12:7 teach thee. The beasts, the fowls, the fishes, and the earth itself had been placed under man’s dominion (Genesis 1:26,28). To exercise that dominion, men would need first of all to learn from the creation its physical and biological processes.

12:9 Who knoweth not. In the scientific study of zoology, geology, and the other sciences, the most obvious lesson they will teach an honest student is the truth of their special creation by an omnipotent, omniscient Creator.