Knowing The Word in Genesis 1:20-23, The Fifth Day of Creation

20 And God said, “Let the waters swarm [connotes not only movement but abundant fertility] with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” [“Across the expanse” shows that Genesis is written from the perspective of a human observer.] 21 So God created [first time the phrase is used since 1:1] the great sea creatures [monsters] and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

22 And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day. [Why do the great sea monsters get a special nod? It could be, as seen in other mentions of sea monsters in Job and Isaiah, that these authors are using the language of Canaanite myths to describe God’s victory over his foes, and here specifically that these monsters are not rivals to be defeated by God, but are just one of his many creatures (Psalm 148:7). The blessing of God is one of the unifying themes of Genesis. He blessed animals (1:22), mankind (1:28), the Sabbath (2:3), Adam (5:2), Noah (9:1), and also the patriarchs. Where we moderns talk about success, the Old Testament talked of blessing. Blessing carries with it the divine promise of fulfillment—in this case of procreation. The earth is filled with animals and man—and even a second time after the flood—and the patriarchs, despite issues of infertility, have many children in spite of their foolish acts. If God’s blessing in one sense perpetuates his creative activity, it also enables man to imitate God by procreating.]