After concluding that circumcision is not required for non-Jews, James, the leader of the [[Council of Jerusalem]] says:
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These four (or five) prohibitions are variously interpreted. The prohibition against "things strangled", apparently refers to animals which had been improperly slaughtered according to Jewish law, i.e., without the draining of blood. Some, accordingly, take the prohibition against "blood" as a reference to murder. The two, eating blood and murder, are closely associated in Genesis 9:3-6, in commands given to Noah and his descendents. Compare Jubilees 7:28, which also combines the two as part of the Noachite covenant. Leviticus 17:10-18:30 was also an important text. There the immoral "ways of the nations", particularly eating blood and sexual immorality, are forbidden to the "stranger who resides among you" (the ger toshav) as well as the Israelite. The textual manuscripts vary widely on the precise enumeration of these prohibitions in Acts 15:20, 29. Paul's account of this dispute, reflected in the book of Galatians, does not include this precise listing of prohibitions. However, his letters indicate that he would have generally supported such prohibitions as applicable to all humankind: e.g., sexual immorality (1 Corinthians 5-6;1 Thessalonians 4:3-8); idolatry and meat sold in Gentile markets (1 Thessalonians 1:9;1 Corinthians 10:14-22; but compare 8:1-13;10:23-33).<ref>[http://rainbowcovenant.org/pages/articlesGdFearers.htm Rainbow Covenant: The G-d Fearers], note 6</ref>
