Does Genesis 9:3 give us permission to eat any form of animal flesh we desire?
Before discussing it, let’s take a look at that Bible text:
“Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs.” Genesis 9:3
We should never isolate a single Bible text and build a conclusion from its single message. Instead, we must always study the matter within the context of all the references in Scripture that deal with that subject. So let’s take a careful look at the other texts will help us to understand how to apply Genesis 9:3.
First, we must be reminded that it was never God’s plan for humans to kill animals and eat their flesh in the first place. God’s original diet for man was the plant-based diet found in Genesis 1:29 and Genesis 3:18. In fact, God only gave permission for man to eat animal flesh after the great flood, since most of the vegetation had been destroyed and buried. At that time, it would have been impossible for Noah and his family to survive exclusively on plant-based foods.
Notice that meat consumption came with certain restrictions. Genesis 7:1–2 and 8 remind us that God makes a clear distinction between animals that He considers clean and unclean. The clean animals came into Noah’s ark by seven pairs, while just one pair of each unclean animal was brought onboard.
It is clear that Genesis 9:3 does not make void the clean/unclean distinction for a couple reasons:
First, the later part of Genesis 9:3 says, “…I have given you all things, even as the green herbs.” We are to approach the eating of animal flesh like that of plants. Are all plants edible and safe to be ingested into our bodies? Obviously not. Some plants are poisonous, while others contain elements that were never designed for human consumption. Animal flesh should be approached in the same way. Certain animals are clean to eat, while others are unclean, and should not be eaten. These laws about clean and unclean foods can be found in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14.
Second, we know for a fact that God did not intend for Noah and his family to eat any animal they wished without restriction. The clean animals went into the ark by seven pairs, both male and female, and the unclean animals went in by only one pair, male and female. Obviously, it takes a male and female to propagate a species, so if Noah and his family had eaten any of the unclean animals, their species would obviously not be with us today.
This evidence helps us understand the context of Genesis 9:3. God did give Noah and his family permission to eat any living animal—within the “clean” category. We can read this text with confidence that God never contradicts Himself, or His Word.