THE GENERATION OF THE FLOOD
When God created humanity, He endowed them with a neshamá—the soul, intelligence, the capacity to think, and the freedom to choose. These faculties were described in the biblical text as being “in the image and likeness of God.” Humanity was not created as just another part of nature but as a supernatural being with the potential to choose between good and evil, to follow the Creator’s guidance, or to be swayed by earthly, insatiable desires.
Ten generations after creation, humanity, as a whole, chose the path of evil. Corruption and violence became normalized in that generation. The powerful—those who should have used their ability and power to lead, organize, and inspire—exploited their leadership for personal gain and to oppress the weak. The prevailing rule was “the survival of the fittest,” where the strong devoured the weak. Corruption is contagious, and human society degraded itself, sacrificing its divine image. Humanity transformed into an intelligent predator, driven solely by the satisfaction of animalistic instincts. This generation is known as Dor haMabbul, the generation deemed deserving of being wiped from the earth by the Flood.
One man, Noah, proved to be an exception to this rule. Compared to the rest of the world—or, according to another view, despite the widespread corruption—Noah conducted himself with integrity, living with an awareness of God’s existence, something that had become obsolete for the rest of humankind.
God saves Noah and grants humanity a second chance. Noah builds the ark, and he, his wife, his three sons, and their wives—a total of eight people—along with the animals, survive the devastating Flood.
THE FIRST LAW
After leaving the ark, God blesses Noah, urging him to be fruitful, multiply, and repopulate the earth. He presents a set of fundamental laws to educate humanity and prevent its moral decline. The first law pertains to animals. God permits Noah and his descendants to kill animals and consume their flesh (Genesis 9:3), something that was previously forbidden, as God had instructed Adam and Eve to consume only plants: seeds, vegetables, and fruits. Now, God allows humanity to take the lives of animals. This law reflects humanity’s new status: having once been the protector of the animal kingdom, humans would now be the predator at the top of the food chain.
Nevertheless, or perhaps because of this, God imposes one limitation to preserve, in some way, their humanity in this area: humans cannot mutilate a living animal and consume its flesh, as carnivorous predators do with live prey. Before consuming an animal’s flesh, it must first be sacrificed. This law is known in Hebrew as eber min hachay (prohibition against eating from a living animal).
THE SECOND LAW
The second law God commands Noah also pertains to killing, but this time about another human being. This law is formulated differently than the “You shall not kill” of the Ten Commandments and states: “Whoever sheds the blood of a man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind” (Genesis 9:6). This law establishes capital punishment for the crime of murder. It is formulated primarily to prevent the impunity that characterized the previous generation’s widespread corruption. Here, it will not be God who enforces justice but humans themselves, who are tasked with punishing abuse and establishing that, regardless of position or wealth, every human being deserves respect, having been created in the image and likeness of God.
THE COVENANT BETWEEN GOD AND NOAH
In a sense, God entrusts humanity with the responsibility of enforcing punishment where it is due, which is why one of the seven Noahide laws—though not explicitly written—is the obligation to establish courts of justice that apply the law and punish criminals. For His part, God promises never to bring another flood or universal catastrophe to destroy humanity. The rainbow will serve as a reminder that the rain will eventually cease and that God will not erase humanity from the face of the earth.
These three basic laws are the foundation of what is known as the Seven Laws of Noah: 1. Do not murder. 2. Do not eat meat from a living animal. 3. Prohibition of idolatry, 4. Blasphemy, 5. Theft, and 6. Incest. 7. The obligation to establish courts of justice that will prevent impunity.
