When is law first mentioned in the bible?

Answer 1

Care needs to be taken in this matter. The question is very precisely asking about "law" and not "laws".

In the King James version, the word - law - is first mentioned in connection with relationships - "daughter in law" and "son in law".

The first mention of "law" in regards to rules is

• Gen 47:26 And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt unto this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth part, except the land of the priests only, which became not Pharaoh's.

--- alternative opinions --

As can be seen, this next answer concerns the "laws" - plural.

-------

The laws of God are first mentioned directly in Genesis 26. The Lord God of the Old Testament, Jesus Christ [John 1:3], was about to confer on Isaac His covenant, making sure that he knew that it was because of his father's obedience to His voice.

"...because that Abraham OBEYED MY VOICE, and kept My charge, MY COMMANDMENTS, MY STATUTES, and MY LAWS." (Gen.26:5)

Abraham was keeping God's laws centuries before Moses was born.

The laws of God are also mentioned "indirectly" in Genesis, when Jesus tells Cain:

"...If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? And if thou doest not well, SIN lieth at the door..." (Gen.4:7).

The Bible's definition of "sin" is: "...sin is the transgression of the law." (I John 3:4)

So, God's Commandments were around from the beginning... considering that "sin" entered the world through Adam and Eve. And the "sacrificial laws" were being exercised by Cain and Abel as a result of their parents' transgressions.

Abel sacrificed "...the firstlings of his flock..."; and Cain, a farmer, "...brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord." (Gen.4:3-4)

Noah, also, was obedient to the "dietary laws" of God in observing the laws of "clean and unclean meats" [see Lev.20:25 & Lev.11]:

"...Of every CLEAN beast thou shalt take to thee by SEVENS... and of beasts that ARE NOT CLEAN by TWO..." (Gen.7:2).

Jesus' words to Abraham reveal that Sodom and Gomorrah were aware of God's laws... and rejected them: "...Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their SIN is very grievous..." (Gen.18:20).

The Gentile king Abimelech, too, knew of God's Commandments when he was confronted with the potential "adultery" he narrowly missed committing with Sarah, Abraham's wife:

"...What hast thou done unto us? And what have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom A GREAT SIN?" (Gen.20:9)