Genesis 1:21

1:21 God created the great sea creatures ¹  and every living and moving thing with which the water swarmed, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:29

1:29 Then God said, “I now ²  give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the entire earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. ³ 

Genesis 6:20

6:20 Of the birds after their kinds, and of the cattle after their kinds, and of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every kind will come to you so you can keep them alive. ⁴ 

Genesis 7:2

7:2 You must take with you seven ⁵  of every kind of clean animal, ⁶  the male and its mate, ⁷  two of every kind of unclean animal, the male and its mate,

Genesis 9:2

9:2 Every living creature of the earth and every bird of the sky will be terrified of you. ⁸  Everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea are under your authority. ⁹ 

Genesis 30:32

30:32 Let me walk among ¹⁰  all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb, ¹¹  and the spotted or speckled goats. ¹²  These animals will be my wages. ¹³ 

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¹ tn For the first time in the narrative proper the verb “create” (בָּרָא, bara’) appears. (It is used in the summary statement of v. 1.) The author wishes to underscore that these creatures – even the great ones – are part of God’s perfect creation. The Hebrew term תַנִּינִם (tanninim) is used for snakes (Exod 7:9), crocodiles (Ezek 29:3), or other powerful animals (Jer 51:34). In Isa 27:1 the word is used to describe a mythological sea creature that symbolizes God’s enemies.

² tn The text uses הִנֵּה (hinneh), often archaically translated “behold.” It is often used to express the dramatic present, the immediacy of an event – “Look, this is what I am doing!”

³ sn G. J. Wenham (Genesis [WBC], 1:34) points out that there is nothing in the passage that prohibits the man and the woman from eating meat. He suggests that eating meat came after the fall. Gen 9:3 may then ratify the postfall practice of eating meat rather than inaugurate the practice, as is often understood.

⁴ tn Heb “to keep alive.”

⁵ tn Or “seven pairs” (cf. NRSV).

⁶ sn For a study of the Levitical terminology of “clean” and “unclean,” see L. E. Toombs, IDB 1:643.

⁷ tn Heb “a male and his female” (also a second time at the end of this verse). The terms used here for male and female animals (אִישׁ, ’ish) and אִשָּׁה, ’ishah) normally refer to humans.

⁸ tn Heb “and fear of you and dread of you will be upon every living creature of the earth and upon every bird of the sky.” The suffixes on the nouns “fear” and “dread” are objective genitives. The animals will fear humans from this time forward.

⁹ tn Heb “into your hand are given.” The “hand” signifies power. To say the animals have been given into the hands of humans means humans have been given authority over them.

¹⁰ tn Heb “pass through.”

¹¹ tn Or “every black lamb”; Heb “and every dark sheep among the lambs.”

¹² tn Heb “and the spotted and speckled among the goats.”

¹³ tn Heb “and it will be my wage.” The referent collective singular pronoun (“it) has been specified as “these animals” in the translation for clarity.