The 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. The fear and dread of youThis phrase signifies a divinely instituted authority and dominion given to humanity over the animal kingdom. The Hebrew words for "fear" (מוֹרָא, mora) and "dread" (חִתָּה, chittah) suggest a profound respect and awe that animals will have towards humans. This is a continuation of the dominion mandate given in Genesis 1:28, but now it includes an element of fear, possibly due to the post-flood changes in the relationship between humans and animals. This fear ensures a balance in creation, allowing humans to fulfill their role as stewards of the earth. will fall on every living creature on the earth
The phrase "will fall" (תִּהְיֶה, tihyeh) indicates a future certainty, a divine decree that establishes a new order in the post-flood world. "Every living creature" (כָּל־חַיַּת הָאָרֶץ, kol-chayat ha'aretz) encompasses all terrestrial animals, emphasizing the comprehensive scope of this divine mandate. This reflects the historical context of a renewed creation where God reaffirms His covenant with Noah and his descendants, ensuring the stability and continuity of life on earth. every bird of the air
The inclusion of "every bird" (כָּל־עוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם, kol-oph hashamayim) highlights the totality of creation under human authority. Birds, often seen as symbols of freedom and transcendence, are also subject to this divine order. This phrase underscores the interconnectedness of all life and the responsibility humans have to care for and manage God's creation wisely. every creature that crawls on the ground
This phrase (כָּל־רֶמֶשׂ הָאֲדָמָה, kol-remes ha'adamah) refers to all creeping things, including insects and reptiles. The Hebrew word "remes" suggests movement close to the ground, indicating the breadth of human dominion. This comprehensive authority calls for a stewardship that respects even the smallest of creatures, recognizing their role in the ecological balance. and all the fish of the sea
The phrase "all the fish" (כָּל־דְּגֵי הַיָּם, kol-degei hayam) extends human dominion to aquatic life. The sea, often seen as a symbol of chaos and mystery in ancient Near Eastern cultures, is also brought under human authority. This reflects the historical understanding of the sea as a realm needing order and management, reinforcing the human role as caretakers of all creation. They are delivered into your hand
The phrase "delivered into your hand" (בְּיֶדְכֶם נִתָּנוּ, beyedchem nittanu) signifies a transfer of authority and responsibility. The Hebrew root "נתן" (natan) means to give or deliver, indicating a divine bestowal of power. This echoes the covenantal relationship between God and humanity, where humans are entrusted with the care and governance of the earth. It is a call to exercise this authority with wisdom, compassion, and a sense of accountability to God, the ultimate Creator and Sustainer. Persons / Places / Events 1. NoahThe recipient of God's covenant and the one through whom God reestablishes His order on earth after the flood. 2. GodThe divine speaker who establishes a new covenant with Noah and his descendants, granting them dominion over the earth. 3. Living CreaturesAll animals, birds, and fish that are subject to human dominion as part of God's covenant with Noah. 4. The EarthThe renewed creation post-flood, where God reaffirms human dominion over all living creatures. 5. The FloodThe preceding event that led to the destruction of all life except for those preserved in the ark, setting the stage for God's covenant with Noah. Teaching Points Dominion and StewardshipGod grants humans dominion over creation, which comes with the responsibility to steward it wisely and compassionately. Fear and DreadThe fear and dread of humans placed upon animals signify a change in the relationship post-flood, highlighting the impact of sin on creation. Covenant FaithfulnessGod's covenant with Noah is a reminder of His faithfulness and the continuity of His promises despite human failure. Human ResponsibilityAs recipients of God's covenant, humans are called to reflect God's character in their interactions with creation. Creation's GroaningThe current state of creation reflects the consequences of sin, pointing believers to the hope of ultimate restoration through Christ. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the concept of dominion in Genesis 9:2 compare to the original mandate given to Adam and Eve in Genesis 1:28? 2. In what ways can we practice responsible stewardship of creation in our daily lives, considering the fear and dread mentioned in this verse? 3. How does the relationship between humans and animals in Genesis 9:2 reflect the broader impact of sin on creation? 4. What are some practical ways we can demonstrate covenant faithfulness in our interactions with the environment and other living creatures? 