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From: smb@ulysses.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.religion
Subject: Re: The offspring of Adam and Chava
Message-ID: <731@ulysses.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 8-Dec-83 21:30:42 EST
Article-I.D.: ulysses.731
Posted: Thu Dec  8 21:30:42 1983
Date-Received: Sat, 10-Dec-83 02:15:56 EST
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Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill
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Several people have written asking me about the seven "Noachic Commandments" --
the laws that non-Jews are bound by, according to Jewish tradition.  They're
derived from Genesis 9:1-7 (some are more obvious derivations than others).
The following is from Hertz commentary on the Torah:

	Rabbinic interpretation of these verses deduced seven fundamental
	laws from them: viz.  (1) the establishment of courts of justice;
	(2) the prohibition of blasphemy; (3) of idolatry; (4) of incest;
	(5) of bloodshed; (6) of robbery; (7) of eating flesh cut from a
	living animal.  The Rabbis called these seven laws the 'Seven
	Commandments given to the descendants of Noah'.  These constitute
	what we might call Natural Religion, as they are vital to the
	existence of human society.  Whereas an Israelite was to carry out
	all the precepts of the Torah [Five Books of Moses], obedience to
	these Seven Commandments alone was in ancient times required of
	non-Jews living among Israelites, or attaching themselves to the
	Jewish community.

These laws are supposed to be pretty obvious to anyone; numbers 2 and 3
would seem to be somewhat less so.