Genesis 1:21 - Exposition

And God created ( bara , is in Genesis 1:1 , to indicate the introduction of an absolutely new thing, viz; the principle of animal life) great whales . Tanninim , from tanan ; Greek, τει ì νω ; Latin, tendo ; Sansc; tan , to stretch. These were the first of the two classes into which the sheretzim of the previous verse were divided. The word is used of serpents ( Exodus 7:9 ; Deuteronomy 32:33 ; Psalms 91:13 ; Jeremiah 51:34 ), of the crocodile ( Ezekiel 29:3 ; Ezekiel 32:2 ), and may therefore here describe "great sea monsters" in general: τα Ì κη ì τη τα Ì μεγα ì λα ( LXX .); "monstrous crawlers that wriggle through the water or scud along the banks (Murphy); whales, crocodiles, and other sea monsters (Delitzsch); gigantic aquatic and amphibious reptiles (Kalisch, Macdonald). And every living creature ( nephesh chayyah ) which moveth . Literally, the moving, from ramas , to move or creep. This is the second class of sheretzim . The term remes is specially descriptive. of creeping animals ( Genesis 9:2 ), either on land ( Genesis 7:14 ) or in water ( Psalms 69:35 ), though here it clearly signifies aquatic tribes. Which the waters brought forth abundantly after their kind . The generic terms are thus seen to include many distinct orders and species, created each after its kind. And every winged fowl after his kind. Why fowls and fish were created on the same day is rot to be explained by any supposed similarity between the air and the water

. In the case of God blessing inanimate things, it signifies to make them to prosper and be abundant ( Exodus 23:25 ; Job 1:10 ; Psalms 65:11 ). The nature of the blessing pronounced upon the animal creation had reference to their propagation and increase. Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. The paronomastic combination, be fruitful and multiply , became a regular formula of blessing (cf. Genesis 24:60 ; Genesis 35:11 ; Genesis 48:4 ; Psalms 128:3 , Psalms 128:4 ). The Divine benediction was not simply a wish; but, adds Calvin, "by the bare intimation of his purpose he effects what men seek by entreaty." Nor was it meaningless that the words of benediction were addressed to the creatures; it was designed to teach that the "force of the Divine word was not meant to be transient, but, being infused into their natures, to take root and constantly bear fruit" (Calvin).