If Adam and Eve existed, were they vegetarians? ~

Some say that God gave permission to eat meat after the flood. But there were a lot of shepherds in the Bible, and to me, shepherds = meat eaters. Was everyone before Noah vegetarian? And if so, were they strict vegans?

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DrWatson · 70-79, M

Yes. God told them they could eat from the garden. It was after the flood that God told Noah's family that they could eat meat.

I think of Eden as representing, among other things, a harmony between humans and other animals. After all, the other animals were candidates to be Adam's partner. And when the serpent shows up, Eve does not seem surprised that it can speak.

hartfire

KJV Genesis 4:2 "... And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground."
This would have had roughly the same meaning in the Torah.

Presumably the shepherd provided wool, milk and meat for the family.

Since Able and Cain were the first offspring of Adam and Eve after their expulsion from Eden, we can guess that presumably the family ate meat and Cain provided their vegetables, fruit and grain.

It doesn't say why God prefers Able's sacrifice to Cain's. We only read that God smites Cain for his jealousy.

I see it as a metaphor describing the beginnings of agriculture in a time before fences had been invented. I have no doubt that grazing herds would have plundered farm crops whenever they could slip the vigilance of the shepherds and their dogs. It would have created a lot of conflict.

SW-User

@hartfire they didn't eat meat

He prefers Abel's sacrifice because he thinks it's the better sacrifice 🤷🏻‍♀️ It is superior really because it's an animal offering, but only Abel was in a position to give that offering as he was the shepherd and Cain was the farmer (who only grew crops). God did accept crops on other occasions though.

I think it's possible that God may have been testing Cain. Cain *could've* and *should've* just accepted God's choice, but instead he had to get jealous to the point of murdering his brother.

TheSentinel · M

To many plot holes in the story of Adam and Eve. It seems as though it's left to the reader to fill those holes.

SW-User

Yes. Permission was granted to Noah after the flood but prior to that you weren't allowed to eat meat.

Not sure how shepherd equals meat eater when you can use sheep/goats for other things lol 🤷🏻‍♀️

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SW-User

@hartfire I'm talking about what's written in the Torah. The consumption of meat wasn't permitted until after the flood.

hartfire

@SW-User Where does it say that?
If one takes the Bible literally, Noah also invented slavery after the flood. He gave Canaan and all his descendants into the servitude of his brothers.

SW-User

@hartfire Are you actually being serious?

Troll.

nonsensiclesnail · F

They were vegetarians. Shepards, sheep and lambs are kind of a big deal in the Bible. It’s not about meat.

RedBaron · M

@nonsensiclesnail Then why were they sacrificed in the temple and eaten before the rise of Jewish synagogue worship?

nonsensiclesnail · F

@RedBaron its not about the meat in reference to the question you are asking.

There are no answers to this one way or another, but the likelyhood is that they were vegetarians.
I do feel that it was not a well accepted practice, eating animals, because of this. After the flood God told Noah, "The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they are delivered. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood."

This tells me a few things, but Ill try to stick to what you are asking.
The animals were not fearful of man before the time of the flood, is what this tells me.
Would not be much of a fair fight to take the life of something that thinks its your friend.
I find it interesting that they were given a fear of man by God at the same time that he gives them permission to eat meat, he makes meat eating lawful if you will.
So was it done? Probably. Were people supposed to be eating the animals? No

It is possible that scarifies were eaten, but outside of sacrifice, the eating of flesh was not a thing. Eating meat was not necessary in that time. Notice, if you actually read the Bible, that there was no mention of taking animals for food onto the ark. But there is mention of taking animals that are clean, the ones often used in sacrifice, in groups of 7 rather than 2. No sacrifices were made again until the ark had been opened and everything got out.

If this is something you truly want to know about I suggest using the internet to find answers.

https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/when-eating-meat-was-a-sacrifice/

https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/38679/in-genesis-820-why-did-noah-offer-sacrifices-after-the-flood

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