Genesis 1:29

29 And God said, Lo! I have given to you each herb bearing seed on [the] earth, and all (the) trees that have in themselves the seed of their kind, that they be into meat to you (so that they can be food for you);

Genesis 1:29 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 1:29

And God said
That is, to Adam and Eve, whom he had made in his image and likeness, and to whom he had given the dominion of the earth and sea, and all things in them:

behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon
the face of all the earth;
every herb or plant which had a seed in it, by which it sowed itself again; or being taken off, might be sown by man, even everyone that was wholesome, healthful, and nourishing, without any exception; whatever grew in any part of the earth, be it where it would:

and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed;
all but the tree of knowledge, of good and evil, afterwards excepted; and both these take in all kind of vegetables, all herbs, plants, roots, even corn, wheat, barley, pease, beans and the various fruits of all sorts of trees, but that before mentioned:

to you it shall be for meat:
which is generally thought to be the food of the antediluvians ^F14, it not being proper, at least very soon, to kill any of the animals, until they were multiplied and increased, lest their species should be destroyed; though here is no prohibition of eating flesh; nor is it said that this only should be for meat, which is before mentioned; and by the early employment of some in keeping sheep, and by the sacrifice of creatures immediately after the fall, part of which used to be eaten by the offerers; and by the distinction of clean and unclean creatures before the flood, it looks probable that flesh might be eaten: and Bochart ^F15 refers this clause to what goes before in the preceding verse, as well as to what is in this, and takes the sense to be, that the fishes of the sea, and fowls of the air, and every living creature man had dominion over, as well as herbs and fruits, were given him for his food: but the Jews ^F16 are of opinion, that the first man might not eat flesh, but it was granted to the sons of Noah.

(From ( Romans 5:12 ) there was no death before Adam's sin, hence up until at least the fall, man did not eat meat. Ed.)

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FOOTNOTES:

F14 "Panis erant primus virides Mortalibus Herbae", Ovid. Fast. l. 4.
F15 Hierozoic. par. 1. l. 1. c. 2. col. 11.
F16 T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 59. 2.

Genesis 1:29 In-Context

27 And God made of nought a man to his image and likeness; God made of nought a man, to the image of God; God made of nought them, male and female. (And so God made out of nothing a man in his image and likeness; God made out of nothing a man in the image of God; yea, God made them out of nothing, male and female.)

28 And God blessed them, and said, Increase ye, and be ye multiplied, and fill ye the earth, and make ye it subject; and be ye lords to the fishes of the sea, and to [the] volatiles of (the) heaven(s), and to all living beasts that be moved on [the] earth (and be ye lords, or rule ye, over the fishes of the sea, and the birds of the air, and all the living beasts that move on the earth).

29 And God said, Lo! I have given to you each herb bearing seed on [the] earth, and all (the) trees that have in themselves the seed of their kind, that they be into meat to you (so that they can be food for you);

30 and to all living beasts of [the] earth, and to each bird of (the) heaven(s), and to all things that be moved in [the] earth, and in which is a living soul, that they have (them) to eat; and it was done so. (and also for all the living beasts of the earth, and for each bird of the air, and for all the things that creep on the earth, and in which is a living soul, so that they have them to eat; and it was done so.)

31 And God saw all (the) things which he (had) made, and they were full good (and they were very good). And the eventide and the morrowtide was made, the sixth day.