And with every living soul that is with you, as well in all birds as in cattle and beasts of the earth, that are come forth out of the ark, and in all the beasts of the earth.

“God's purpose, therefore, was to eliminate all apprehension from Noah's thinking and for him to be quite assured that this would not happen again. He said, remember, "Just as I brought on the deluge out of love, so as to put a stop to their wickedness and prevent their going to further extremes, so in this case too it is out of my love that I promise never to do it again, so that you may live free of all dread and in this way see your present life to its close." Hence he said, "Behold, I make my covenant," that is, I form an agreement. Just as in human affairs when someone makes a promise he forms an agreement and gives a firm guarantee, so too the good Lord said, "Behold, I make my covenant." God did not say that this massive disaster might come again to those who sin. Rather he said, "Behold, I make my covenant with you and your offspring after you." See the Lord's loving kindness: not only with your generation, he says, do I form my agreement, but also in regard to all those coming after you I give this firm guarantee.”

“חית הארץ אתכם AND EVERY ANIMAL OF THE EARTH WITH YOU or, THAT ARE WITH YOU — those which go about with human beings. מכל יוצאי התבה OF ALL THAT GO OUT OF THE ARK — These words would include creeping things and reptiles. חית הארץ [EVEN EVERY] BEAST OF THE EARTH — These words are intended to include dangerous animals which cannot be included in the above description, “every living creature that is with you” — for these do not go about with human beings.”

“And with every living creature that is with you,.... This is a further proof that this was not the covenant of grace, but of conservation, since it is made with irrational as well as rational creatures: of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; the birds of the air, the tame cattle, and the wild beasts: from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth; which take in the creeping things not mentioned, for these were in the ark, and came out of the ark with Noah; and this covenant not only included all the several kinds of creatures that came out of the ark with Noah, but it reached to all that should spring from them in future ages, to the end of the world.”

“Soul…in birds, &c. The covenant of God is made with animals, only in as much as they are subservient to man. (Du Hamel) — The Egyptians adored most of them; and many oriental nations, and even philosophers, pretended they had intelligent souls, and could speak a rational language, which some of them would have the people believe they could understand. (Calmet) — This was the case of those great impostors Apollonius of Tyena, Mahomet, &c. (Haydock) — Moses shews sufficiently that beasts were neither divinities nor rational. (Calmet)”