<td valign="top" width="50%">for it is written, The earth also was corrupt before God;<ref>Gen. VI, II</ref> and a Tanna of the School of R. Ishmael taught: Wherever corruption is mentioned, it must refer to immorality and idolatry.<ref>And once they were punished for these offences, they must first have been admonished against them.</ref> 'Immorality.' as it is written, for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.<ref>Ibid. 'Corrupted his way' connotes immorality; cf. the way of a man with a maid. Prov. XXX, 19.</ref> 'Idolatry,' for it is written, Lest ye corrupt yourselves and make you a graven image, etc.<ref>Deut. IV, 16.</ref> And the other teacher [who deduces this from the verse, and the Lord God commanded etc.]?<ref>How does he utilize this latter verse?</ref> He maintains that this verse [sc. the earth also etc.] merely describes their way of living.6 <ref>But is not intended to imply a prohibition.</ref> 'Bloodshed', as it is written, Whoso sheddeth man's blood, etc.7 <ref>Gen. IX, 6.</ref> And the other?8 <ref>I.e., who deduces it from the verse, all the Lord commanded.</ref> — This verse [he will maintain] merely teaches the manner of execution.9 <ref>I.e., by the sword, v. p. 380 n. 5; but the fact of execution is taught elsewhere.</ref> Robbery, for it is written, As the wild herbs have I given you all things;10 <ref>Ibid. 3.</ref> upon which R. Levi commented: as the wild herbs, but not as the cultivated herbs.11 <ref>I.e., only as that which grows wild, without any owners; but not as that which is cultivated, hence owned by someone. This proves that robbery was forbidden them. </ref> And the other?12 <ref>V. n. 8.</ref> — He will hold that this verse is written to permit animal flesh,13 <ref>Which was prohibited to Adam, v. infra 59b.</ref> [but not to prohibit robbery]. Flesh cut from the living animal, as it is written, But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.14 <ref>Ibid. 4. 'Flesh with the blood thereof' means flesh cut from the living animal.</ref> And the other?15 <ref>V. n. 8.</ref> — He may hold that this verse teaches that flesh cut from live reptiles is permitted.16 <ref>V. infra 59a, b. </ref> Emasculation, for it is written, Bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.17 <ref>Ibid. This, of course, is a direct negation of emasculation.</ref> And the other?18 <ref>V. p. 386, n. 8,</ref> — He may regard this merely as a blessing.19 <ref>But it is not intended to convey any prohibition.</ref> Forbidden mixture, as it is said, Of fowls after their kind.<ref>Ibid. VI, 20 ; hence different species are not to be crossed.</ref> And the other?21 <ref>V. p. 386, n. 8.</ref> — He will maintain that this was merely for the sake of mating.22 <ref>It being easier to mate with the same species than with another; but no prohibition is implied thereby.</ref></td>

<td valign="top" width="50%">R. Joseph said, The scholars23 scholars<ref>The term be Rab does not necessarily mean the school presided over by Rab, though it may have that meaning occasionally. In one sense, it connotes the school founded by him, but lasting many generations after his lifetime. In another, it denotes schools in general. In this very instance, the views attributed to be Rab conflict with the teaching of Rab, Rab Judah, and all his disciples (Weiss. Dor II, p. 206.)</ref> stated: A heathen is executed for the violation of three precepts — Mnemonic G Sh R—24 R—<ref>[H]: a mnemonic is given to facilitate the remembering of the subjects of a discussion. Here it stands for Gilluy 'Arayoth — adultery; Shefikuth damin — murder; and birkath ha-shem — blasphemy.</ref> viz., adultery, bloodshed, and blasphemy. R. Shesheth objected: Now bloodshed is rightly included, since it is written, Whoso sheddeth the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed;25 <ref>Gen. IX, 6.</ref> but whence do we know the others? If they are derived from bloodshed,26 <ref>That as bloodshed was forbidden on pain of death, so were the others too.</ref> the other four should also be included; whilst if their inclusion is taught by the extending phrase any man,27 <ref>Heb. [H]. Lev. XXIV, 15: Any man ([H]) that curseth his God shall bear his sin. Ibid. XVIII, 6: No man ([H]) shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness. In both cases one referring to blasphemy, and the other to incest, the repetition of ish extends the law to embrace heathens too. </ref> should not idolatry too be included?28 <ref>Lev. XX, 2: Whosoever he be (ish ish ) of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that giveth any of his seed to Moloch (i.e., engages in idol worship); he shall surely be put to death. The repetition then, here too, should extend the death penalty for idolatry to heathens.</ref> But R. Shesheth said thus: The scholars stated, A heathen is executed for the violation of four precepts [including idolatry]. But is a heathen executed for idolatry? Surely it has been taught: With respect to idolatry, such acts for which a Jewish court decrees sentence of death [on Jewish delinquents] are forbidden to the heathen. This implies that they are merely forbidden, but their violation is not punished by death! — R. Nahman b. Isaac answered: Their prohibition is their death sentence.29<ref>I.e., in speaking of heathens, when the Tanna teaches that they are forbidden to do something, he ipso facto teaches that it is punishable by death; for only in speaking of Jews is it necessary to distinguish between prohibition and punishment.</ref></td>