the 30 commandments

The Thirty Mitzvot of the Bnei Noach

Number

Law in Hebrew

Law in English

Source

1

דִּינִין

The mitzva of establishing courts of judgment

Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 56a

2

בִרְכַּת הַשֵּׁם

The prohibition against blessing, i.e., cursing, the name of God

Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 56a

3

עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה

The prohibition of idol worship

Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 56a

4

גִּילּוּי עֲרָיוֹת

The prohibition against forbidden sexual relations

Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 56a

5

שְׁפִיכוּת דָּמִים

The prohibition of bloodshed

Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 56a

6

גָזֵל

The prohibition of robbery

Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 56a

7

אֵבֶר מִן הַחַי

The prohibition against eating a limb from a living animal

Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 56a

8

דָּם מִן הַחַי

Rabbi Ḥananya ben Gamla says: The descendants of Noah are also commanded concerning the prohibition against consuming the blood from a living animal.

Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 56b

9

סֵּירוּס

Rabbi Ḥideka says: They are also commanded concerning castration, i.e., they are prohibited to castrate any living animal.

Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 56b

Rabbi Shimon says: They are also commanded concerning the prohibition against engaging in sorcery (כִּישּׁוּף). Rabbi Yosei says: With regard to every type of sorcery that is stated in the passage about sorcery, it is prohibited for a descendant of Noah to engage in it. This is derived from the verses: “When you come into the land that the Lord your God gives you, you shall not learn to do like the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you one who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, a diviner, a soothsayer, or an enchanter, or a warlock, or a charmer, or one who consults a necromancer and a sorcerer, or directs inquiries to the dead. For whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord; and because of these abominations, the Lord your God is driving them out from before you” (Deuteronomy 18:9–12). Evidently, the Canaanites were punished for these practices; and since God would not have punished them for an action unless He first prohibited it, these practices are clearly prohibited to gentiles.

10

לֹא יִמָּצֵא בְךָ מַעֲבִיר בְּנוֹ וּבִתּוֹ בָּאֵשׁ

There shall not be found among you one who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire.

Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 56b

11

קֹסֵם קְסָמִים

a diviner.

Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 56b

12

מְעוֹנֵן

a soothsayer

Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 56b

13

מְנַחֵשׁ

or an enchanter

Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 56b

14

מְכַשֵּׁף

or a warlock

Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 56b

15

חֹבֵר חָבֶר

or a charmer

Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 56b

16

אוֹב

or one who consults a necromancer

Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 56b

17

יִדְּעֹנִי

and a sorcerer

Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 56b

18

דֹרֵשׁ אֶל הַמֵּתִים

or directs inquiries to the dead.

Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 56b

Rabbi Elazar says: The descendants of Noah were also commanded concerning the prohibition of diverse kinds (כִּלְאַיִם). Nevertheless, it is permitted for the descendants of Noah to wear diverse kinds of wool and linen and to sow diverse kinds of seeds together, and they are prohibited only with regard to breeding diverse species of animals and grafting diverse species of trees.

19

הַרְבָּעַת בְּהֵמָה

breeding diverse species of animals

Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 56b

20

הַרְכָּבַת הָאִילָן

grafting diverse species of trees

Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 56b

21

…

Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 56b

It is stated in that book of Aggadot that the Sages said in the name of Rabbi Yishmael: A descendant of Noah is executed even for killing fetuses. The Gemara asks: What is the reason for the opinion of Rabbi Yishmael? The Gemara answers: It is derived from that which is written: “One who sheds the blood of a person, by a person [ba’adam] his blood shall be shed” (Genesis 9:6). The word ba’adam literally means: In a person, and is interpreted homiletically: What is a person that is in a person? You must say: This is a fetus that is in its mother’s womb. Accordingly, a descendant of Noah is liable for killing a fetus.

22

עוּבָּרִין

killing fetuses (abortion).

Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 57b

Rav Hamnuna raises an objection to the statement in the book of Aggadot that a descendant of Noah can be judged or testified against only by a man and not by a woman: And is a woman who is a descendant of Noah not commanded to establish courts of judgment? But isn’t it written with regard to Abraham, who at that point had the status of a descendant of Noah: “For I have known him, to the end that he may command his sons and his household after him, that they may keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice” (Genesis 18:19). The word “household” is referring to the women, indicating that they are also commanded to execute justice. He raises the objection and he resolves it: Abraham commanded his sons to carry out justice, whereas his household, the women in his family, he commanded to give charity; the Hebrew word for righteousness [tzedek] can also mean charity [tzedaka].

23

צְדָקָה

to carry out justice and to give charity

Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 57b

As it is taught in a baraita with regard to the verse: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and they shall be one flesh” (Genesis 2:24), that Rabbi Eliezer says: “His father” is referring to his father’s sister, i.e., one must abandon the possibility of marrying his father’s sister and marry someone else. “His mother” is referring to his mother’s sister. Rabbi Akiva says: “His father” is referring to his father’s wife; “his mother” is referring to his mother, literally. “And shall cleave to his wife,” but not to a male; such a relationship is not defined as cleaving. “To his wife,” but not to the wife of another man. “And they shall be one flesh” indicates that he should marry one of those with whom he can become one flesh, i.e., they can bear children together. This excludes domesticated and undomesticated animals, with which one is prohibited from engaging in bestiality, as they do not become one flesh. All these are forbidden to the descendants of Noah.

24

דָבַק

marriage – shall cleave to his wife

Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 58a

Rabbi Ḥanina says: A gentile who struck a Jew is liable to receive the death penalty, as it is stated when Moses saw an Egyptian striking a Hebrew: “And he turned this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he struck the Egyptian and hid him in the sand” (Exodus 2:12). And Rabbi Ḥanina says: One who slaps the cheek of a Jew is considered as though he slapped the cheek of the Divine Presence; as it is stated: “It is a snare [mokesh] for a man to rashly say [yala]: Holy” (Proverbs 20:25). The verse is interpreted homiletically to mean: One who strikes [nokesh] a Jew is considered as though he hurt the cheek [lo’a] of the Holy One.

25

סוטר לועו של ישראל

Striking a fellow

Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 58b

And Reish Lakish says: A gentile who observed Shabbat is liable to receive the death penalty, as it is stated: “And day and night shall not cease” (Genesis 8:23), which literally means: And day and night they shall not rest. This is interpreted homiletically to mean that the descendants of Noah may not take a day of rest. And the Master said (57a) that their prohibition is their death penalty, i.e., the punishment for any prohibition with regard to descendants of Noah is execution. Ravina says: If a descendant of Noah observes a day of rest on any day of the week, even one not set aside for religious worship, e.g., on a Monday, he is liable. The Gemara challenges this: But let the tanna count this prohibition among the seven Noahide mitzvot. The Gemara explains: When the tanna counts the seven mitzvot, he counts only those that require one to sit and refrain from action, i.e., those that include a prohibition against performing a certain action. He does not count mitzvot that require one to arise and take action.

26

לֹא יִשְׁבֹּתוּ

Shabbat

Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 58b

27

Torah study

Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 59a

28

Same sex marriages

Babylonian Talmud, Chullin 92

29

Cannibalism

Babylonian Talmud, Chullin 92

30

Honouring Torah

Babylonian Talmud, Chullin 92

The Talmud (Chullin 92a) mentions that Bnei Noach have thirty mitzvot (commandments):

‘Rav Yehuda Says: This verse (Zacharia 11:12) refers to the thirty righteous persons among the nations of the world, whose merit sustains the nations of the world..

Ulla said: This verse refers to the thirty commandments which the Noachites have accepted. But they keep only three of them. One, they do not draw up marriage contracts for homosexuals. Two, they do not merchandize (human) flesh in the marketplace. Three, they do have respect for the Torah (and for Torah scholars).’

As Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki) tells us, Chazal (the Sages) do not elaborate on the nature of the 30 commandments, but various commentaries offer suggestions. The basic thesis with which they work is that the 30 commandments are subdivisions of the seven Noachide commandments.

There are two versions of the 30 Noachide Commandments:

The 30 Noachide Commandments recorded by Rabbi Shmuel ben Hofni, Gaon.
The 30 Noachide Commandments recorded by Rabbi Menachem Azaria de Fano

The 30 Noachide Commandments recorded by Rabbi Menachem Azaria de Fano

Rabbi Menachem Azaria de Fano רבנו מנחם עזריה מפאנו 1548-1620 (also known as the REMA mi’PANU רמ״ע מפאנו) in his book ספר עשרה מאמרות Asarah Ma’amaros (Ma’amar Chikur Din 3:21) מאמר חקור דין ־ חלק ג פרק כא (Published in Amsterdam 1649), enumerates the 30 laws as follows:

	The REMA Mi’Panu’s 30 laws in transliterated Hebrew	And translated into English	in the original Hebrew
	1st Category		ראשונה
1	AVODAH ZARAH / Avodat Elilim	IDOLATRY:	עבודת אלילים
2	Ma’avir Ba’esh	Passing a child through fire in the worship of molech	מעביר באש
3	Kosem	Stick divination	קוסם
4	Me’onen	Divining of auspicious times	מעונן
5	Menachesh	Interpreting of omens / Superstition	מנחש
6	Mechashef	Witchcraft / Sorcery	מכשף
7	Chover Chaver	Charming / using incantations	חובר חבר
8	Ov	Consulting mediums	אוב
9	Yidoni	Consulting oracles	ידעוני
10	Doresh El ha’Mesim	Necromancy	דורש אל המתים
	2nd Category		שנית
11	GILUY ARAYOS	SEXUAL SINS:	גלוי עריות
12	Peru *	Be fruitful	פרו
13	Revu *	Multiply seed	רבו
14	Ba Al ha’Zechur	Don’t draw up marriage contracts for homosexuals.	אסור הזכור אפילו יחדו בכתובה
15	Kilayei Behemah	Cross-breeding of animals	כלאי בהמה
16	Sirus	Castration	סרוס
17	Harkavas ha’Ilan	Grafting trees	הרכבת אילן
	3rd Category		שלישית
18	SHEFICHUS DAMIM	MURDER:	שפיכות דמים
19	Soter Lo’o Shel Yisroel	Striking a Jew	סוטר לועו של ישראל
	4th Category		רביעית
20	BIRKAS HASHEM	BLASPHEMY:	ברכת ה׳
21	Kavod ha’Torah *	Honour the Torah (and Torah scholars).	כבוד התורה
22	la’Asok ba’Torah she’Nitnah Lahem *	Studying relevant parts of the Torah.	לעסוק בתורה שניתנה להם
	5th Category		חמישית
23	GEZZEL	THEFT:	גזל
24	Shelo la’Asok ba’Torah Shel Yisrael	No to study non-relevant parts of the Torah.	שלא לעסוק בתורה מורשה אלינו
	6th Category		ששית
25	HADINIM LEYISHUVO SHEL OLOM *	ESTABLISHMENT OF A SYSTEM OF JUSTICE:	הדינין לישובו של עולם
26	Velo Yishbosu	Not to observe the Sabbath	ולא ישבותו
	7th Category		שביעית
27	EIVER MIN HACHAY	EATING ALL OR PART OF A LIVING CREATURE:	אבר מן החי
28	Dam Min ha’Chay	Blood of a living creature	דם מן החי
29	Nevelah	Eating an animal that died without proper slaughter.	נבלה
30	Basar Hames	Human flesh.	בשר המת

Commandments 2 to 10 are from Deut. 18:10-11

The Seven Noachide Commandments are shown in capital letters.

The commandments that are followed by an * are positive commandments, and those that do not are to be understood as prohibitions.

