In Genesis 1:29, does the KJV word 'meat' mean animal flesh or food?
In Genesis 1:29, the King James word 'meat' means food, not animal flesh. The verse says God gave every herb bearing seed and every tree's fruit to mankind for food. The context clarifies that 'meat' should be understood as food, consistent with the diet given before the curse.
Les explains that Genesis 1:29 records God speaking to Adam and Eve and the human race. The King James wording says "meat," but the word should be "food." God gave every herb bearing seed and every tree whose fruit yields seed for food. Verse 30 then gives every green herb for food to the beasts, fowl, and everything that creeps upon the earth. This fits the coming kingdom as a reversion to the economy before Adam sinned and before the curse, when even carnivorous animals will eat the same diet cattle eat.
And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
More Questions
Why will carnivorous animals eat grass in the millennial kingdom?
The reason Isaiah's future carnivorous animals will eat grass is that the kingdom is a reversion back to the pre-curse creation in which God originally gave green herbs as food to animals like lions and tigers.