Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Gentiles and the Law

Gentile Responsibility before God

(2003; revised 2011)
This document can be found as a pdf here.

God holds gentiles responsible for natural law (particularly the dictates of conscience)—that which He gave to all. This is essentially Paul's assertion.1
Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.
Rom 2:14 Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, 15 since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.
God does not hold gentiles responsible for revealed law (an expansion of natural law)2—that which He gave to Israel.3 This is essentially Moses' and the psalmist's assertion.4
Deut 4:8 And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today?
Ps 147:19 He has revealed his word to Jacob, his laws and decrees to Israel. 20a He has done this for no other nation; they do not know his laws.
Because Israel has greater revelation, it has greater responsibility. As Jesus said,
Luke 12:48b From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.
Nevertheless, non-Jews are far from exempt. Gentile violations of universal prohibitions often elicit condemnation in the Bible, especially in the prophets. God censures the nations for violating natural law, the social norms of ethical behavior.5

  • Syria: Do not destroy an enemy once you have defeated him.
Amos 1:3 ... Damascus.. .threshed Gilead with sledges having iron teeth,
  • Philistia: Do not engage in slave commerce.
Amos 1:6 . . .Gaza... took captive whole communities and sold them to Edom,
  • Lebanon: Do not break a treaty.
Amos 1:9 . . .Tyre. . .sold whole communities of captives to Edom, disregarding a treaty of brotherhood,
  • Edom: Do not show cruelty to relatives.
Amos 1:11 ... Edom ... pursued his brother with a sword, stifling all compassion, because his anger raged continually and his fury flamed unchecked,
  • Ammon: Do not slaughter pregnant women.
Amos 1:13 . . .Ammon. ..ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead in order to extend his borders,
  • Moab: Do not treat the dead with disrespect.
Amos 2:1 ... Moab. . . burned, as if to lime, the bones of Edom's king,
The most common charge God levels against the nations, and the one that draws His wrath, is that of persecuting His people.6 
  • Babylon7
Jer 50:11a Because you rejoice and are glad, you who pillage my inheritance...
  • Moab8
Ezek 25:8b Because Moab.. . said, "Look, the house of Judah has become like all the other nations,"
  • Ammon9
Ezek 25:3b Because you said "Aha!" over my sanctuary when it was desecrated and over the land of Israel when it was laid waste and over the people of Judah when they went into exile,
  • Edom (Seir)10
Ezek 35:5 Because you harbored an ancient hostility and delivered the Israelites over to the sword at the time of their calamity, the time their punishment reached its climax,
  • Philistia
Ezek 25:15b Because the Philistines acted in vengeance and took revenge with malice in their hearts, and with ancient hostility sought to destroy Judah,
  • Tyre
Ezek 26:2 . . . because Tyre has said of Jerusalem, 'Aha! The gate to the nations is broken, and its doors have swung open to me; now that she lies in ruins I will prosper,'
  • Egypt
Joel 3:19 . . . because of violence done to the people of Judah, in whose land they shed innocent blood.
  • Nations11 
Joel 3:2b I will enter into judgment against them concerning my inheritance, my people Israel, for they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land. 3 They cast lots for my people and traded boys for prostitutes; they sold girls for wine that they might drink.
Although God did not give man natural law the way He gave Israel revealed law (except for His revelation to Noah), people are still aware of morality and know when they are in violation of it. According to Paul, such aberrant behavior is obvious for those who engage in it.12
Gal 5:19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
According to Peter, such aberrant behavior is also deliberate for those who persist in it.
1 Pet 4:3 For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. 5 But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
Because the transgressing of natural law is neither debatable nor accidental, "men are without excuse" (Rom 1:20) before God.

The fullest lists of prohibited gentile behavior are in Lev 18 and 20, where God identifies conduct He abhors.13
Lev 18:3 You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices.... 24 Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled.
Lev 20:23 You must not live according to the customs of the nations I am going to drive out before you. Because they did all these things, I abhorred them.
While many of these prohibitions parallel laws in the Decalogue, the legislation God gave to Israel illustrates the convergence of natural law and revealed law at all points but one (i.e., Sabbath). God issues few direct commands to gentiles, but His condemnation of their behavior indicates areas in which He expects them to know better and to behave differently.14
  1. Exclusivity: No rivalry15
  2. Idolatry: No imagery16
  3. Profanity: No blasphemy17
  4. Tranquility: Keep Sabbath18
  5. Family: Honor parents19
  6. Hostility: No murder20
  7. Fidelity: No adultery21
  8. Thievery: No stealing22
  9. Perjury: No false testimony23
  10. Cupidity: No coveting24
Other stipulations of natural law (in addition to parallels in the Decalogue) appear in pronouncements and denouncements throughout OT scripture. 
