Genesis 1:20-23 Day 5 Monsters of the Deep and Birds
progressive growth in Creation, God's wisdom, power, goodness, and blessing through multiplication
20 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. 21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his 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 fowl multiply in the earth. 23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
Each day, hitherto, has produced very noble and excellent beings, which we can never sufficiently admire; but we do not read of the creation of any living creature till the fifth day, of which these verses give us an account.
The fifth day concerns the filling of the waters and the skies. It parallels the second day and the creation of the “expanse” that separates the waters from the atmosphere (1:6–8). A distinctive feature of the fifth day is the first recorded “blessing” in the Bible.
“So God created” is the second of only four verses in which bārāʾ (“created”) occurs in the narrative (1:1, 27; 2:3; also 2:4a). It begins and ends the section, 1:1–2:3, and also is found at the two important junctures in creation: here, the creation of the first animate life, and in 1:27, the creation of human life.
Nephesh
While the Hebrew word nephesh (often translated as “soul”) can refer to animal life, it can also refer to human life or a person’s life force (their soul) along with emotions, intellect, personality, and will (see Gen 9:5; 27:4; Exod 23:9; 1 Sam 19:11). Nephesh can also refer to human corpses (Num 6:6, 11).
5 And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man.
4 and prepare for me delicious food, such as I love, and bring it to me so that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.”
9 “You shall not oppress a sojourner. You know the heart of a sojourner, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.
11 Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him, that he might kill him in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, told him, “If you do not escape with your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.”
6 “All the days that he separates himself to the LORD he shall not go near a dead body
11 and the priest shall offer one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering, and make atonement for him, because he sinned by reason of the dead body. And he shall consecrate his head that same day
It was on the fifth day that the fish and fowl were created, and both out of the waters. Though there is one kind of flesh of fishes, and another of birds, yet they were made together, and both out of the waters; for the power of the first Cause can produce very different effects from the same second causes.
Observe, 1. The making of the fish and fowl, at first, v. 20, 21. God commanded them to be produced. He said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly; not as if the waters had any productive power of their own, but, “Let them be brought into being, the fish in the waters and the fowl out of them.”
This command he himself executed: God created great whales, etc.
sea creatures A translation of the Hebrew word tannin, which does not refer to any specific member of the aquatic kingdom.
These first living creatures included “the great creatures of the sea [tannînim].” Tannîn in Ugaritic literature has been shown to be a generic term for the mythical chaos monster. At Ugarit it was an alternate designation for Yam (Sea) and Lotan (= Leviathan), and in the Bible it describes Rahab (Isa 51:9) and Leviathan (Ps 74:14; Isa 27:1).
9 Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD;
Awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old.
Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon?
Notice is here taken of the various sorts of fish and fowl, each after their kind, and of the great numbers of both that were produced, for the waters brought forth abundantly; and particular mention is made of great whales, the largest of fishes, whose bulk and strength, exceeding that of any other animal, are remarkable proofs of the power and greatness of the Creator.
The express notice here taken of the whale, above all the rest, seems sufficient to determine what animal is meant by the Leviathan, Job 41:1
These first living creatures included “the great creatures of the sea [tannînim].” Tannîn in Ugaritic literature has been shown to be a generic term for the mythical chaos monster. At Ugarit it was an alternate designation for Yam (Sea) and Lotan (= Leviathan), and in the Bible it describes Rahab (Isa 51:9) and Leviathan (Ps 74:14; Isa 27:1).
9 Awake, awake, put on strength,
O arm of the LORD;
awake, as in days of old,
the generations of long ago.
Was it not you who cut Rahab in pieces,
who pierced the dragon?
14 You crushed the heads of Leviathan;
you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.
27 In that day the LORD with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea.
The express notice here taken of the whale, above all the rest, seems sufficient to determine what animal is meant by the Leviathan, Job 41:1.
41 “Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook
or press down his tongue with a cord?
The poets and prophets used the imagery of tannîn, drawing on Canaanite mythological depiction, to describe God’s sovereignty over the forces of nature (Ps 74:13–14; Isa 27:1)
13 You divided the sea by your might;
you broke the heads of the sea monsters on the waters.
14 You crushed the heads of Leviathan;
you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.
27 In that day the LORD with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea.
The express notice here taken of the whale, above all the rest, seems sufficient to determine what animal is meant by the Leviathan,
and his victory over the historical enemies of Israel (Jer 51:34; Isa 51:9)
34 “Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon has devoured me;
he has crushed me;
he has made me an empty vessel;
he has swallowed me like a monster;
he has filled his stomach with my delicacies;
he has rinsed me out.
9 Awake, awake, put on strength,
O arm of the LORD;
awake, as in days of old,
the generations of long ago.
