Bible Strands
Genesis 1:20
And God said, “Let the waters teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the sky.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God speaks on the fifth day of creation, commanding the waters to produce life and the sky to be filled with birds, following the fourth day’s conclusion and preceding the fifth day’s fulfillment.
The words — The Hebrew יִשְׁרְצוּ (yishretzu) commands the waters to "swarm," while שֶׁרֶץ (she-rets) and נֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה (nefesh chayyah) denote the resulting "swarming living creatures."
The thread — This command anticipates the fulfillment in Genesis 1:21, echoes the wisdom-filled creation noted in Psalms 104:24, and connects to the later grouping of animals and birds in Genesis 2:19 and 1 Kings 4:33.
Why it lands — The text places the origin of aquatic and avian life under divine speech, requiring the reader to recognize creation as a direct, ordered response to God’s command rather than a spontaneous process.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Psalms 104:24 How many are Your works, O LORD! In wisdom You have made them all; the earth is full of Your creatures.
- Genesis 2:19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and He brought them to the man to see what he would name each one. And whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.
- 1 Kings 4:33 He spoke of trees, from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop growing in the wall, and he taught about animals, birds, reptiles, and fish.
- Psalms 148:10 wild animals and all cattle, crawling creatures and flying birds,
- Genesis 1:30 And to every beast of the earth and every bird of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth—everything that has the breath of life in it—I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.
- Genesis 1:7 So God made the expanse and separated the waters beneath it from the waters above. And it was so.
- Genesis 1:22 Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters of the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”
- Genesis 8:17 Bring out all the living creatures that are with you—birds, livestock, and everything that crawls upon the ground—so that they can spread out over the earth and be fruitful and multiply upon it.”
- Genesis 1:14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to distinguish between the day and the night, and let them be signs to mark the seasons and days and years.
- Acts 17:25 Nor is He served by human hands, as if He needed anything, because He Himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.