Genesis 1:30
in Genesis 1And to every beast of the earth and every bird of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth—everything that has the breath of life in it—I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the heavens, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for food: and it was so.
KJV
And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
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This verse in Genesis 1
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
I have given you every seed-bearing plant
on Genesis 1:29-30
God finishes the sixth day by handing over the food. Man is given the seed-bearing plants, and every beast and bird is given the green plants. Origen noticed that the grant widens after the flood at Genesis 9:3, when the animals are given for meat with the blood held back.
This site's exposition
every green plant for food
Beasts, birds and crawling creatures are given the green plants, as man was given seed and fruit in verse 29. Isaiah 11:7 and 65:25 picture lions feeding on straw beside cattle in the age to come. Origen dated meat to after the flood.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
We note, however, many wild beasts do not eat fruit. What fruit does the panther eat? What fruit makes the lion strong? But nevertheless these creatures, when submitting to the laws of nature, ate fruits. And likewise when the [first] man changed his way of life and voided the limits set upon him, the Lord, after the flood, knowing humans were wasteful, allowed them to use all foods: "Eat every food as if it were edible plants." Since [humans] were allowed this [concession], the other animals [also] received the liberty to eat. So the lion is [now] a meat-eater, and the vulture looks for carrion.But vultures were not yet circling above the earth to find carrion when the animals originated; nothing created nor imagined had yet died in order to be food for the vultures. Nature had not yet been divided; everything was completely fresh. Hunters did not capture prey, since people did not yet practice this. The beasts did not yet tear apart prey, since they were not meat eaters yet.… So was the first creation, and to this creation will be restored after this [age]. Humans will return to their original creation, rejecting hostility, a life encumbered with care, the slavery of the world to daily worries. Once they have renounced all this, they will return to that utopian life which is not enslaved to the passions of the flesh, which is freedom, the closeness to God, a partaker of the life of the angels.
The Medieval Church2 voices
And it came to be so, that is, that man might rule over all that were created on land or in the waters, and that he might receive the faculty and power to eat from the fruits of the earth along with the birds of …
And God said: Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed upon the earth, and all the trees which have in themselves the seed of their own kind, to be your food, and to all the beasts of the earth and every bird, and …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And to every beast of the earth,....
The words behind it
21 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּֽלְכָל־ | ulekhol- | and to every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| חַיַּ֣ת | chaiyat | <the> animal of | H2416 → | 498 times |
| הָ֠אָרֶץ | haaretz | the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| וּלְכָל־ | ulekhol- | and to every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| ע֨וֹף | of | <the> bird of | H5775 → | 71 times |
| הַשָּׁמַ֜יִם | hashamayim | the heavens | H8064 → | 421 times |
| וּלְכֹ֣ל׀ | ulekhol | and to every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| רוֹמֵ֣שׂ | romes | creeping [thing] | H7430 → | 17 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הָאָ֗רֶץ | haaretz | the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בּוֹ֙ | bo | [is] in <the> it | ||
| נֶ֣פֶשׁ | nefesh | life | H5315 → | 754 times |
| חַיָּ֔ה | chaiyah | living | H2416 → | 498 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| יֶ֥רֶק | yerek | greenery of | H3418 → | |
| עֵ֖שֶׂב | ʾesev | plant[s] | H6212 → | 33 times |
| לְאָכְלָ֑ה | leokhlah | to food | H402 → | 18 times |
| וַֽיְהִי־ | vayhi- | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כֵֽן׃ | khen | so | H3651 → | 771 times |
וּֽלְכָל־and to every
ulekhol-H3605 →5413 times
חַיַּ֣ת<the> animal of
chaiyatH2416 →498 times
הָ֠אָרֶץthe earth
haaretzH776 →2504 times
וּלְכָל־and to every
ulekhol-H3605 →5413 times
ע֨וֹף<the> bird of
ofH5775 →71 times
הַשָּׁמַ֜יִםthe heavens
hashamayimH8064 →421 times
וּלְכֹ֣ל׀and to every
ulekholH3605 →5413 times
רוֹמֵ֣שׂcreeping [thing]
romesH7430 →17 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הָאָ֗רֶץthe earth
haaretzH776 →2504 times
אֲשֶׁר־which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
בּוֹ֙[is] in <the> it
bo
נֶ֣פֶשׁlife
nefeshH5315 →754 times
חַיָּ֔הliving
chaiyahH2416 →498 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
יֶ֥רֶקgreenery of
yerekH3418 →
עֵ֖שֶׂבplant[s]
ʾesevH6212 →33 times
לְאָכְלָ֑הto food
leokhlahH402 →18 times
וַֽיְהִי־and it was
vayhi-H1961 →3559 times
כֵֽן׃so
khenH3651 →771 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
Psalms 104:14He makes the grass grow for the livestock and provides crops for man to cultivate, bringing forth food from the earth:
it leads to
- Psalms 136:25
He gives food to every creature. His loving devotion endures forever.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 145:15–16
The eyes of all look to You, and You give them their food in season.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 147:8–9
who covers the sky with clouds, who prepares rain for the earth, who makes grass to grow on the hills.
- Job 28:5
Food may come from the earth, but from below it is transformed as by fire.
- Genesis 9:3
Everything that lives and moves will be food for you; just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you all things.
- Psalms 136:25
Through
Psalms 147:9He provides food for the animals, and for the young ravens when they call.
it leads to
- Psalms 104:27–28
All creatures look to You to give them their food in due season.
- Job 38:41
Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God as they wander about for lack of food?
- Matthew 6:26
Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns—and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
- Psalms 104:27–28
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies40
On this chapter
- Adam
- The Bible and the Ancient Near East
- The Designer's Fingerprint
- The Numbers of Scripture
- Creation and Evolution
- Darkness
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About Genesis
This page draws on Bede, Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron); Gregory of Nyssa, ON THE ORIGIN OF MAN; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Origen of Alexandria, Homilies on Genesis and Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 1.17.