5. How does the hope of creation's redemption in Romans 8:19-22 influence our understanding of Genesis 9:2 and our role in God's creation? Connections to Other Scriptures Genesis 1:28This verse connects to the original mandate given to Adam and Eve to have dominion over the earth, showing continuity in God's plan for humanity. Psalm 8:6-8These verses echo the theme of human dominion over creation, celebrating the honor and responsibility given to mankind. Romans 8:19-22This passage reflects on creation's subjection to futility and its longing for redemption, highlighting the brokenness that affects the relationship between humans and creation. James 3:7This verse discusses the taming of animals, which relates to the dominion and control humans have over other creatures. People Ham, Japheth, Noah, ShemPlaces Tigris-Euphrates RegionTopics Air, Along, Animal, Beast, Beasts, Bird, Birds, Creature, Creepeth, Creeps, Delivered, Dread, Fall, Fear, Fish, Fishes, Fowl, Goes, Ground, Hands, Heavens, Moves, Moveth, Sky, Strong, Teemeth, Teems, Terror, WherewithDictionary of Bible Themes Genesis 9:2 4642 fish
5053 responsibility, for world Genesis 9:1-2 4604 animals, nature of Genesis 9:1-3 1335 blessing
5002 human race, and creation
8472 respect, for environment Genesis 9:1-4 4438 eating Genesis 9:1-5 4029 world, human beings in Genesis 9:1-17 7203 ark, Noah's Genesis 9:2-4 4017 life, animal and plant Library Capital Punishment
Eversley. Quinquagesima Sunday, 1872. Genesis ix. 1, 3, 4, 5, 6. "And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. . . . Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you . . . But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. And surely your blood of your lives will I require: at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require …
Charles Kingsley—All Saints' Day and Other SermonsNoah's Flood
(Quinquagesima Sunday.) GENESIS ix. 13. I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. We all know the history of Noah's flood. What have we learnt from that history? What were we intended to learn from it? What thoughts should we have about it? There are many thoughts which we may have. We may think how the flood came to pass; what means God used to make it rain forty days; what is meant by breaking up the fountains of the great deep. We may …
Charles Kingsley—The Gospel of the Pentateuch Death.
PSALM CIV. 20, 21. Thou makest darkness, and it is night: wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth. The lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God. Let me say a few words on this text. It is one which has been a comfort to me again and again. It is one which, if rightly understood, ought to give comfort to pitiful and tender-hearted persons. Have you never been touched by, never been even shocked by, the mystery of pain and death? I do not speak now of pain and death …
Charles Kingsley—Westminster Sermons Covenanting Enforced by the Grant of Covenant Signs and Seals.
To declare emphatically that the people of God are a covenant people, various signs were in sovereignty vouchsafed. The lights in the firmament of heaven were appointed to be for signs, affording direction to the mariner, the husbandman, and others. Miracles wrought on memorable occasions, were constituted signs or tokens of God's universal government. The gracious grant of covenant signs was made in order to proclaim the truth of the existence of God's covenant with his people, to urge the performance …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting That the Ruler Should Be, through Humility, a Companion of Good Livers, But, through the Zeal of Righteousness, Rigid against the vices of Evildoers.
The ruler should be, through humility, a companion of good livers, and, through the zeal of righteousness, rigid against the vices of evil-doers; so that in nothing he prefer himself to the good, and yet, when the fault of the bad requires it, he be at once conscious of the power of his priority; to the end that, while among his subordinates who live well he waives his rank and accounts them as his equals, he may not fear to execute the laws of rectitude towards the perverse. For, as I remember to …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great The Doctrine of Non-Resistance to Evil by Force Has Been Professed by a Minority of Men from the Very Foundation of Christianity. Of the Book "What
CHAPTER I. THE DOCTRINE OF NON-RESISTANCE TO EVIL BY FORCE HAS BEEN PROFESSED BY A MINORITY OF MEN FROM THE VERY FOUNDATION OF CHRISTIANITY. Of the Book "What I Believe"--The Correspondence Evoked by it-- Letters from Quakers--Garrison's Declaration--Adin Ballou, his Works, his Catechism--Helchitsky's "Net of Faith"--The Attitude of the World to Works Elucidating Christ's Teaching--Dymond's Book "On War"--Musser's "Non-resistance Asserted"--Attitude of the Government in 1818 to Men who Refused to …
Leo Tolstoy—The Kingdom of God is within you Original Righteousness.
