to children. Abraham and Sarah hadn’t yet had children,
as indicated in the chapters that follow Genesis 12. Instead, the ancient Sages of Israel
taught that the souls they made refer to the people that Abraham and
Sarah won over to the monotheistic community which they
were building. With Abraham, the Almighty
began to unfold His ultimate plan to remedy the problem of the world's
continual
rebellion and ignorance of His Will. The Almighty made an ETERNAL covenant
with Abraham's household. (See Genesis 17:7, 13, 19.) This household, whose faithful teachings were passed down through Isaac [Yeys'haq] and then Jacob [Ya'aqov],
developed into the People of Israel.
At the giving of the Torah at
Mt. Sinai, the People of Israel became set apart as a "priestly kingdom." What is a priestly kingdom without people to whom to minister? By making
the nation of Israel,
and setting them apart from the degenerative trends of the world by
means of the 613 commandments, the Almighty created
a way by which knowledge of the Torah would
never be forgotten. The core of this Torah remained the seven original
Laws of Noah, the core of which remained surrender to the One Creator. This nation, the People of Israel, would itself be a continual and eternal testimony to the Reality and Singularity of Creator's Being, and to the faithfulness of His Instruction for mankind.
The
LORD of the world set apart
a thin stretch of land for this set apart
people to dwell in. He choose this land to be at the cross roads of 3
major continents.
By placing this set-apart land in such a
location, it became inevitable that traveling caravans from throughout
the known
world would encounter this set-apart people.
Among the commandments given to Israel which form part of what is called
the "Oral Torah," is
that if anyone wants to even pass through the Land of Israel, although
they need not become an Israelite, they
must at least accept the 7 Laws of Noah. Such
a traveler who accepts the 7 laws is the "immigrant in your gates"
which we saw mentioned in the Written Torah
[Law of Moses] earlier. This function of People of Israel, being a
teacher
to the nations, is one of the essential
purposes of its existence as a nation of priests.
Teaching the 7 Laws of Noah is critical to that purpose.
Now as to the question - “Why
aren’t the 7 laws of Noah listed in the Bible?" Among the possible reasons
why the 7 laws are not plainly listed in the Torah [Law of Moses] may be:
1) Because the Written Torah
[Law of Moses] was not given directly to the nations. Rather, the nations were,
and are, to learn Torah under the guidance of the people of Israel. (Zechariah 8:23, 14:16-21; Micah 4:1-3)
2) Because when Israel received
the written Torah [Law of Moses], they already
had knowledge of the 7 Laws of Noah. This is similar to the reason why the writers
of the ‘New Testament’ did not repeat basic stories of Jes’us life in each of their books. The authors probably assumed or knew that the readers were already aware of these things. All in all, it is quite clear from the written text that the Israelites had standards of right and wrong
even before the giving of the Torah. The
same is true for the righteous individuals
before the formation of the children of Jacob
/ Israel. It is supposed to be a "given" to anyone reading this
article,
that basing standards of right and wrong on
something as subjective as emotions or feelings is definately not to be
called
"the right thing to do."
3) To testify to whom the true
people of Israel are. There
have been many groups, big and small, who claim to
be either replacements of Israel or the new
Israel. Some even claim that they themselves are the historically true
Israel while those called Jews in the English
language are either phony Israelites or cast aways. Yet the preservation of the Oral teachings and explanations of the Torah [Law of Moses] testify to the fact that the Jews are the true people of Israel.
Only the Jewish People possess
the record of the Great Court [Sanhedrin]’s rulings, which the written Torah commands us to follow (Deuteronomy 17:8-12). Along with this, only
the Israelites - the Jewish People, possess
clear knowledge of the divinely given laws
which the non-Israelite nations of the world are obligated to keep.
None of the phony "replacement" groups have
inherited any such information. In
fact, these phony groups would not even be
able to read the Bible in any translation
without relying on someone who learned Hebrew from the Jewish People.