  • No consuming blood25
  • No inequity26
  • No abusing the poor (brutality)27
  • No sorcery28
  • No unclean food (impurity)29
  • No incest30
  • No child sacrifice31
  • No homosexuality32
  • No sodomy33
  • No debauchery34
  • No immorality35
These natural law provisions are incumbent upon all people, whether or not they turn to God, and they are the specific basis upon which He judges the gentiles.

NT writers, especially Paul, reiterate many of these sins for which God holds gentiles accountable.36
I Cor 6:9c Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
Eph 5:5 For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.... 6b . . . because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient.
Col 3:5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.
None of the natural law lists, however, includes stipulations peculiar to God's covenant with Israel (e.g., Sabbath).

To help repentant gentiles develop a righteous lifestyle, those who turn to God in faith, the rabbis summarized the stipulations in the Noachide commandments, a list of seven precepts that begin with what He gave to Noah.37
b Sanh 56a Our Rabbis taught: Seven precepts were the sons of Noah commanded: social laws [i.e., justice], to refrain from blasphemy, idolatry, adultery, bloodshed, robbery, and eating flesh cut from a living animal.
b Sanh 56b Rabbi Jose said: The heathens were prohibited everything that is mentioned in the section on sorcery [Deut 18:10-12].
Gentile believers need not stop with these, for God invites them to embrace the fuller terms of His covenant with Israel.
Isa 56:3 Let no foreigner who has bound himself to the LORD say, "The LORD will surely exclude me from his people." ...6 . . . foreigners who bind themselves to the LORD to serve him, to love the name of the LORD, and to worship him, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant-7 these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar;38 for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations." 8 The Sovereign LORD declares—he who gathers the exiles of Israel: "I will gather still others to them besides those already gathered."
Those who do respond are called God-fearers, and Luke makes frequent reference to their presence in the synagogues.39 Wanting to encourage these gentile believers, the Jerusalem Council publishes a (partial) list of the Noachide commands, with the understanding that weekly exposure to the scriptures will enable them to learn more about what God expects.
Acts 15:19 ... we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. 20 Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. 21 For Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.
As gentile believers heed stipulations of the Sinaitic covenant (e.g., Sabbath), they shift from natural law to revealed law. Some limit their involvement and remain as God-fearers; others choose to involve themselves fully and convert to Judaism.40 The extent to which gentiles adopt specific aspects of revealed law seems up to them. God invites them, but He does not compel them, and their decision does not determine their eternal destiny.

Bibliography

  • Manuel, Paul (http://paulwmanuel.blogspot.com), 2002, "Homosexuality: Affirming Our Biblical Bearings."
2006, "Is Cleanliness Next to Godliness? The Significance of Clean and Unclean Animals."
2007, "Legal Limits: Recognizing the Recipients of Biblical Regulations."
2011, A Study of Law and Grace: Finding the Proper Balance.
  • Porton, Gary G., 1988 Goyim: Gentiles and Israelites in Mishnah-Tosefta. Atlanta: Scholars Press.
  • Pritchard, James B., ed., 1958,72, The Ancient Near East. 2 vols. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Endnotes

(1) Elsewhere, Paul alludes to the existence of such universal standards.
Rom 12:17b Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.
2 Cor 8:21 For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of men.
(2) The Noachide laws are the only ones He revealed to gentiles.
Gen 9:4 But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it. 5 And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each man, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man. 6 Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man.
(3) The most severe indictment God levels against His people is in the days of Manasseh, when they do not even meet gentile standards.
2 Kgs 21:9b Manasseh led them astray, so that they did more evil than the nations the LORD had destroyed before the Israelites.... 1 lb "He has done more evil than the Amorites who preceded him and has led Judah into sin...
2 Chr 33:9 But Manasseh led Judah and the people of Jerusalem astray, so that they did more evil than the nations the LORD had destroyed before the Israelites.
Ezek 5:7 Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: You have been more unruly than the nations around you and have not followed my decrees or kept my laws. You have not even conformed to the standards of the nations around you.