Was it not you who cut Rahab in pieces,
who pierced the dragon?
It is clear from the theology of the prophets that they were not imbibing the underlying polytheism of their neighbors but rather were using the mythopoetic materials only for allusion to express their affirmation in the sovereignty of God
In the case of chap. 1, we have already seen how Hebrew thought differed remarkably from the ancient battle myth among the peoples of the Levant.
The tannîn, so greatly feared, is depicted as no more than a sea creature. Though “great” in size to man’s thinking, our passage shows that these creatures are numbered with the smallest of the sea in God’s eyes.
For all its fierce attributes, Leviathan in God’s eyes is only a fish to be hooked or a pet for amusement
The psalmist called upon these creatures to recognize with praise their Creator, the Lord (Ps 148:7).
7 Praise the LORD from the earth,
you great sea creatures and all deeps,
8 fire and hail, snow and mist,
stormy wind fulfilling his word!
The curious formation of the bodies of animals, their different sizes, shapes, and natures, with the admirable powers of the sensitive life with which they are endued, when duly considered, serve, not only to silence and shame the objections of atheists and infidels, but to raise high thoughts and high praises of God in pious and devout souls, Ps. 104:25,
25 Here is the sea, great and wide,
which teems with creatures innumerable,
living things both small and great.
26 There go the ships,
and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it.
these creatures are not rivals, they are rebels. God did not create evil.
It is equally impious to say that evil has its origin from God; because the contrary can not proceed from its contrary. Life does not engender death; darkness is not the origin of light; sickness is not the maker of health. In the changes of conditions there are transitions from one condition to the contrary; but in genesis each being proceeds from its like and from its contrary. If, then, evil is neither uncreated nor created by God, from whence comes its nature? Certainly, that evil exists no one living in the world will deny. What shall we say, then? Evil is not a living animated essence: it is the condition of the soul opposed to virtue, developed in the careless on account of their falling away from good.
Do not, then, go beyond yourself to seek for evil, and imagine that there is an original nature of wickedness. Each of us—let us acknowledge it—is the first author of his own vice.
Day 5 parallels day 2. On the second day the habitat was created (sky separating waters), and on the parallel day the creatures who live in that habitat (birds and fish) are created
The land can “produce” vegetation (v. 11) and animals (v. 24), but the sea does not “produce” fish and the sky does not “produce” birds. Only the earth/land (a feminine word in Hebrew) is life-producing.
Here, however, for the first time we see the verb create (bārâ) applied to a specific creature. The choice of this verb is to emphasize a uniquely divine act.
“So God created” is the second of only four verses in which bārāʾ (“created”) occurs in the narrative (1:1, 27; 2:3; also 2:4a). It begins and ends the section, 1:1–2:3, and also is found at the two important junctures in creation: here, the creation of the first animate life, and in 1:27, the creation of human life
Again, it is not stated that only a single pair was created of each kind; on the contrary, the words, “let the waters swarm with living beings,” seem rather to indicate that the animals were created, not only in a rich variety of genera and species, but in large numbers of individuals.
The fact that but one human being was created at first, by no means warrants the conclusion that the animals were created singly also; for the unity of the human race has a very different signification from that of the so-called animal species
As animated beings, the water animals and fowls are endowed, through the divine blessing, with the power to be fruitful and multiply. The word of blessing was the actual communication of the capacity to propagate and increase in numbers.
The blessing of them, in order to their continuance. Life is a wasting thing. Its strength is not the strength of stones. It is a candle that will burn out, if it be not first blown out; and therefore the wise Creator not only made the individuals, but provided for the propagation of the several kinds;
God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful and multiply, v. 22. God will bless his own works, and not forsake them; and what he does shall be for a perpetuity, Eccl. 3:14
14 I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him.
The power of God’s providence preserves all things, as at first his creating power produced them.
Fruitfulness is the effect of God’s blessing and must be ascribed to it; the multiplying of the fish and fowl, from year to year, is still the fruit of this blessing
Well, let us give to God the glory of the continuance of these creatures to this day for the benefit of man. See Job 12:7, 9
7 “But ask the beasts, and they will teach you;
the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you;
9 Who among all these does not know
that the hand of the LORD has done this?
There’s no evolution here. Creatures of the sea and the creatures of the sky were all made in one day in every single species. The largest legendary sort of fierce sea monsters down to the smallest marine organism, all made in one day. All the creatures that fly, all made the same day in their species with movement and they move through the air an they move through the sea and they are conscious … that is to say if you drive your car down the road, isn’t it interesting how the birds avoid it? They have a consciousness, although it is not a self-consciousness.
So, man’s house is built. It’s now ready for his occupancy. And the crown of creation comes on day six. The crown of creation is man.