Genesis 1:30
וּֽלְכָל־חַיַּת הָאָרֶץ וּלְכָל־עוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם וּלְכֹל׀ רוֹמֵשׂ עַל־הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר־בּוֹ נֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה אֶת־כָּל־יֶרֶק עֵשֶׂב לְאָכְלָה וַֽיְהִי־כֵֽן׃
✦ Hebrew interlinear
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✦ The same verse in five languages
וּֽלְכָל־חַיַּ֣ת הָ֠אָרֶץ וּלְכָל־ע֨וֹף הַשָּׁמַ֜יִם וּלְכֹ֣ל׀ רוֹמֵ֣שׂ עַל־הָאָ֗רֶץ אֲשֶׁר־בּוֹ֙ נֶ֣פֶשׁ חַיָּ֔ה אֶת־כָּל־יֶ֥רֶק עֵ֖שֶׂב לְאָכְלָ֑ה וַֽיְהִי־כֵֽן׃
καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς θηρίοις τῆς γῆς καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς πετεινοῖς τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ παντὶ ἑρπετῷ τῷ ἕρποντι ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ὃ ἔχει ἐν ἑαυτῷ ψυχὴν ζωῆς· καὶ πάντα χόρτον χλωρὸν εἰς βρῶσιν. καὶ ἐγένετο οὕτως.
Greek text from Swete's edition, CC BY-SA 4.0
Latin (Vulgate)
et cunctis animantibus terræ, omnique volucri cæli, et universis quæ moventur in terra, et in quibus est anima vivens, ut habeant ad vescendum. Et factum est ita.
Y á toda bestia de la tierra, y á todas las aves de los cielos, y á todo lo que se mueve sobre la tierra, en que hay vida, toda hierba verde les será para comer: y fué así.
And to every beast of the earth and every bird of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth — everything that has the breath of life in it — I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.
✦ What the text says
Summary
Genesis 1:30 extends the food grant to the animals: to every beast of the earth, every bird of the heavens, and everything that creeps — everything that has "life" in it — every green plant is assigned as food. The section closes with "and it was so."
Key words
- chai.Yat (" animal of", H2416) — construct: "the animal of" the earth.
- Ne.fesh ("life", H5315) — what is "in" the creature.
- Ye.rek ("greenery of", H3418) — in construct with "plant."
- 'okh.Lah ("food", H0402) — repeating the term of the previous verse.
- Khen ("so", H3651) — adverb of the closing formula.
What the text says
The verse does not open with the narrative vav but with the plain conjunction u. ("and", H9002), so the syntax continues the preceding speech. Three phrases with le. ("to", H9005) list the beneficiaries: every chai.Yat (" animal of", H2416) the earth, every of (" bird of", H5775) of the sha.Ma.yim ("heavens", H8064), and every ro.Mes ("creeping [thing]", H7430) — a participle used as a noun — on the 'A.retz ("earth", H0776). A relative clause with 'a.Sher- ("which", H0834) defines them: that in which there is Ne.fesh ("life", H5315) chai.Yah ("living", H2416), the latter a feminine adjective according to the provided morphology.
What is assigned is all the Ye.rek ("greenery of", H3418) of 'E.sev ("plant[s]", H6212), "for" 'okh.Lah ("food", H0402). The first part of the verse contains no verb of giving of its own. The close returns to narration: y.hi- ("it was", H1961) in narrative form plus Khen ("so", H3651): "and it was so."
Differences between versions
Since the Hebrew clause does not repeat a verb of giving, each version completes the ellipsis in its own way: the BSB inserts "I have given"; the RV1909 supplies "les será para comer" ("it will be for them to eat"); the Vulgate builds a purpose clause, "ut habeant ad vescendum" ("so that they may have [it] to eat"); the LXX continues without a new verb, like the Hebrew. The phrase Ne.fesh chai.Yah is rendered ψυχὴν ζωῆς ("soul of life") in the LXX, "anima vivens" in the Vulgate, "en que hay vida" in the RV1909, and "the breath of life" in the BSB.
This explanation describes the text using linguistic data; it adds no doctrine or confessional interpretation.