(4) Other passages include:
Deut 33:4 the law that Moses gave us [is] the possession of the assembly of Jacob.
Mal 4:4 Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel.
Rom 3:1 What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? 2 Much in every way! First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God.
(5) For parallels in ancient law codes, see Pritchard (1958:75). God alludes to such natural laws in contrasting His expectation for Israel's righteous behavior with gentiles' unrighteous behavior (which He does not excuse as if they did not or could not have known better).
Lev 18:24 Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled.
Lev 20:23 You must not live according to the customs of the nations I am going to drive out before you. Because they did all these things, I abhorred them.
Deut 18:12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD, and because of these detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you.
Paul states that the wickedness of such behavior is sufficiently obvious even to them to warrant God's judgment.
Rom 1:32 Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
In any case, when they stand before the bar of divine justice, they will be "without excuse" (Rom 1:20).
(6) A related charge is their pride in thinking they can oppose the Lord.
  • Assyria
Isa 10:12 I will punish the king of Assyria for the willful pride of his heart and the haughty look in his eyes.
Isa 37:29 Because you rage against me and because your insolence has reached my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth, and I will make you return by the way you came.
  • Moab
Jer 48:42 Moab will be destroyed as a nation because she defied the LORD.
  • Babylon
Jer 50:24 I set a trap for you, 0 Babylon, and you were caught before you knew it; you were found and captured because you opposed the LORD. 
Jer 50:29 Summon archers against Babylon, all those who draw the bow. Encamp all around her; let no one escape. Repay her for her deeds; do to her as she has done. For she has defied the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.
  • Sodom
Ezek 16:49 Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. 50 They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen.
  • Tyre
Ezek 28:2b In the pride of your heart you say, "I am a god; I sit on the throne of a god in the heart of the seas." But you are a man and not a god, though you think you are as wise as a god.... 7 I am going to bring foreigners against you, the most ruthless of nations; they will draw their swords against your beauty and wisdom and pierce your shining splendor.
  • Egypt
Ezek 29:3b I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt.... You say, "The Nile is mine; I made it for myself." ...9 Egypt will become a desolate wasteland.... Because you said, "The Nile is mine; I made it," 10 therefore I am against you and against your streams, and I will make the land of Egypt a ruin and a desolate waste from Migdol to Aswan, as far as the border of Cush. 
Ezek 31: 1 O Because it towered on high, lifting its top above the thick foliage, and because it was proud of its height, 111 handed it over to the ruler of the nations, for him to deal with according to its wickedness. I cast it aside,
(7) Other passages include:
Jer 51:11c The LORD will take vengeance, vengeance for his temple.
Jer 51:24 . . .1 will repay Babylon and all who live in Babylonia for all the wrong they have done in Zion.... 49a Babylon must fall because of Israel's slain....
(8) Other passages include:
Zeph 2:8 I have heard the insults of Moab and the taunts of the Ammonites, who insulted my people and made threats against their land.... 9b The remnant of my people will plunder them; the survivors of my nation will inherit their land. 10 This is what they will get in return for their pride, for insulting and mocking the people of the LORD Almighty.
(9) Other passages include:
Ezek 25:6b ... Because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet, rejoicing with all the malice of your heart against the land of Israel, Zeph 2:8 I have heard the insults of Moab and the taunts of the Ammonites, who insulted my people and made threats against their land.... 9b The remnant of my people will plunder them; the survivors of my nation will inherit their land. 10 This is what they will get in return for their pride, for insulting and mocking the people of the LORD Almighty.
(10) Other passages include:
Ezek 25:8b Because Moab and Seir said, "Look, the house of Judah has become like all the other nations,"
Ezek 25:12b Because Edom took revenge on the house of Jiidah and became very guilty by doing so,
Ezek 35:10 Because you have said, "These two nations and countries will be ours and we will take possession of them," even though I the LORD was there,
Joel 3:19 ...Edom a desert waste, because of violence done to the people of Judah, in whose land they shed innocent blood.
Obad 10 Because of the violence against your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame; you will be destroyed forever. 11 On the day you stood aloof while strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were like one of them. 12 You should not look down on your brother in the day of his misfortune, nor rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their destruction, nor boast so much in the day of their trouble. 13 You should not march through the gates of my people in the day of their disaster, nor look down on them in their calamity in the day of their disaster, nor seize their wealth in the day of their disaster. 14 You should not wait at the crossroads to cut down their fugitives, nor hand over their survivors in the day of their trouble.
