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 9:2KJV
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Genesis 9:2 (KJV)

What does Genesis 9:2 mean?

Genesis 9:2 says that all animals—on land, in the air, and in the sea—will now fear and dread humans, and that these creatures are placed under human authority. This verse marks a change after the flood, showing that people are given a new relationship with the animal world, one marked by dominance and the animals’ instinctive fear.

In Genesis 9:2, God is speaking to Noah and his sons right after they leave the ark, following the flood. God is setting out new rules for life on earth, explaining how humans and animals will relate from this point forward. The verse emphasizes that humans are now given a special responsibility and authority over all living creatures, which is different from the harmony described in earlier chapters.

The Hebrew behind Genesis 9:2

  • "Beast" (חַיָּה, ḥayyāh): This word refers broadly to living creatures, especially animals of the land. Its use here covers all kinds of animals, not just wild ones.
  • "Earth" (אֶרֶץ, ʾereṣ): This word means "land" or "earth," and it sets the scope—every animal on the whole land is included.
  • "Hand" (יָד, yād): In Hebrew, "hand" often means power or control. Saying animals are delivered "into your hand" highlights the authority and responsibility given to humans.
  • "Delivered" (נָתַן, nātan): This word means "to give" or "to place." Here, it stresses that God is the one actively giving humans this new role over animals.

Why Genesis 9:2 matters

  • Genesis 9:2 clarifies that the fear animals have of humans is not accidental but part of God’s arrangement after the flood, marking a shift from the earlier relationship in Eden.
  • The verse shows that human authority over animals is not just about use or consumption but also about responsibility, since the creatures are "delivered" into human hands by God.
  • This verse connects to the wider passage where God sets out the terms of the new world after the flood, including the permission for humans to eat animals (Genesis 9:3), and frames the ongoing relationship between people and the rest of creation.

Where else these words appear

“you” Hebrew H2844 · used in 4 verses

  • 1 Samuel 2:4 The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength.
  • Job 41:33 Upon earth there is not his like, who is made without fear.
  • Jeremiah 46:5 Wherefore have I seen them dismayed and turned away back? and their mighty ones are beaten down, and are fled apace, and look not back: for fear was round about, saith the LORD.

“you” Hebrew H4172 · used in 12 verses

  • Deuteronomy 4:34 Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation, by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?
  • Deuteronomy 34:12 And in all that mighty hand, and in all the great terror which Moses shewed in the sight of all Israel.
  • Isaiah 8:13 Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.

“moveth” Hebrew H7430 · used in 17 verses

  • Genesis 1:21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
  • Genesis 7:14 They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort.
  • Leviticus 11:46 This is the law of the beasts, and of the fowl, and of every living creature that moveth in the waters, and of every creature that creepeth upon the earth:

“fishes” Hebrew H1709 · used in 18 verses

  • Numbers 11:22 Shall the flocks and the herds be slain for them, to suffice them? or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to suffice them?
  • Nehemiah 13:16 There dwelt men of Tyre also therein, which brought fish, and all manner of ware, and sold on the sabbath unto the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem.
  • Hosea 4:3 Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.