"For in Him we live and move, and have our being: as certain also of your own poets have said. For we are also His offspring." --Acts xvii. 28. It is the peculiar characteristic of the Reformed Confession that more than any other it humbles the sinner and exalts the sinless man. To disparage man is unscriptural. Being a sinner, fallen and no longer a real man, he must be humbled, rebuked, and inwardly broken. But the divinely created man, realizing the divine purpose or restored by omnipotent grace …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit The Sixth Commandment
Thou shalt not kill.' Exod 20: 13. In this commandment is a sin forbidden, which is murder, Thou shalt not kill,' and a duty implied, which is, to preserve our own life, and the life of others. The sin forbidden is murder: Thou shalt not kill.' Here two things are to be understood, the not injuring another, nor ourselves. I. The not injuring another. [1] We must not injure another in his name. A good name is a precious balsam.' It is a great cruelty to murder a man in his name. We injure others in …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments Being Made Archbishop of Armagh, He Suffers Many Troubles. Peace Being Made, from Being Archbishop of Armagh He Becomes Bishop of Down.
[Sidenote: 1129] 19. (12). Meanwhile[365] it happened that Archbishop Cellach[366] fell sick: he it was who ordained Malachy deacon, presbyter and bishop: and knowing that he was dying he made a sort of testament[367] to the effect that Malachy ought to succeed him,[368] because none seemed worthier to be bishop of the first see. This he gave in charge to those who were present, this he commanded to the absent, this to the two kings of Munster[369] and to the magnates of the land he specially enjoined …
H. J. Lawlor—St. Bernard of Clairvaux's Life of St. Malachy of Armagh Mosaic Cosmogony.
ON the revival of science in the 16th century, some of the earliest conclusions at which philosophers arrived were found to be at variance with popular and long-established belief. The Ptolemaic system of astronomy, which had then full possession of the minds of men, contemplated the whole visible universe from the earth as the immovable centre of things. Copernicus changed the point of view, and placing the beholder in the sun, at once reduced the earth to an inconspicuous globule, a merely subordinate …
Frederick Temple—Essays and Reviews: The Education of the World Mount Zion.
"For ye are not come unto a mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, and unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard entreated that no word more should be spoken unto them: for they could not endure that which was enjoined, If even a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned; and so fearful was the appearance, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake: but ye are come unto Mount Zion, and unto …
Thomas Charles Edwards—The Expositor's Bible: The Epistle to the Hebrews Covenanting According to the Purposes of God.
Since every revealed purpose of God, implying that obedience to his law will be given, is a demand of that obedience, the announcement of his Covenant, as in his sovereignty decreed, claims, not less effectively than an explicit law, the fulfilment of its duties. A representation of a system of things pre-determined in order that the obligations of the Covenant might be discharged; various exhibitions of the Covenant as ordained; and a description of the children of the Covenant as predestinated …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting Covenanting Predicted in Prophecy.
The fact of Covenanting, under the Old Testament dispensations, being approved of God, gives a proof that it was proper then, which is accompanied by the voice of prophecy, affording evidence that even in periods then future it should no less be proper. The argument for the service that is afforded by prophecy is peculiar, and, though corresponding with evidence from other sources, is independent. Because that God willed to make known truth through his servants the prophets, we should receive it …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting The Promise to the Patriarchs.
A great epoch is, in Genesis, ushered in with the history of the time of the Patriarchs. Luther says: "This is the third period in which Holy Scripture begins the history of the Church with a new family." In a befitting manner, the representation is opened in Gen. xii. 1-3 by an account of the first revelation of God, given to Abraham at Haran, in which the way is opened up for all that follows, and in which the dispensations of God are brought before us in a rapid survey. Abraham is to forsake …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament Discourse on Spiritual Food and True Discipleship. Peter's Confession.
(at the Synagogue in Capernaum.) ^D John VI. 22-71. ^d 22 On the morrow [the morrow after Jesus fed the five thousand] the multitude that stood on the other side of the sea [on the east side, opposite Capernaum] saw that there was no other boat there, save one, and that Jesus went not with his disciples into the boat, but that his disciples went away alone 23 (howbeit there came boats from Tiberias nigh unto the place where they ate the bread after that the Lord had given thanks): 24 when the multitude …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel Genesis
The Old Testament opens very impressively. In measured and dignified language it introduces the story of Israel's origin and settlement upon the land of Canaan (Gen.--Josh.) by the story of creation, i.-ii. 4a, and thus suggests, at the very beginning, the far-reaching purpose and the world-wide significance of the people and religion of Israel. The narrative has not travelled far till it becomes apparent that its dominant interests are to be religious and moral; for, after a pictorial sketch of …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Genesis 9:2 NIVGenesis 9:2 NLTGenesis 9:2 ESVGenesis 9:2 NASBGenesis 9:2 KJV
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