What is the meaning of Genesis 9:2? The fear and dread of you God tells Noah, “The fear and dread of you”. After the flood, the Creator re-establishes human authority over the animal realm. • This fear is a built-in response God plants in animals so they instinctively avoid humankind, preserving both people and wildlife. • It affirms the same dominion first granted in Genesis 1:28, now reinforced under a fallen, post-flood world. • Psalm 8:6-8 praises God for placing “all things under his feet,” echoing this sober privilege. The statement is literal: animals, by nature, recognize human superiority because God ordains it. will fall on every living creature on the earth The phrase widens the scope: “every living creature on the earth.” • Not a corner of the globe escapes this decree. • Genesis 6:19 recorded the preservation of “every living thing,” and now Genesis 9:2 announces their ongoing relationship to people. • Job 12:7-10 reminds us that every creature is in God’s hand; therefore, their instinctive fear of humanity springs from His design. every bird of the air Even the sky-borne creation is included. • Birds, often elusive, still keep an instinctive distance—fulfilling the word spoken here. • Jesus later referred to sparrows in Matthew 10:29, acknowledging divine governance over them; that same governance instills their caution around humans. • This segment underscores a total, not partial, dominion. every creature that crawls on the ground Creeping things—reptiles, insects, small mammals—also respond with dread. • Genesis 1:26 and 1:28 both list “creeping things” as under human rule, showing continuity from creation through the post-flood world. • Leviticus 11:44 calls Israel to discernment even when touching those creatures, reminding us that dominion never cancels holiness. and all the fish of the sea Even the underwater realm is not exempt. • Psalm 8:8 celebrates that fish of the sea “pass through the paths of the seas” under mankind’s authority. • Luke 5:5-6 records fish filling the disciples’ nets at Jesus’ command, illustrating that ultimate control belongs to the Lord who delegates it to people. They are delivered into your hand This final clause clinches the covenant promise. • “Delivered” is a legal term of transfer: God hands over responsibility and use of the animal kingdom. • Genesis 9:3 immediately permits meat consumption, showing a practical outworking of the handover. • James 3:7 observes humanity’s ongoing ability to “tame” beasts—evidence that Genesis 9:2 still operates. Stewardship, not exploitation, is implied. The animals’ fear protects them; humanity’s God-given charge obliges care and wise use, as Proverbs 12:10 commends the righteous man who regards the life of his animal. summary Genesis 9:2 literally declares that God, after the flood, imprinted every animal—land, sky, creeping, and sea—with an instinctive fear of humans, reaffirming mankind’s divinely granted dominion. This fear both safeguards creation and underscores responsible stewardship, reminding us that while God has “delivered” the creatures into our hand, we act under His authority and for His glory. |
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