Noach 9:5 · unit 3

TT #50 · Parashas Noach · Fourth Aliyah · Passuk 9:5

The Complete Passuk

וְאַ֨ךְ אֶת־דִּמְכֶ֤ם לְנַפְשֹֽׁתֵיכֶם֙ אֶדְרֹ֔שׁ מִיַּ֥ד כָּל־חַיָּ֖ה אֶדְרְשֶׁ֑נּוּ וּמִיַּ֣ד הָֽאָדָ֗ם מִיַּד֙ אִ֣ישׁ אָחִ֔יו אֶדְרֹ֖שׁ אֶת־נֶ֥פֶשׁ הָאָדָֽם׃

But for your own life-blood I will require a reckoning, from every beast I will require it, and from man; from every man, his brother, I will require a reckoning for the life of man.

Chabad.org — 9:5

Source Citation

Torah Temimah notes the Yerushalmi reading that a Ben Noach may be executed on his own admission.

Sefaria — Sanhedrin 57b area

Core Text of Chazal

וּמִיַּד הָאָדָם — מְלַמֵּד שֶׁבֶּן נֹחַ נֶהֱרָג אֲפִלּוּ עַל פִּי עַצְמוֹ.

“And of man” — this teaches that a Ben Noach is executed even on the basis of his own admission.

Type of Learning

Custom (self-incrimination accepted in Noachide law).

What Is Learned

Unlike Israelite courts, a Ben Noach’s own confession can suffice for capital liability (per this reading).