(11) Other passages include:
Zech 12:9 On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem.
(12) Paul makes a similar assertion to the church at Corinth.
1 Cor 6:9 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
John sees the exclusion of the unrighteous in his revelation..
Rev 21:8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.
Rev 22:15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
To the church in Rome, Paul states that a rejection of external revelation—the evidences of God in creation—leads eventually to a rejection of internal revelation—the expectations of God in conscience.
Rom 1:18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.
Paul suggests that there is a devolution into depravity that goes from idolatry to immorality, specifically homosexuality.
Rom 1:22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. 24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. 26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.
(13) The immorality of most of these practices is self-evident, with one possible exception. The connection to ritual impurity makes this a particular concern because Israel hosts the sanctuary.
Lev 18:19 Do not approach a woman to have sexual relations during the uncleanness of her monthly period.
Lev 20:18 If a man lies with a woman during her monthly period and has sexual relations with her.... Both of them must be cut off from their people.
(14) For the ethnic restrictions in divine expectations, see Manuel 2007.

(15) Passages promoting exclusivity for gentiles include:
Deut 20:16 However, in the cities of the nations the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes. 17 Completely destroy them—the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—as the LORD your God has commanded you. 18 Otherwise, they will teach you to follow all the detestable things they do in worshiping their gods, and you will sin against the LORD your God.
Ps 47:1 Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy.... 9 The nobles of the nations assemble as the people of the God of Abraham, for the kings of the earth belong to God; he is greatly exalted.
Ps 67:3 May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you. 4 May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you rule the peoples justly and guide the nations of the earth.
Ps 96:lb sing to the LORD, all the earth.... 4b he is to be feared above all gods.... 5 For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the LORD made the heavens.... 7 Ascribe to the LORD, O families of nations, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.... 10 Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns." (This psalm is also embedded in the narrative of 1 Chr 16.)
Isa 45:20b Ignorant are those who carry about idols of wood, who pray to gods that cannot save.... 22 Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.
Isa 56:6 ... foreigners who bind themselves to the LORD to serve him, to love the name of the LORD, and to worship him, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant-7 these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations."
Job 31:26 if I have regarded the sun in its radiance or the moon moving in splendor, 27 so that my heart was secretly enticed and my hand offered them a kiss of homage, 28 then these also would be sins to be judged, for I would have been unfaithful to God on high.
(16) Passages prohibiting idolatry for gentiles include (along with those in the previous category):
2 Kgs 5:17 "If you will not," said Naaman, "please let me, your servant, be given as much earth as a pair of mules can carry, for your servant will never again make burnt offerings and sacrifices to any other god but the LORD. 18 But may the LORD forgive your servant for this one thing: When my master enters the temple of Rimmon to bow down and he is leaning on my arm and I bow there also—when I bow down in the temple of Rim mon, may the LORD forgive your servant for this."
Nah 1:11 From you, [O Nineveh,] has one come forth who plots evil against the LORD and counsels wickedness.... 14c I will destroy the carved images and cast idols that are in the temple of your gods. I will prepare your grave, for you are vile.
Hab 2:18 "Of what value is an idol, since a man has carved it? Or an image that teaches lies? For he who makes it trusts in his own creation; he makes idols that cannot speak. 19 Woe to him who says to wood, 'Come to life!' Or to lifeless stone, 'Wake up!' Can it give guidance? It is covered with gold and silver; there is no breath in it. 20 But the LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him."
(17) Passages prohibiting blasphemy for gentiles include:
Lev 24:16 anyone who blasphemes the name of the LORD must be put to death.... Whether an alien or native-born....
2 Kgs 19:6 Isaiah said to them, "Tell your master, 'This is what the LORD says: Do not be afraid of what you have heard—those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.
Isa 37:23 Who is it you [underlings of the king of Assyria] have insulted and blasphemed? . . . Against the Holy One of Israel!
Ezek 35:13 You boasted against me and spoke against me without restraint, and I heard it. Rev 16:9 They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him.
(18) There is no expectation for gentiles to keep the Sabbath. This is the only one of the ten that has no counterpart for gentiles, it being a matter neither of natural revelation nor of conscience. Rather, it is voluntary not obligatory.
Isa 56:6 And foreigners... who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it...
For a discussion about this issue, see "Is the Sabbath a Universal Requirement?" in Manuel 2011.

