And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
I have given you every herb ... and every tree ... for meat. They were to be sustained on the products of the ground alone, because not the slightest hint is given of a grant of animal food: on the contrary, it seems to be expressly excluded by the terms of this passage; and vegetables and fruit-bearing trees are specified, to distinguish "for meat" to man from "every green herb" х kaal (H3605) yereq (H3418) `eeseb (H6212)] - all the greenness of vegetation - i:e., the various kinds of herbage. The "beasts of the earth" is a Scripture name for wild beasts, which we know had been created (Genesis 1:25); and since these are by nature carnivorous creatures, the peculiar form of their teeth and of their stomach unfitting them for living upon grass, there does seem some ground for the opinion of Dr. Pye Smith, who says, 'I venture to think that the Mosaic description in this part extends not to all animal and vegetable species, but to those only which would be suitable to the region under its various conditions, would have a beneficial connection with man, and would, by their forms, habits, and instincts, be subject to his dominion' ('Scripture and Geology').