These 30 commandments of the Bnei Noach are from the Cairo Genizah and were authored by Rabbi Shmuel ben Hofni, Gaon.

Bio: Chabad.org – Rav Shmuel bar Hofnii

(see the book by A. Greenbaum, ‘Thirty Commandments According to R. Samuel ben Hofni.’ Published in Hebrew, Sinai, 1973).

(See also the appendix of the Encyclopedia Talmudica, Vol.3, in the section headed ‘Ben Noah’).

1	The singularity/unity of G-d (That is, to believe in G-d) *	Genesis 2:16	“and the L-rd G-d commanded man…”
2	No idolatry	Genesis 2:16	“and the L-rd G-d commanded man…”
3	No blasphemy	Genesis 2:16	“and the L-rd G-d commanded man…”
4	To pray *	Genesis 20:7	“and he shall pray for you…”
5	No taking of oaths in vain	Genesis 21:23	“Therefore swear to me here by G-d…”
6	No suicide	Genesis 9:5	“But for your own life-blood I will require a recokning…”
7	No murder	Genesis 9:6	“Whoever sheds the blood of man…”
8	No adultery	Genesis 20:3	“for she is a married woman”
9	Formal marriages by dowry and marriage gifts *	Genesis 34:12	“Ask of me a dowry ever so high, as well as gifts, and I will pay…”
10	No incest with a sister	Genesis 12:3	“Please say that you are my sister…”
11	No homosexuality	Genesis 2:24	“…and cling to his wife”
12	No bestiality	Genesis 2:24	“…and cling to his wife”
13	No castration	Genesis 8:17	“…and let them swarm on the earth and be fertile and increase upon the earth”
14	Not to eat an animal that died naturally or without proper slaughter	Genesis 9:3	“Every creature that lives shall be yours to eat…”
15	Not to eat a limb of a living creature	Genesis 9:4	“You must not, however, eat flesh with its life-blood in it”
16	Not to eat or drink blood	Genesis 9:4	“You must not, however, eat flesh with its life-blood in it”
17	Not to crossbreed animals	Genesis 8:20	“…and, taking of every clean animal”
18	[Justice] (the original manuscript was damaged here)
19	To offer ritual sacrifices *	Genesis 8:20	“…and, taking of every clean animal”
20	No theft (including kidnapping)	Genesis 2:16;6:11	“When G-d saw how corrupt the earth was…”
21	To respect / honour father & mother *	Genesis 9:22-23	“Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father’s nakedness…But Shem and Japheth took a cloth… and…covered their father’s nakedness”
22	No Molech worship (passing a child through fire)	Deuteronomy 18:10	“Let no one be found among you consigns his son or daughter to the fire, or that who is an augur, a soothsayer, a diviner, a sorcerer, one who casts spells, or one who consults ghosts or familiar spirits, or one who inquires of the dead. For anyone who does such things is abhorrent to the L-rd and it is because of these abhorrent things that the L-rd your G-d is dispossessing them before you”
23	No divination	Deuteronomy 18:10	“
24	No Divining of auspicious times	Deuteronomy 18:10	“
25	No Interpreting of omens / Superstition	Deuteronomy 18:10	“
26	No Witchcraft / Sorcery	Deuteronomy 18:10	“
27	No Charming / using incantations / conjuring / casting spells	Deuteronomy 18:10	“
28	No consulting mediums or a ghost	Deuteronomy 18:10	“
29	No consulting oracles or a familiar spirit	Deuteronomy 18:10	“
30	No consulting the dead (necromancy)	Deuteronomy 18:10	“

The laws that are followed by an * are positive admonitions, and those that do not are to be understood as prohibitions.

N.B. – Please note that these additional commandments should be treated as a list of recommendations and not as the actual accepted Halacha. For further explanation of this you should consult your Local Orthodox Rabbi or the Shulchan Aruch for Bnei Noach: ‘The Divine Code’.

See also see: The 90 Laws for Bnei Noah (noahideacademy.org)