“And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.”
My Notes
What Does Genesis 1:20 Mean?
"Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth." On the fifth day, God fills two domains simultaneously: the sea with swimming creatures and the sky with flying ones. The waters don't just produce a few fish — they bring forth abundantly (sharats — to swarm, to teem). The production is excessive, overflowing, uncountable.
The phrase "creature that hath life" (nephesh chayyah — living soul) is significant: the sea creatures are the first beings Scripture calls "living souls." Plants preceded them but weren't given this designation. The nephesh — the animating life-force — appears for the first time in the waters. Life, in the fullest biblical sense, begins in the sea.
The dual creation — water creatures and sky creatures on the same day — connects the two domains: what swims and what flies share a creation day because both inhabit fluid environments. Water and air are both flowing media. The fish and the birds are siblings of the same creative moment.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What empty space in your life is God trying to fill abundantly?
- 2.What does the 'swarming' quality of God's creation teach about His generosity?
- 3.Why are sea creatures the first 'living souls' in Scripture — and what does that mean?
- 4.How does God's abundance in creation model His abundance in your life?
Devotional
Let the waters swarm. Let the sky fill with wings. The fifth day is the day of abundant, overflowing, teeming life — the day God fills the empty spaces with creatures that move.
The word 'abundantly' is the key: God doesn't produce a modest population of fish. The waters swarm. The production is lavish, excessive, uncountable. Every ocean, every river, every pond — teeming with life that wasn't there a moment ago. God's creative instinct isn't minimal. It's maximal. The emptiness gets filled to overflowing.
The first 'living souls' in Scripture aren't humans — they're sea creatures. The nephesh chayyah, the animating life-force, appears first in the ocean. Before Adam breathed, the fish swam. Before humanity was souled, the waters were souled. Life — real, biblical, nephesh-bearing life — started in the deep.
The pairing of sea creatures and birds on the same day reveals something about how God categorizes creation: by medium, not by anatomy. What swims and what flies share a creation day because both move through fluid environments. The fish and the bird are cousins in God's taxonomy — both navigating flowing space, both filling domains that were empty before God spoke.
The abundance of the fifth day is the prototype for all of God's giving: excessive, swarming, more than needed. When God fills a space, He overfills it. When God populates a domain, He crowds it. The sea doesn't get a few fish. It gets swarms.
What empty space is God trying to fill in your life — and are you letting Him fill it abundantly?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
- VII. The Fifth Day 20. שׁרץ shārats, “crawl, teem, swarm, abound.” An intransitive verb, admitting, however, an…
Let the waters bring forth abundantly - There is a meaning in these words which is seldom noticed. Innumerable millions…
Each day, hitherto, has produced very noble and excellent beings, which we can never sufficiently admire; but we do not…
The Fifth Day. The Creation of Water Animals and Flying Animals
20. Let the waters … life The rendering, "bring forth…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture