Denne samlingen har sitt utgangspunkt i min egen oppdagelse av Toraens universelle lære. I rabbinske kommentarer til bibeltekstene støtte jeg gjentatte ganger på omtaler av at Adam, Noah og patriarkene kjente til, studerte og etterlevde Toraen – lenge før den ble gitt på Sinai. Hvilken Tora var det de kjente til?
Svaret fant jeg i jødisk tradisjons beskrivelse av en guddommelig lære gitt til hele menneskeheten allerede før Sinai: de noahittiske lovene, universelle bud som fortsatt gjelder for oss noahider. Dette ble min inngang til å forstå Toraen som en lære som også angår meg.
Det banebrytende for meg var å se at Toraen som ble gitt gjennom Moses, rommer to lag: universelle bud med røtter før Sinai, og særskilte bud for det jødiske folket. Maimonides forklarer at budene gitt til Adam og Noah er overlevert oss gjennom Moses, slik at den universelle læren inngår i den samme Toraen som regulerer Israels paktsliv (Hilkhot Melakhim 9:1).
Denne universelle oppgaven kommer allerede til uttrykk i løftet til Abraham om at alle jordens slekter skal velsignes gjennom ham (1 Mos 12,3). Maimonides beskriver hvordan Abraham underviste mennesker om den ene Gud, en oppgave som ble videreført gjennom Isak, Jakob og deres etterkommere (Hilkhot Avodat Kokhavim 1:3). Å undervise om Gud innebærer her også å undervise om Guds vilje: at menneskene overholder de grunnleggende noahittiske lovene, pakten som ble innstiftet mellom Gud og menneskeheten. Israels senere kall ved Sinai, som et «kongerike av prester og et hellig folk» (2 Mos 19,6), kan forstås i forlengelse av dette: Sforno leser prestegjerningen som en oppgave å undervise hele menneskeheten om Gud og hans vilje, slik at Israels særpakt også har en universell horisont.
Rabbi Elijah Benamozegh (1823–1900) går enda lenger: selve etableringen av jødedommen, med Moselovens særskilte forpliktelser, forstås som et middel for å bevare og videreformidle den noahittiske loven. I sitt hovedverk Israël et l’Humanité skriver han at Israels egen, særskilte lov – Mosaismen – ikke bare eksisterer ved siden av den noahittiske loven, men ble skapt nettopp for å ivareta, undervise i og spre den. Israel fungerer slik som et presteskap for menneskeheten – en tanke som allerede finnes i eldre jødisk kommentarlitteratur, men som Benamozegh gir en særlig radikal og tydelig formulering.
På denne siden samler jeg rabbinske og andre jødiske kommentarer hvor de noahittiske lovene nevnes direkte, og hvor Adam, Noah og patriarkenes kjennskap til Toraen omtales mer generelt. Samlingen følger tekstenes rekkefølge i Toraen, med bibeltekst, rabbinske kommentarer og egne forklaringer presentert hver for seg, og med kildehenvisninger for videre undersøkelse.
Dette er en samling under arbeid, som vil utvides og bearbeides over tid.
Adam og menneskehetens begynnelse.
Adam studerte Tora
Gud tok mennesket og satte det i Edens hage for å dyrke den og vokte den. (1. Mosebok 2:15)
Kommentar fra Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer 12:1–3
Forkortet og bearbeidet gjengivelse på norsk.
Hva slags arbeid skulle Adam utføre i Edens hage? Trærne vokste av seg selv, og en elv sørget for vanningen. Hva betyr det da at han skulle «dyrke og vokte» hagen?
Kommentaren forklarer dette som å beskjeftige seg med Toraens ord og holde dens bud. Den viser til uttrykket «å vokte veien til livets tre» (1. Mosebok 3:24) og identifiserer livets tre med Toraen, med henvisning til Ordspråkene 3:18: «Den er et livets tre for dem som holder fast ved den.»
Hvorfor denne kommentaren er med
Kommentaren beskriver Tora-studium og overholdelse av bud som en oppgave allerede for Adam. Den reiser dermed spørsmålet som satte undersøkelsen min i gang: Hvilken Tora kjente menneskene til før åpenbaringen på Sinai? De noahittiske budene oppregnes ikke i dette avsnittet.
Kilde: Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer 12:1–3.
Om verket: Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer («Rabbi Eliezers kapitler») er et midrashverk som gjenforteller og utdyper bibelske fortellinger. Det tilskrives tradisjonelt rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus, som levde omkring år 100 e.vt. Forskere daterer imidlertid verkets redigering til 700- eller 800-tallet. Se Sefarias omtale av verket.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Gud gir budene til Adam
Og Herren Gud befalte mennesket og sa: «Av alle trærne i hagen kan du fritt spise.» (1. Mosebok 2:16)
Egen oversettelse.
Flere rabbinske kilder knytter dette verset til de noahittiske lovene. Ved å sammenholde versets ord med andre bibelsteder finner de henvisninger til grunnleggende bud for menneskeheten. Kommentarene viser både en felles tradisjon og ulike måter å begrunne forbindelsene på.
Seder Olam Rabbah – Syv bud gitt til menneskeheten
Forkortet og bearbeidet gjengivelse på norsk.
I omtalen av israelittenes opphold ved Marah, etter utgangen fra Egypt og før åpenbaringen på Sinai, forteller Seder Olam Rabbah at de mottok ti bud. Syv av disse var allerede gitt til menneskeheten. Kilden knytter dem til ordene i Guds tale til Adam:
| Ord i 1. Mosebok 2:16 | Bud | Bibelsted som brukes i fortolkningen |
|---|---|---|
| «Befalte» | Å opprette en rettsordning | 1. Mosebok 18:19: Abraham skal befale sine etterkommere å følge Guds vei og gjøre rett og rettferdighet. |
| «Herren» | Forbudet mot å spotte Gud | 3. Mosebok 24:16: Omtaler den som spotter Herrens navn. |
| «Gud» | Forbudet mot avgudsdyrkelse | 2. Mosebok 20:3: Forbudet mot å ha andre guder. |
| «Mennesket» | Forbudet mot drap | 1. Mosebok 9:6: Omtaler den som utøser menneskets blod. |
| «Og sa» | Forbudet mot forbudte seksuelle forbindelser | Jeremia 3:1: Bruker det samme hebraiske ordet, lemor, i en omtale av ekteskap og utroskap. |
| «Av alle trærne i hagen» | Forbudet mot tyveri | 3. Mosebok 5:24: Påbyr tilbakebetaling av det man urettmessig har tilegnet seg og sverget falskt om. |
| «Kan du fritt spise» | Forbudet mot å spise en kroppsdel tatt fra et levende dyr | 1. Mosebok 9:4: Forbudet mot å spise kjøtt med livet, blodet, i seg. |
Ved Marah mottok israelittene i tillegg bud om sabbaten, rettsregler og å ære far og mor. Fremstillingen forbinder dermed menneskehetens universelle bud med Israels mottakelse av ytterligere forpliktelser før Sinai.
Kilde: Seder Olam Rabbah, kapittel 5.
Om verket: Seder Olam Rabbah er et rabbinsk kronologisk verk som ordner bibelske hendelser i en sammenhengende tidsregning. Det tilskrives tradisjonelt rabbi Jose ben Halafta fra 100-tallet e.vt., men har også gjennomgått senere bearbeidelse.
Bereshit Rabbah 16:6 – Seks bud til Adam
Forkortet og bearbeidet gjengivelse på norsk.
Rabbi Levi forklarer at Gud ga Adam seks bud. Han knytter dem til versets ord slik:
| Ord i 1. Mosebok 2:16 | Bud | Bibelsted som brukes i fortolkningen |
|---|---|---|
| «Befalte» | Forbudet mot avgudsdyrkelse | Hosea 5:11: Ordet tzav, beslektet med vaytzav («befalte»), tolkes her som en henvisning til avgudsdyrkelse. |
| «Herren» | Forbudet mot å spotte Gud | 3. Mosebok 24:16: Omtaler den som spotter Herrens navn. |
| «Gud» | Å opprette rettsinstanser | 2. Mosebok 22:27: Ordet elohim tolkes her som en betegnelse på dommere. |
| «Mennesket» | Forbudet mot drap | 1. Mosebok 9:6: Omtaler den som utøser menneskets blod. |
| «Og sa» | Forbudet mot forbudte seksuelle forbindelser | Jeremia 3:1: Ordet lemor forbindes med omtalen av ekteskap og utroskap. |
| «Av alle trærne i hagen kan du fritt spise» | Forbudet mot tyveri | Tillatelsen til å spise av hagens trær leses som en avgrensning av hva Adam har rett til å ta. Det oppgis ikke et eget støttevers i denne delen av kommentaren. |
Senere i samme avsnitt gir rabbi Jakob fra Kefar Chanan en ytterligere tolkning av ordene om å spise: Dyret blir egnet som mat når det er slaktet. Han finner dermed også en hentydning til forbudet mot å spise en kroppsdel tatt fra et levende dyr.
Rabbi Levis oppregning av seks bud og rabbi Jakobs uttalelse gjengis her hver for seg, slik at det fremgår hvem som står bak de ulike tolkningene.
Kilde: Bereshit Rabbah 16:6.
Om verket: Bereshit Rabbah, også kjent som Genesis Rabbah, er en samling rabbinske fortolkninger av Første Mosebok. Verket samler uttalelser fra mange rabbinere og ble trolig redigert i Israels land tidlig på 400-tallet e.vt. Redaktøren er ukjent. Se omtalen i Encyclopaedia Judaica.
Hvorfor disse kommentarene er med
Kommentarene knytter menneskehetens grunnleggende bud til Guds tale til Adam. De viser dermed hvordan rabbinsk tradisjon finner en universell lovgivning allerede ved menneskehetens begynnelse.
Samtidig synliggjør de variasjonen i fortolkningen. I Seder Olam Rabbah forbindes «befalte» med rettsordningen og «Gud» med avgudsdyrkelse; hos rabbi Levi i Bereshit Rabbah er disse koblingene omvendt. Samlingen gjør det mulig å se både den felles læren og hvordan den begrunnes i de enkelte kildene.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Gen 2:24 [Rashi; (Bereishis Rabbah 18:5); Sanhedrin 58a] – Gilui arayot / forbudte seksuelle relasjoner
Therefore, a man shall leave his father and his mother, and cleave to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
Rashi, Therefore, a man shall leave: The Divine Spirit says this, to prohibit forbidden unions to the Noahides. — [from Sanh. 58a]
Sanhedrin 58a, «And cling to his wife» implies that there are other relationships and that they are forbidden.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Gen 3:6, [] – The Divine Presence (Shechina) departs to the Seventh Heaven due to transgressions of the Seven Noahide Laws.
When the woman saw that the tree was good for food and tempting to the sight, and that the tree was a delight to contemplate, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some of it to her husband, and he ate.
The Maharal Of Prague On The Noahide Laws (G’vuros HaShem, Chapter 66), [The Midrash goes on to] say that Adam came and sinned with desire [(limb from a living animal)]when he took the fruit which he coveted, and the Divine Presence departed to the first Heaven. Cain came and sinned with murder [and] the Divine Presence departed to the second Heaven. The generation of Enosh came and sinned with idolatry, as the Sages stated in the chapter of the Talmud, «Kol Kisvei«: «The very states, ‘One who keeps the Sabbath from being profaned…’ and next to it is written ‘Happy is the person [enosh] who will do this’ [Isaiah 56:2]. From this [apposition is learnt] that anyone who keeps the Sabbath according to its laws, even if he served idolatry like the generation of Enosh, will be forgiven. For it is written m’chalalo [‘from being profaned’] but do not read it as m’chalalo, but rather as mochul lo [‘he is forgiven’]» [In the Talmudic tractate Shabbos 118b.] His generation was the first to serve idolatry, as it is written ‘then it was begun to call [the names of men and other beings] by the Name of G-d» [Genesis 4:26], and the Divine Presence departed to the third Heaven.
[Then] came the generation of the flood and sinned with theft, as the verse states explicitly, «And the earth was filled with violence [hamas] [Genesis 6:13] – other than this, no other sin is explicitly stated [in Scripture in relation to the Flood] – and the Divine Presence departed to the fourth Heaven. [After that] the generation of the Dispersion came and sinned with blasphemy when they said, «Let us build ourselves a city and a tower» [Genesis 11:4] and make war with Him – this was blasphemy – and the Divine Presence departed to the fifth Heaven. [Then] there arose the people of Sodom and sinned [in the realm of] justice as is evident from the deeds, which are told of them, and of what the judges of Sodom did and how their judgments were, and the Divine Presence departed to the sixth Heaven. The Egyptians worse [next] in the days of Abraham and sinned [with forbidden] sexual relationships as is evident from the «practice of Egypt» referred to in the verse, «Like the practice of Egypt…» [Leviticus 18:3]. For this reason Pharaoh did not say to Abraham, «Behold, my land is before you…» [Genesis 18:19] as Abimelech said to Abraham, since he acknowledged that the Egyptians were immersed in lewdness, and the Divine Presence departed to the seventh Heaven.
Now came Abraham …
[quoted from the book «Perspectives on the Noahide Laws – Universal Ethics» by Shimon Dovid Cowen, pp. 111-112]
–
Gen 3:11 [Bereishis Rabbah 24:5] – Adam klarte ikke å overholde de seks budene som han hadde blitt gitt.
And He said, ‘Who told you that you are naked? Have you eaten of the tree from which I commanded you not to eat?’
Encyclopedia of Biblical Personalites, ‘Adam’, Adam was worthy of having the Torah given through him. Said the Holy One, Blessed is He, «I will give it to him, for he is the work of My Hands.» [After Adam sinned,] the Holy One, Blessed is He, said to him, «What now? I gave you six commandments and you could not uphold them. How can I give you 613?» Adam was worthy of begetting the Twelve Tribes. Said the Holy One, Blessed is He, «I gave you two sons, and one rose and slew the other. What will happen if I give you twelve tribes?» (Bereishis Rabbah 24:5).
–
Gen 5:3 [Zohar Chadash 22:2; Zohar Chadash 22b] – Adam overfører sin Torah kunnskap [og læren om de universelle lovene] til sin sønn Seth.
When Adam had lived one hundred and thirty years, he begot in his likeness and his image, and he named him Seth.
Encyclopedia of Biblical Personalites, ‘Adam’, Adam knew the Torah and bequeathed it to his son Seth (Zohar Chadash 22:2; Zohar Chadash 22b).
Noah og tiden etter syndfloden
Gen 7:2 [Rashi; Zevachim 116a] – Noah studerte Torah.
Of all the clean animals you shall take for yourself seven pairs, a male and its mate, and of the animals that are not clean, two, a male and its mate.
Rashi, Of all the clean animals: that are destined to be clean for Israel. We learn [from here] that Noah studied the Torah. — [Zev. 116a]
–
Gen 9:3-4 [Rashi (see also Gen 1:30 above); Sanhedrin 59b] – Eiver Min Ha’Chai / Kjøtt fra levende dyr – Noah og hans etterkommere fikk tillatelse til å spise kjøtt. Forutsetningen var at dyrene ble slaktet på en forsvarlig måte, og at de var helt døde før kjøttet ble separert fra dyret.
3. Every moving thing that lives shall be yours for food; like herbal greenery I have given you everything.
Rashi, shall be yours to eat: (Sanhedrin 59b) For I did not permit the first man [Adam] to eat meat, but only vegetation, but for you, just as the green vegetation which I permitted for the first man, I have given you everything.
4. But flesh; with its soul its blood you shall not eat.
Rashi, flesh with its soul: He prohibited them [to eat] a limb [cut off from] a living creature; i.e., as long as its soul is in it, you shall not eat the flesh. — [from Sanh. ad loc.] [i.e., if the limb is cut from the animal while it is alive, it is forbidden to be eaten even after the animal expires.]
Rashi, flesh with its soul…you shall not eat: This refers to a limb of a living creature. And also, its blood, you shall not eat-This refers to blood of a living creature. — [from above source]
–
Gen 9:5-6, [Beresishit Rabbah ch. 34; Bava Kamma 91b; Sanhedrin 57a, 57b; Rambam, Laws of Murderers 2:3, Laws of Kings 9:4; Ramban] (category of) Murder
5. But, your blood of your souls I will demand, of every beast will I demand it; but of man, of man for his brother, I will demand the soul of man. 6. Whoever sheds the blood of man, among man, his blood shall be shed; for in the image of G-d He made man.
Ramban (Artscroll), [G-d] commanded thus for Noahides [benei Noach] just as He did for Israel, and the meaning of, Whoever shads the blood of man, [by man shall his blood be shed] will thus be, anyone who sheds blood, whether beast or man, will have his own blood spilled. Thus, [man’s] blood is demanded both in court and by the hand of Heaven.
Divine Code, Part V:1:1, «… The Sages explained: (a) «… your blood of your souls I will demand» refers to one who commits suicide [(Bava Kamma 91b)]. (b) «… of every beast will I demand it» refers to one who places another person before an injurious animal so it will kill him. (c) «… of man for his brother» refers to one who sends another to kill. For all these three cases, the verse states, «I [G-d] will demand,» which refers to punishment by G-d. [Rambam, Laws of Murderers 2:3, the source being Rabbi Yochanan in Midrash Beresishit Rabbah ch. 34] (d) «Whoever sheds the blood of man» refers to one who kills actively and deliberately. [Rambam, ibid.] (e) «Whoever sheds the blood of adam within adam» refers to one who kills a human fetus, which is «a person within a person.» [Sanhedrin 57b; Rambam, Laws of Kings 9:4] (f) «… his blood shall be shed» refers to the judgment of capital punishment that is meted out by a court of law. [Sanhedrin 57a; Rambam ibid.]
Abraham, Isak, Jakob og Josef
Gen 12:5 [Gen Rabbah 39:14] – The converts that they made
Abram took his wife Sarai and Lot, his brother’s son, and all their wealth that they had amassed, and the souls they made in Haran
Rashi, and the souls they had made in Haran: whom he had brought under the wings of the Shechinah. Abraham would convert the men, and Sarah would convert the women, and Scripture ascribes to them [a merit] as if they had made them (Gen. Rabbah 39:14).
–
Gen 17:11 [Gutnick ed. p.94 ‘The Explanation’ Q: Why did Avraham not circumcise himself before being told to do so) (v.11)] Subcategory of Murder: Spilling of one’s own blood.
You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and that shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you.
Chumash Gutnick ed. p.94 (Q: Why did Avraham not circumcise himself before being told to do so?), After the flood, God told Noach, «I will demand (an account) for your blood and for your souls» (Gen 9:5), on which Rashi comments that «your blood» refers to, «one who sheds his own blood.» … Rashi explains that this refers to, «one who sheds his own blood,» i.e. a separate prohibition of spilling one’s own blood, regardless of whether this occurred in an act of suicide. It is thus prohibited under Noachide law for a person to make himself bleed, even with a small cut. Halachically, Avraham was obligated by the laws which God gave Noach, which were binding on all mankind. Avraham’s decision to observe the mitzvos of the Torah before they were given was, technically speaking, a hiddur (enhancement of his obligatory observance of the Noachide laws). Under Noachide law, Avraham was prohibited from circumcising himself before he was commanded to do so, as this would involve spilling his own blood. And since, for Avraham, circumcision was only a hiddur (enhancement) prior to God’s command, he would not have been permitted to transgress an outright prohibition of spilling blood, in order to achieve a non-obligatory enhancement to his Divine Service. [The Gutnick edition continues with discussing two problems related to this explanation]
–
Gen 18:19 [] – The Way of HASHEM
For I have loved him, because he commands his children and his household after him that they keep the way of HASHEM, doing charity and justice, in order that HASHEM might then bring upon Abraham that which He had spoken of him.
–
Gen 20:12 [Rashi] – Abraham speaking to Abimelech
And also, indeed, she is my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife.
Rashi, «my sister, the daughter of my father: And the daughter of one’s father is permitted to a Noahide [for marriage], for a gentile has no father (i.e., his lineage is not traced from his father).»
–
Gen 21:25 [Sforno] – Abraham rebuking Abimelech for not upholding justice [dinim] in his land.
Then Abraham disputed with Abimelech regarding the well of water that Abimelech’s servants had seized.
Sforno (Artscroll Chumash), Then Abraham disputed – Sforno comments that Abraham rebuked Abimelech for tolerating flagrant violence in his country.
–
Gen 21:30 [Midrash Hagadol] – The Seven Ewes representing the Seven Noahide Laws
He said, «Take these seven ewes from my hand so that it will be proof for me, that I dug this well.»
Midrash Hagadol (The Illuminated Torah/Artscroll), – The phrase, «So that it will be proof for me,» indicates that or father Abraham set seven ewes apart , corresponding to the seven mitzvoth commanded to the (non-Jewish) descendants of Noah (Midrash Hagadol).
–
Gen 22:2 [Chazal] – Universal mission / Moriah; teaching – Morah; fear
And He said, «Please take your son, your only one, whom you love – Isaac – and go to the land of Moriah; …»
Bereishis Artscroll commentary, – המריה Moriah, i.e., Jerusalem. The Sages explained that Jerusalem was so named because הוראה teaching, went forth forth from it to the world. … Ramban states that Onkelos’ rendering, land of worship, is not derived from the myrrh of the incense as Rashi conjectures. Rather the intent of Onkelos is: to the land in which they will worship God, deriving the word, Moriah, as the Sages did, from the word מורא, fear, for in that land the people feared God and served Him. [It should be remembered that Moriah was in the area of Jerusalem (Shalem) where Malcizedek (Shem son of Noah) maintained a Torah Academy.]
–
Gen 22:18-19 [Targum Jonathan] – Isak studied at the Academy of Shem (after the akeida)
And the angels on high took Izhak and brought him into the school (medresha) of Shem the Great; and he was there three years. [from Targum Jonathan]
–
Gen 25:22 [Aggadath Bereishith, ch. 73, Targum Jonathan and Yerushalmi] – The Academy of Shem and Ever
And the children agitated within her, and she said, «If [it be] so, why am I [like] this?» And she went to inquire of the Lord.
Artscroll Chumash, The children agitated. The Rabbis explain that ויתרצצו, agitated, is derived from the root רוצ, to run: When Rebecca passed the Torah academy of Shem and Eber, Jacob «ran» and struggled to come forth; and when she passed a temple of idol worship, Esau «ran» and struggled to come forth (Midrash).
Rashi, And she went to inquire: to the academy of Shem. — [Aggadath Bereishith, ch. 73, Targum Jonathan and Yerushalmi]
–
Gen 25:27 [Rashi; Genesis Rabbah 63:10] – Jacob studied at the Academy of Shem and Ever.
And the youths grew up, and Esau was a man who understood hunting, a man of the field, whereas Jacob was an innocent man, dwelling in tents.
Rashi, dwelling in tents: the tent of Shem and the tent of Eber. — [From Gen. Rabbah 63:10]
Artscroll Chumash, Jacob, however, was morally wholesome, saying what he thought and never being duplicitous, and spending all his time in the study tents of Shem and Eber (Rashi).
–
Gen 26:5 [Ramban; ]
Because Abraham obeyed My voice, and observed My safeguards, My commandments, My decrees and My teachings.
–
Gen 34:13 [Ramban/Gutnick edition; ]
Thereupon, Jacob’s sons answered Shechem and his father Hamor with cunning, and they spoke, because [after all] he had defiled their sister Dinah.
Ramban, «[God] commanded them [the Children of Noah] concerning laws of theft, overcharging, withholding wages, the laws of bailees, [etc.] … comparable to the civil about which Israel was commanded …»
–
Gen 34:25 [Gutnick edition; ]
Now it came to pass on the third day, when they were in pain, that Jacob’s two sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword, and they came upon the city with confidence, and they slew every male.