(19) Passages promoting honor in family relations for gentiles include:
  • Shem and Japheth knew the importance of honoring their father Noah, even when Ham, his other son, did not.
Gen 9:22 Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father's nakedness and told his two brothers outside. 23 But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father's nakedness. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father's nakedness.
  • Isaac knew the importance of honoring his father Abraham, even in the face of death.
Gen 22:7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, "Father?" "Yes, my son?" Abraham replied. "The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" 8 Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together. 9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
  • Esau dishonored his parents by marrying contrary to their wishes.
Gen 26:34 When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite. 35 They were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah.
  • Isaac dishonored his father Jacob by lying to him.
Gen 27:13 His mother said to him, "My son, let the curse fall on me. Just do what I say; go and get them for me." 14 So he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and she prepared some tasty food, just the way his father liked it. 15 Then Rebekah took the best clothes of Esau her older son, which she had in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob. 16 She also covered his hands and the smooth part of his neck with the goatskins. 17 Then she handed to her son Jacob the tasty food and the bread she had made. 18 He went to his father and said, "My father." "Yes, my son," he answered. "Who is it?" 19 Jacob said to his father, "I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game so that you may give me your blessing."
  • Jacob knew the importance of honoring his parents Isaac and Rebekah, even when Esau, their other son, did not.
Gen 28:1 . . . Isaac called for Jacob ... and commanded him: "Do not marry a Canaanite woman. 2 Go at once to Paddan Aram.... Take a wife for yourself there, from among the daughters of Laban, your mother's brother.... 6 Now Esau learned that Isaac.. .commanded him, "Do not marry a Canaanite woman," 7 and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and had gone to Paddan Aram. 8 Esau then realized how displeasing the Canaanite women were to his father Isaac; 9 so he.. married Mahalath, the [Canaanite] . . . daughter of Ishmael....
  • Rachel dishonored her father Laban by lying to him.
Gen 31:26 Then Laban said to Jacob, "What have you done? You've deceived me, and you've carried off my daughters like captives in war.... 30 Now you have gone off because you longed to return to your father's house. But why did you steal my gods?" ...34 Now Rachel had taken the household gods and put them inside her camel's saddle and was sitting on them. Laban searched through everything in the tent but found nothing. 35 Rachel said to her father, "Don't be angry, my lord, that I cannot stand up in your presence; I'm having my period." So he searched but could not find the household gods.
  • Simeon and Levi dishonored their father Jacob by acting without consulting him.
Gen 34:30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, "You have brought trouble on me by making me a stench to the Canaanites and Perizzites, the people living in this land. We are few in number, and if they join forces against me and attack me, I and my household will be destroyed."
  • Reuben dishonored his father Jacob by sleeping with his concubine.
Gen 35:22 While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father's concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard of it. Jacob had twelve sons:
  • Joseph dishonored his parents Jacob and Rachel by bragging about the future.
Gen 37:10 When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, "What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?"
  • Joseph knew the importance of honoring his father Jacob, even after their separation.
Gen 45:9 Now hurry back to my father and say to him.. .Come down to me; don't delay. lOa You shall live in the region of Goshen and be near me.... 11 I will provide for you there, because five years of famine are still to come. Otherwise you and your household and all who belong to you will become destitute.'
Gen 47:12 Joseph also provided his father and his brothers and all his father's household with food, according to the number of their children.
  • Ruth honored her mother-in-law by pledging to support her.
Ruth 1:16 But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. 17a Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me."
  • Adrammelech and Sharezer dishonored their father by murdering him.
2 Kgs 19:37 One day, while [Sennacherib] was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer cut him down with the sword, and they escaped to the land of Ararat....
Other examples of non-compliance include:
  • Isaac dishonored his father Jacob by lying to him.
Gen 27:13 His mother said to him, "My son, let the curse fall on me. Just do what I say; go and get them for me." 14 So he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and she prepared some tasty food, just the way his father liked it. 15 Then Rebekah took the best clothes of Esau her older son, which she had in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob. 16 She also covered his hands and the smooth part of his neck with the goatskins. 17 Then she handed to her son Jacob the tasty food and the bread she had made. 18 He went to his father and said, "My father." "Yes, my son," he answered. "Who is it?" 19 Jacob said to his father, "I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game so that you may give me your blessing."
  • Rachel dishonored her father Laban by lying to him.
