the 30 commandments

The Thirty Mitzvot of the Bnei Noach

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

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.

ADDITIONAL LAWS:

Rav Saadiah Gaon adds:

Tithing *
Levirate marriage *

Rav Nissim Gaon adds:

Obedience to God *
Knowledge of God *
Worship of God *

Ran and Rama add:

Charity *

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’.