My God, the soul You placed within me is pure . . . (ancient Hebrew prayer)

What is a Noahide?                                  

Noah, as one pronounces the name in English, is pronounced "No'ach" in Hebrew. Hebrew is, of course, the language of the Bible. That is, it's the language of the "Old Testament." The "ach" in No'ach is pronounced like the German "Ach!" (Ach du lieber! Achtung!) or like the Scottish word for lake, "loch."

A Noahide is simply a human being, one of the descendants of Noah. Humankind is one family: Noah and his wife Na'amah are the ancestors of us all.

In some connections, a Noahide refers only to non-Jewish people. Using the word in this context, it refers to the vast majority of the human race - the more than 99.75% of humankind - which isn't Jewish. So, used this way, a Noahide, in this sense, is simply a gentile, a non-Jewish person. In other words, a Noahide belongs to the broad trunk or mainstream of the human family, as opposed to the small branch or tributary known as Israel.

Every Noahide - every human being - comes into the world with a pure soul. Everyone can earn God's blessing simply by sincerely trying to keep His Way. However, it helps to know what God's Way is. Because He is so good, He has given us this Instruction: the eternally uplifting principles of God-consciousness that constitute His Universal Way. These same principles make up the core of the Bible.

Another word for Noahide is Noahite. Some very old reference books also refer to Noahides as Noachians.

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