Gen 31:26 Then Laban said to Jacob, "What have you done? You've deceived me, and you've carried off my daughters like captives in war.... 30 Now you have gone off because you longed to return to your father's house. But why did you steal my gods?" ...34 Now Rachel had taken the household gods and put them inside her camel's saddle and was sitting on them. Laban searched through everything in the tent but found nothing. 35 Rachel said to her father, "Don't be angry, my lord, that I cannot stand up in your presence; I'm having my period." So he searched but could not find the household gods.
  • Simeon and Levi dishonored their father Jacob by acting without consulting him. 
Gen 34:30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, "You have brought trouble on me by making me a stench to the Canaanites and Perizzites, the people living in this land. We are few in number, and if they join forces against me and attack me, I and my household will be destroyed."
  • Reuben dishonored his father Jacob by sleeping with his concubine.
Gen 35:22 While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father's concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard of it. Jacob had twelve sons:
  • Joseph dishonored his parents Jacob and Rachel by bragging about the future.
Gen 37:10 When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, "What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?"
Seeing to their parents' funeral is one of the final ways children have to honor them. Even siblings who did not always get along with each other set aside their differences to pay their last respects.
  • Isaac and Ishmael knew the importance of honoring their father Abraham after his death. 
Gen 25:8a ... Abraham breathed his last and.... 9a His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him...
  • Jacob and Esau knew the importance of honoring their father Isaac after his death. 
Gen 35:29 [Isaac] breathed his last.... And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
  • Joseph and his brothers knew the importance of honoring their father Jacob after his death. 
Gen 49:33 . . . Jacob. . . breathed his last....
Gen 50:12 [And his twelve] sons did as he had commanded them: 13a They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him....
In each case, the biblical author records how these family members, once at odds with one another, set aside their differences to honor their parents.

(20) Passages prohibiting hostility for gentiles include:
Gen 4:10 The LORD said, "What have you done? Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground. 11 Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand.
Gen 9:5 And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each man, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man. 6 Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man.
Job 24:14a When daylight is gone, the murderer rises up and kills the poor and needy.... Ezek 35:6b Since you did not hate bloodshed, bloodshed will pursue you.
Nah 3:1 Woe to the city of blood, full of lies, full of plunder, never without victims!
Hab 2:8b . . . you have shed man's blood; you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them.... 12 Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed and establishes a town by crime! 17b . . .you have shed man's blood; you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them.
(21) Passages promoting fidelity for gentiles include:
Gen 39:9 No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?
Lev 18:20 Do not have sexual relations with your neighbor's wife and defile yourself with her.
Lev 20:10 If a man commits adultery with another man's wife. ..both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.
Job 24:15 The eye of the adulterer watches for dusk; he thinks, 'No eye will see me,' and he keeps his face concealed.
Job 31:9 "If my heart has been enticed by a woman, or if I have lurked at my neighbor's door, 10 then may my wife grind another man's grain, and may other men sleep with her. 11 For that would have been shameful, a sin to be judged.
(22) Passages prohibiting thievery for gentiles include:
Gen 31:30b But why did you steal my gods?"
Gen 44:8 We even brought back to you from the land of Canaan the silver we found inside the mouths of our sacks. So why would we steal silver or gold from your master's house? Job 24:2 Men move boundary stones; they pasture flocks they have stolen.... 16a In the dark, men break into houses....
Hab 2:6b Woe to him who piles up stolen goods and makes himself wealthy by extortion! .9 Woe to him who builds his realm by unjust gain to set his nest on high, to escape the clutches of ruin!
Acts 19:37 You have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed temples nor blasphemed our goddess.
(23) Passages prohibiting perjury for gentiles include:
Job 13:3 But I desire to speak to the Almighty and to argue my case with God. 4a You, however, smear me with lies...!
Job 31:21 if I have raised my hand against the fatherless, knowing that I had influence in court, 22 then let my arm fall from the shoulder, let it be broken off at the joint.
Rev 21:8a . . . all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur.
Code of Hammurabi (c. 1700) 3 If a [citizen] came forward with false testimony in a case, and has not proved the word which he spoke, if that case was a case involving life, that [citizen] shall be put to death.
(24) Passages prohibiting cupidity for gentiles include:
Job 31:9 If my heart has been enticed by a woman, or if I have lurked at my neighbor's door, 10 then may my wife grind another man's grain, and may other men sleep with her. 11 For that would have been shameful, a sin to be judged.
