The Noah covenant is the Bible’s universal code, the basic infrastructure of a just social order. The Noahide laws, as understood by Judaism’s sages, set out the broad parameters of a decent society: respect for God, human life, the family, property, animal welfare and the rule of law.4 These principles are general, not specific: thin, not thick. They apply to everyone in virtue of the fact that they are in the image of God, therefore worthy of dignity and respect. They are universal rules of what today we would call responsibilities and rights.
