Question:
“I have not seen God’s original diet for man to include vegetables, but being added after sin in Genesis”
Tennessee
Answer:
This statement is in reference to the article I wrote entitled “Healthful Living” and printed in the December 2001 issue of Present Truth. The original diet given to man is found in Genesis 1:29. Here we read, “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.”
On the third day of creation God created all vegetation. “And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.” (Genesis 1:11) From this verse, if there is any separation of fruits and vegetables, the vegetables must fall under the category of “grass” or “herb yielding seed.” However, in the Genesis 1:29 diet both the “herb bearing seed” and “the fruit tree” are mentioned. After the fall of Adam, God said, “Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” (Genesis 3:17-19)
After the fall the “herb of the field” and “bread” were mentioned as part of the diet of man. The Hebrew word that was translated “herb” in Genesis 1:29 is the same word that was used in Genesis 3:18. The only difference was that in Genesis 1:29 the herb is said to yield seed. Yet, it is certain that “the herb of the field” also yields seed, so there is no difference. Every vegetable I can think of yields seed, so vegetables must have been a part of man’s diet before the fall of Adam and Eve.
I hope this helps to clarify the issue.