Hab 2:5b Because he is as greedy as the grave and like death is never satisfied, he gathers to himself all the nations and takes captive all the peoples.... 6b Woe to him who piles up stolen goods and makes himself wealthy by extortion! . . . 8a Because you have plundered many nations.... 9a Woe to him who builds his realm by unjust gain to set his nest on high....
(25) Passages prohibiting consumption of blood for gentiles include:
Gen 9:4 But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it.
Zech 9:7 I will take the blood from their [Philistines'] mouths, the forbidden food from between their teeth.
(26) Passages prohibiting inequity for gentiles include:
Dan 4:27 Therefore, 0 king, be pleased to accept my advice: Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. It may be that then your prosperity will continue.
Job 31:13 If I have denied justice to my menservants and maidservants when they had a grievance against me, 14 what will I do when God confronts me? What will I answer when called to account?
Hab 2:9 "Woe to him who builds his realm by unjust gain to set his nest on high, to escape the clutches of ruin! 
(27) Passages prohibiting abusing the poor for gentiles include:
Job 24:3 They drive away the orphan's donkey and take the widow's ox in pledge. 4 They thrust the needy from the path and force all the poor of the land into hiding.... 9 The fatherless child is snatched from the breast; the infant of the poor is seized for a debt.... 21 They prey on the barren and childless woman, and to the widow show no kindness.
Job 31:16 "If I have denied the desires of the poor or let the eyes of the widow grow weary, 17 if I have kept my bread to myself, not sharing it with the fatherless... 19 if I have seen anyone perishing for lack of clothing, or a needy man without a garment... 22 then let my arm fall from the shoulder, let it be broken off at the joint. 23 For I dreaded destruction from God, and for fear of his splendor I could not do such things.
(28) Passages prohibiting sorcery for gentiles sages include:
Lev 20:6 I will set my face against the person who turns to mediums and spiritists to prostitute himself by following them.... 27a A man or woman who is a medium or spiritist among you must be put to death.
Deut 18:9 When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. 10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, 11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD, and because of these detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you. 13 You must be blameless before the LORD your God.
Nah 3:4 all because of the wanton lust of a harlot, alluring, the mistress of sorceries, who enslaved nations by her prostitution and peoples by her witchcraft.
(29) Passages prohibiting unclean food for gentiles include:
Lev 20:25a You must therefore make a distinction between clean and unclean animals and between unclean and clean birds.
Isa 66:17 "Those who consecrate and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following the one in the midst of those who eat the flesh of pigs and rats and other abominable things—they will meet their end together," declares the LORD.
This distinction predates the Sinaitic covenant.
Gen 7:2 Take with you seven of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and two of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate.....8 Pairs of clean and unclean animals, of birds and of all creatures that move along the ground,
Gen 8:20 Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it.
(30) The primary passage against incest is:
Lev 18:6 No one is to approach any close relative to have sexual relations. I am the LORD.
The prohibitions that follow in chapter 18 (some of which also occur in chapter 20) specify the sexual relations in this category that God abhors.
Lev 18:7a Do not dishonor your father by having sexual relations with your mother.
Lev 18:8 Do not have sexual relations with your father's wife; that would dishonor your father.
Cf. Lev 20:11 If a man sleeps with his father's wife.... Both the man and the woman must be put to death....
Lev 18:9 Do not have sexual relations with your sister, either your father's daughter or your mother's daughter....
Cf. Lev 20:17a If a man marries his sister, the daughter of either his father or his mother, and they have sexual relations, it is a disgrace.
Lev 18:10 Do not have sexual relations with your son's daughter or your daughter's daughter....
Lev 18:11 Do not have sexual relations with the daughter of your father's wife, born to your father....
Lev 18:12 Do not have sexual relations with your father's sister; she is your father's close relative.
Lev 18:13 Do not have sexual relations with your mother's sister, because she is your mother's close relative.
Cf. Lev 20:19 Do not have sexual relations with the sister of either your mother or your father....
Lev 18:14 Do not dishonor your father's brother by approaching his wife to have sexual relations....
Cf. Lev 20:20a If a man sleeps with his aunt, he has dishonored his uncle.
Lev 18:15a Do not have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law.
Cf. Lev 20:12a If a man sleeps with his daughter-in-law, both of them must be put to death.
Lev 18:16 Do not have sexual relations with your brother's wife; that would dishonor your brother.
