Aaron HaLevi of Barcelona (born c. 1235 C.E.), author of the classic work Sefer Ha'Hinnuch (Book of Education), included the following discussion
on the verse (Deut. 5:18) "Do not desire your neighbor's home":
"The prohibition against desiring another's property applies to all times, in all
places, to both men and women, and to all mankind.
This is so because it is a part of the prohibition against stealing, which is one of the Seven Laws that all mankind is to observe. Make no mistake about the enumeration of the Seven Laws of the Children of Noah - these being well
known and recorded in the Talmud - for they are but categories and they contain many particulars. Thus, you find
that the prohibitions relative to sexual relations are grouped into one command, which has, however, a number of
specifics, such as the prohibition concerning one's mother, ... or a married woman, or a father's wife, or homosexuality,
or bestiality. Similarly, in the realm of Idolatry, they have but one command which has many parts, for they are
like Israelites in this realm ...
Likewise then, we say that since they are commanded concerning Theft, they are also commanded
concerning the deterrents to its transgression ...
Now, it is not my intention to state that the Noahite is admonished against this [desiring]
under a distinct imperative - for he is not subject to specific imperatives like the Israelite - but that he is
admonished generally concerning the Seven Laws, as if to say, for example: 'Let no man approach his close relative,
neither his mother, nor his sister, etc.' Similarly, concerning Idolatry, he is prohibited in a general sense.
And thus too concerning stealing, it is as if he is told: 'Do not steal, rather avoid
stealth completely,' and 'do not covet' is part of not stealing. ... So it is that even when we are already subject
to a command [in a general way], we are also bound by specific positive and negative commandments ..."