And
even more so, many of these pseudo-Israelite
groups believe that ALL PEOPLE must keep all the commandments just as
Israel
must keep them. Are you prepared for such?
As for the "foreigner" mentioned
above in Deuteronomy 14:21,
the Oral Torah explains that he is a non-Israelite who has not formally
accepted the Laws of Noah -- the only laws absolutely
binding on the non-Israelite nations. The
phoney groups who want to obligate the entire world in the Law of Moses
should
have a dillema here. Are they claiming that
we are to instigate a profit off the ignorance and sin of the foreigner
by selling to him meat which he is forbidden
to eat? This would be the implication where it true that they are
obligated
in Torah just as the Israelites. And such
groups want to put this perversity in the "mouth" of the Almighty.
Heaven
forbid.
And who is the "immigrant
who permanently sojourns with you?"
He is an individual who was born a non-Israelite, either from a
"foreigner" or from a "immigrant in your
gate;" but at some point he desired to "come under the 'wings' of the
Divine Expression"
by offically and permanently joining
the People of Israel, accept as binding upon himself all
the obligations of the Torah which the
Creator gave to Israel, and by which He set them apart as a unique
people
unto Himself, with a special purpose in this
world.
By
beginning to heed the Laws
of Noah, you join in the fulfillment of
Israel's divinely ordained purpose, and become a partner with Israel -
the
LORD's selected People, in the preservation
of the Commandments of the Sovereign LORD; He alone is the Creator
and Sustainer of all existence. Exalted is
He above the highest praise of man - preserver of His glorious Guidance
by
the preservation of the House of Noah;
Preserver of Abraham's seed - to Moses ~ the Immutable "I AM."
Having understood
the contents of this page, you should now be better prepared for learning THE LAWS OF NOAH - the Creator's Torah (instruction) for the nations.
8:12 [10] Moses our teacher gave the Torah and the commandments as an acquisition only to the people of
Israel, as it is stated, "inheritance of the house of Jacob" (Deuteronomy 33:4) and to anyone who wants to become a convert from among the rest of the nations,
as it is stated, "as you are, so is the convert" (Numbers 15:15), but whoever does not want to become obligated in Torah as an Israelite
should not be forced to accept the Torah and commandments upon himself as an Israelite.
8:13 And Moses our teacher was likewise commanded from the "mouth" of the Almighty, to compel all those who come into the
world to accept all the commandments that Noah was commanded; but anyone who does not accept them is to be killed - by means of conviction within a valid court-system.
But anyone who accepts these the Laws of Noah is called a gehr-toshov,
the "immigrant in your gates" mentioned in the Bible, in all contexts; and he needs to accept the Laws of Noah
upon himself in front of three Torah-scholars.
But anyone who accepted upon himself to be circumcised in order to obtain
status within Torah as an Israelite, and he allowed twelve months to pass without being
circumcised for the sake of becoming as an Israelite, - behold, he is as an apostate among the nations.
8:14 [11] Anyone who accepts the seven commandments of Noah, and is cautious to do them - behold, this individual
is of the pious among the nations of the
world; and he has a portion in the world to come; and this is someone
who will accept
them and do them because the Holy One,
blessed is He, commanded concerning them in the Instruction (Torah); and
He informed
us (Israel) about these laws by means of Moses our teacher, that the sons of Noah were commanded concerning them
from beforehand;
However, if he will do them only because of the descretion of reason,
he is not a resident immigrant (gehr toshav), nor is he of the pious of the nations; but rather, he is counted among
their wise-men.
**** Bonnie here: As a side note, I would like to qualify and say that the Jews do not go around killing those who don't agree with this. Any reference to "be killed" can be taken in many different ways. It can refer to a spiritual death, a monetary death or just exclusion from the community. It does not always refer to a physical death as some mistakenly believe. It would be my guess that it is more a spiritual death...but that is my guess. | |
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