Cf. Lev 20:21a-b If a man marries his brother's wife, it is an act of impurity he has dishonored his brother.
Lev 18:17a Do not have sexual relations with both a woman and her daughter.
Cf. Lev 20:14a If a man marries both a woman and her mother, it is wicked.
Lev 18:17h Do not have sexual relations with either her son's daughter or her daughter's daughter....
Lev 18:18 Do not take your wife's sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is living.
(31) Relevant passages include:
Lev 18:21 Do not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.
Lev 20:2a ...Any Israelite or any alien living in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech must be put to death.
(32) Relevant passages include:
Lev 18:22 Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.
Lev 20:13 If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman.... They must be put to death...
(33) Relevant passages include:
Lev 18:23a Do not have sexual relations with an animal and defile yourself with it.
Lev 20:15 If a man has sexual relations with an animal, he must be put to death, and you must kill the animal.
Lev 20:16a If a woman approaches an animal to have sexual relations with it, kill both the woman and the animal.
(34) Relevant passages include:
Joel 3:3b [The nations] sold girls for wine that they might drink.
Hab 2:15 Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbors, pouring it from the wineskin till they are drunk....
(35) Relevant passages include:
Hab 2:15 Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbors ... till they are drunk, so that he can gaze on their naked bodies.
(36) After Paul's treatment of natural revelation (see n. 12), he lists activities that evoke divine censure.
Rom 1:28 Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
Passages by other authors include:
I Pet 4:3 For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry.... 5 But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
Jude 14 ... the Lord is coming... 15 to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
Rev 9:20 The rest of mankind that were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood—idols that cannot see or hear or walk. 21 Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts.
(37) A similar list appears in Jubilees (2nd c. BC).
Jub 7:20 ... Noah [related] all of the judgments which he knew. And he bore witness to his sons so that they might do justice and cover the shame of their flesh and bless the one who created them and honor father and mother, and each one love his neighbor and preserve themselves from fornication and pollution and from all injustice.
(38) This is not a new provision but the continuation of an earlier provision for gentiles. Nevertheless, it was and remains limited, excluding purification (sin) and reparation (guilt) offerings, perhaps because they pertain specifically to the sanctity of Israel. 
Lev 17:8 ... Any Israelite or any alien living among them who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice 9 and does not bring it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting to sacrifice it to the LORD—that man must be cut off from his people.
Lev 22:18 ...If any of you—either an Israelite or an alien living in Israel—presents a gift for a burnt offering to the LORD, either to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering,
Num 15:14 For the generations to come, whenever an alien or anyone else living among you presents an offering made by fire as an aroma pleasing to the LORD, he must do exactly as you do.
It is a distinction Naaman the Syrian seems to understand.
2 Kgs 5:17b ...your servant will never again make burnt offerings and sacrifices to any other god but the LORD.
"Gentles could bring only voluntary offerings to the Temple; they could not offer the obligatory sacrifices" (Porton 1988:265).
m Sheg 1:5 This is the governing principle: Anything which is vowed or given as a freewill offering do they accept from them. Anything which is not vowed or given as a freewill offering do they not accept from them.
Furthermore, acceptance of a sacrifice does not mean admittance to the sanctuary proper.
Ezek 44:9b No foreigner uncircumcised in heart and flesh is to enter my sanctuary, not even the foreigners who live among the Israelites. Against Apion 2:103 . . . it had four several courts, encompassed with cloisters round about, every one of which had by our law a peculiar degree of separation from the rest. Into the first court everybody was allowed to go, even foreigners; and none but women, during their courses, were prohibited to pass through it;
in Menah 9:8 All lay on hands, except for (I) the deaf-mute, (2) the idiot, and (3) the minor, (4) the blind person, and (5) the gentile, and (6) the slave, and (7) the agent, and (8) the woman.
(39) Relevant passages include:
Pisidian Antioch
Acts 13:14b On the Sabbath they entered the synagogue and sat down.... 43 When the congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.
  • Iconium
Acts 14:1 At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed.
  • Philippi
Acts 16:13 On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. 14a One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God.
  • Thessalonica
Acts 17:2 . . . Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures.... 4 Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and not a few prominent women.
  • Berea
Acts 17:10b On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue.... 12 Many of the Jews believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.
  • Corinth
Acts 18:1 After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.... 4 Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.
(40) Nicolas, one of the church's first deacons, is a case in point.
Acts 6:5b They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism.
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