The first of the Seven Laws is the foundation upon which all others rest. It prohibits idolatry in every form — the worship of statues, celestial bodies, natural forces, or any created thing in place of the One God who brought the universe into being.
This law extends beyond physical idols. Any worldview that replaces God as the ultimate source of morality — treating wealth, power, or ideology as one's supreme authority — falls within its spirit. Maimonides teaches that recognizing God's singular authority is what gives all moral law its binding force.
The prohibition was first given to Adam in the Garden of Eden and renewed with Noah, whose descendants encompass all of humanity. Accepting these laws as divine commandments — rather than mere social contracts — is what elevates them from useful rules to genuine moral obligations.
One who observes the seven laws because God commanded them in the Torah is called a Chasid Umos HaOlam — a Righteous Gentile — and is promised a share in the World to Come.