Genesis 9:2

2 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 .

Genesis 9:2 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 9:2

And the fear or you, and the dread of you, shall be upon
every beast of the earth
This is a renewal, at least in part, of the grant of dominion to Adam over all the creatures; these obeyed him cheerfully, and from love, but sinning, he in a good measure lost his power over them, they rebelled against him; but now though the charter of power over them is renewed, they do not serve man freely, but are in dread of him, and flee from him; some are more easily brought into subjection to him, and even the fiercest and wildest of them may be tamed by him; and this power over them was the more easily retrieved in all probability by Noah and his sons, from the inhabitation of the creatures with them for so long a time in the ark:

and upon every fowl of the air, and upon all that moveth upon the
earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea;
as appears by fowls flying away, by beasts and creeping things getting off as fast as they can, and by fishes swimming away at the sight of men:

into your hand are they delivered;
as the lords and proprietors of them, for their use and service, and particularly for what follows, see ( Psalms 8:6-8 ) where there is an enumeration of the creatures subject to men.

Genesis 9:2 In-Context

1 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful , and multiply , and replenish the earth.
2 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 .
3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.
4 But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat .
5 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 the life of man.
The King James Version is in the public domain.