–
Gen 35:2 [D.C. II.7:1n190; ]
So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, «Discard the alien gods that are in your midst; cleanse yourselves and change your clothes.»
–
Gen 37:2 [Rashi; Parsha talk; ] – Joseph slanders his brothers
… Joseph, at the age of seventeen years, was a shepherd with his brothers by the flock, and he was a youth with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives; and Joseph would bring evil reports of them to their father.
Rashi, Any evil which he would see in his brothers, the sons of Leah, he would tell to his father; that they would eat a limb /which was detached/ from a living animal, … . [7]
footnote |7.] in Rashi commentary, « … In the case of eating meat detached from a live animal, some commentators suggest that they ate from a mefarcheses, an animal which is still thrashing about after having its neck slit. Such an animal is considered slaughtered, and fit to be eaten by a Jew, but is nonetheless considered a living animal by the standards which apply to non-Jews. The sons of Jacob were of the opinion that, even before the Tora was given at Sinai, they had the status of Jews, and were therefore allowed to eat it. Joseph, however, held that the law which applies to Jews would not come into effect until the Torah would be given (Tosafos HaShalem; see also Parashas Derachim, Derech HaAsarim, D’rush, sv.., vehanerah atvilei d’joseph)
…»
–
Gen 39:7-9 [Rashi, Sanhedrin 56a] – Joseph and Potiphar’s wife
7. Now it came to pass after these events that his master’s wife lifted up her eyes to Joseph, and she said, «Lie with me.» 8. But he refused, and he said to his master’s wife, «Behold, with me my master knows nothing about anything in the house, and all he has he has given into my hand. 9.In this house, there is no one greater than I, and he has not withheld anything from me except you, insofar as you are his wife. Now how can I commit this great evil, and sin against God?»
Rashi, and sin against God: The sons of Noah were commanded against immorality. [From Sanh. 56a]
Fra Marah til Sinai
Ex 15:25 [Baraita; Sanhedrin 56b]
There [at Marah] He gave them a statute [chok] and an ordinance [mishpat], and there He tested them.
Rashi, At Mara, He gave them a few passages of the Pentateuch, that they might begin to study them, namely, the Sabbath, the red heifer, and dinim.
Rakover, Nahum [The Noahide Universal Law], According to one view, Israel was commanded regarding dinim prior to the revelation at Sinai. The verse, «There He made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there He tested them» (Exodus 15:25), is cited in a baraita as evidence that Israel was commanded concerning dinim already at Mara (one of the stops on the way to Sinai):[42. Sanhedrin 56b. See also Torah Shelemah, Ex. 21:1 and Millu’im to vol. XVII, p. 17; See also Encyclopedia Talmudit, s.v. Dinim, vol. VII, p. 396.] «Israel received ten commandments at Mara: the seven that the descendants of Noah had received and, in addition to these, dinim, the Sabbath, and the honor of [43. See Rashi, Ex. 15:25: «At Mara, He gave them a few passages of the Pentateuch, that they might begin to study them, namely, the Sabbath, the red heifer, and dinim.»] parents.»[44. Concerning this baraita, the Talmud, Sanhedrin 56b, raises the obvious question that the descendants of Noah were also commanded regarding dinim, and answers that this particular baraita, according to which it appears as though the descendants of Noah were not given the commandment of dinim, was formulated in accordance with the opinion of R. Menasheh. R. Menasheh accepts a different reckoning of the Noahide commandments, replacing dinim and blasphemy with the prohibitions of mixed species and castration.]
–
Ex 24:3 [Sanhedrin 56b]
Moses came and told the people all the words of Hashem and all the law, and the entire people responded with one voice and they said, «All the words that Hashem has spoken, we will do.»
Rashi, and all the laws. – The seven commandments which the sons of Noah were commanded.
[http://asknoah.org/7-commandments/locate-sources, Timeline of G-d’s re-affirming the Noahide Commandments at Mount Sinai, where He commanded them with specific details as part of the eternal Torah of Moses]
Noahs 7 Lover 