Genesis 9:2
in Genesis 9The fear and dread of you will fall on every living creature on the earth, every bird of the air, every creature that crawls on the ground, and all the fish of the sea. They are delivered into your hand.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every bird of the heavens; with all wherewith the ground teemeth, and all the fishes of the sea, into your hand are they delivered.
KJV
And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.
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This verse in Genesis 9
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
And the fear of you and the dread of you--The second part re-establishes man's dominion over the inferior animals; it was now founded not as at first in love and kindness, but in terror; this dread of man prevails among all the stronger as well as the weaker members of the animal tribes and keeps away from his haunts all but those employed in his service.
This site's exposition
Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth
on Genesis 9:1-3
The blessing of 1:28 is spoken again over Noah, and two things have changed. The words about subduing the earth and ruling the creatures are gone, and in their place the fear and dread of man falls on every living creature. Everything that lives and moves is now food, where 1:29 gave only the green plants. Man eats meat from here on.
This site's exposition
The fear and dread of you
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read this as man's rule over the creatures set up again, now held by fear where at first it rested on kindness. The dread keeps every beast from man's haunts, apart from those in his service. The rule of 1:28 now rests on fear.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
And the Lord blessed Noah and his sons and said to them: Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth; and the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And the fear or you, and the dread of you, shall be upon every beast of the earth,....
This revives a former grant ( ch. i. 28 ), only with this difference, that man in innocence ruled by love, fallen man rules by fear. Now this grant remains in force, and thus far we have still the benefit of it, [1.] That those creatures which are any way useful to us are reclaimed, and we use them either for service or food, or both, as they are capable.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
And the fear of you and the dread of you--The second part re-establishes man's dominion over the inferior animals; it was now founded not as at first in love and kindness, but in terror; this dread of man prevails among all the stronger as well as the weaker members of the animal tribes and keeps away from his haunts all but those employed in his service.
The fear of you and the dread, etc. - Prior to the fall, man ruled the inferior animals by love and kindness, for then gentleness and docility were their principal characteristics.
The words behind it
20 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּמוֹרַאֲכֶ֤ם | umoraakhem | and fear your | H4172 → | |
| וְחִתְּכֶם֙ | vechitekhem | and dread your | H2844 → | |
| יִֽהְיֶ֔ה | yihyeh | <it> will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| עַ֚ל | ʾal | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| חַיַּ֣ת | chaiyat | <the> animal of | H2416 → | 498 times |
| הָאָ֔רֶץ | haaretz | the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| וְעַ֖ל | veal | and on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| ע֣וֹף | of | <the> bird of | H5775 → | 71 times |
| הַשָּׁמָ֑יִם | hashamayim | the heavens | H8064 → | 421 times |
| בְּכֹל֩ | bekhol | on all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| תִּרְמֹ֧שׂ | tirmos | <it> creeps | H7430 → | 17 times |
| הָֽאֲדָמָ֛ה | haadamah | the ground | H127 → | 225 times |
| וּֽבְכָל־ | uvekhol- | and on all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| דְּגֵ֥י | degei | [the] fish of | H1709 → | |
| הַיָּ֖ם | haiyam | the sea | H3220 → | 396 times |
| בְּיֶדְכֶ֥ם | beyedkhem | in hand your | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| נִתָּֽנוּ׃ | nitanu | they are given | H5414 → | 2011 times |
וּמוֹרַאֲכֶ֤םand fear your
umoraakhemH4172 →
וְחִתְּכֶם֙and dread your
vechitekhemH2844 →
יִֽהְיֶ֔ה<it> will be
yihyehH1961 →3559 times
עַ֚לon
ʾalH5921 →5755 times
כָּל־every
kol-H3605 →5413 times
חַיַּ֣ת<the> animal of
chaiyatH2416 →498 times
הָאָ֔רֶץthe earth
haaretzH776 →2504 times
וְעַ֖לand on
vealH5921 →5755 times
כָּל־every
kol-H3605 →5413 times
ע֣וֹף<the> bird of
ofH5775 →71 times
הַשָּׁמָ֑יִםthe heavens
hashamayimH8064 →421 times
בְּכֹל֩on all
bekholH3605 →5413 times
אֲשֶׁ֨רthat
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
תִּרְמֹ֧שׂ<it> creeps
tirmosH7430 →17 times
הָֽאֲדָמָ֛הthe ground
haadamahH127 →225 times
וּֽבְכָל־and on all
uvekhol-H3605 →5413 times
דְּגֵ֥י[the] fish of
degeiH1709 →
הַיָּ֖םthe sea
haiyamH3220 →396 times
בְּיֶדְכֶ֥םin hand your
beyedkhemH3027 →1618 times
נִתָּֽנוּ׃they are given
nitanuH5414 →2011 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 1:28God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature…
it leads to
- Genesis 9:1
And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.
- Genesis 9:7
But as for you, be fruitful and multiply; spread out across the earth and multiply upon it.”
- Leviticus 26:9
I will turn toward you and make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will establish My covenant with you.
- Psalms 128:3–4
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine flourishing within your house, your sons like olive shoots sitting around your table.
- Genesis 22:17–18
I will surely bless you, and I will multiply your descendants like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will possess the gates of their enemies.
- Genesis 9:1
Through
Ezekiel 34:25I will make with them a covenant of peace and rid the land of wild animals, so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the forest.
it leads to
- Isaiah 11:6–9
The wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the goat; the calf and young lion and fatling will be together, and a little child will lead them.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 11:6–9
Through
Hosea 2:18On that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the creatures that crawl on the ground. And I will abolish…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 34:25
I will make with them a covenant of peace and rid the land of wild animals, so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the forest.
- Ezekiel 39:9–10
Then those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go out, kindle fires, and burn up the weapons—the bucklers and shields, the bows and arrows, the clubs and spears. For seven years they…
- Ezekiel 34:25
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies6
About Genesis

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Cosmas Indicopleustes, The Christian Topography, Book 5; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
