Main Idea
Genesis 1:20-23 introduces us to the fifth day of Creation, where we’ll see the Lord fill the waters and skies with abundant life. He creates fish, birds, the great tanninim, and every living creature according to its kind. Even the great creatures of the sea- creatures that represented chaos and rival powers in many of the surrounding cultures-are shown to be nothing more than creations and subjects of Elohim. But we’ll also be introduced to something new: God’s first recorded action toward His living creation. He blesses them, giving them the capacity to be fruitful and multiply. As the once-empty seas teem with life and the skies fill with winged creatures, Genesis continues to reveal a God who is sovereign over chaos, generous in giving life, and intentional in the beauty and diversity of His creation.
Genesis 1:20
English: “And God says, “Let the waters teem with the teeming living creature, and let [the] bird fly above the earth on the face of the expanse of the heavens.”
Hebrew: “way-yō-mer ’ĕ-lō-hîm yiš-rə-ṣū ham-ma-yim še-reṣ ne-p̄eš ḥay-yāh wə-‘ō-wp̄ yə-‘ō-w-p̄êp̄ ‘al- hā-’ā-reṣ ‘al- pə-nê rə-qî-a‘ haš-šā-mā-yim.”
way-yō-mer ’ĕ-lō-hîm is “And God says”, the continuation of Him utilizing His Word to bring forth creation.
The Hebrew text, by saying “teem with the teeming”, or “swarm with swarms,” is emphasizing the idea of abundant fertility. The thought behind the verb is one of swift movement back and forth, and is the same word used in Exodus 1:7 of Israelite’s growth during their enslavement by Pharaoh.
Ne-p̄eš simply means “ breathing creature, or an animal of vitality”. It’s used here in reference to God speaking into existence the birds and what we call fish, but then it’s used again in Genesis 2:7 when God breathed life into man. While this is more commonly translated as “soul”, the idea of the soul in the mind of the Israelites carries a different understanding than it does in our modern context. To them, it literally meant a throat, breathing channel, or vital neck- not an immortal spark trapped inside a physical body. In Genesis 2:7, we see that humans and animals share the same vital essence- we are both “breathing physical entities”. However, the distinction between humanity and animals is not what we are made of, but who we are made after (Imago Dei- the Image of God- something we will tackle later on in our study of Genesis).
wə-‘ō-wp̄ yə-‘ō-w-p̄êp̄ literally means “let the flyer fly”, and the double use of the root creates a rhythmic cadence in Hebrew. This form of the verb also implies constant movement.
Now, it tells us the flyers fly “‘al- pə-nê rə-qî-a‘ haš-šā-mā-yim” or “on the face of the expanse of the heavens”. If you’ll remember, the expanse/firmament was created on Day 2 to separate waters below (which would become seas) from the water above. When we recall the visual perspective of the ancient observers, it looks as though the sky is a solid blue dome holding back celestial waters, and the birds occupy the open space just beneath the heavenly boundary.
Genesis 1:21
English: “And God creates the great dragons, and every living creature that is creeping, which the waters have teemed with, after their kind, and every bird with wing, after its kind, and God sees that [it is] good.”
Hebrew: “way-yiḇ-rā ’ĕ-lō-hîm ’eṯ- hat-tan-nî-nim hag-gə-ḏō-lîm wə-’êṯ kāl- ne-p̄eš ha-ḥay-yāh hā-rō-me-śeṯ ’ă-šer šā-rə-ṣū ham-ma-yim lə-mî-nê-hem wə-’êṯ kāl- ‘ō-wp̄ kā-nāp̄ lə-mî-nê-hū way-yar ’ĕ-lō-hîm kî- ṭō-wḇ.”
way-yiḇ-rā ’ĕ-lō-hîm we see the usage of a form of the verb “bara”, which we discussed extensively in our study of Genesis 1:1. It means “to create (absolutely)”. And we see Him create everything He had just spoken into existence. A great way to view this is not as contradictory, but as Moses writing down the Lord’s command and then the effect of His command. Here’s the link to the study of Genesis 1:1: “https://crossguardministries.com/2026/08/09/genesis-11/“
’Eṯ don’t forget this direct object marker- this is crucial as it emphasizes the object of this creation, which is “hat-tan-nî-nim hag-gə-ḏō-lîm” or “the great sea dragons.” Why would Moses single out this specific creature? Because of the context- a people who had been enslaved and influenced by Egyptian mythology for roughly 400 years. The greatest example is Apophis, who in Egyptian mythology is the personification of darkness, chaos, and evil. In Babylonian and Canaanite myths, creator gods had to wage wars to defeat sea dragons like Tiamat, Yamm, or the seven-headed serpent Lotan. More specific to their immediate context, the Israelite’s neighbors worshipped Rahab, a mythical sea monster. He intentionally uses this word to subvert these creatures of myth from their power and display them as God’s creation and His subjects. Outside of the mythological usages, this word could also refer to just any large sea creature. There are even some who speculate that it refers to extinct prehistoric marine reptiles, such as mosasaurs or other massive aquatic creatures we see in our fossil record.
We see the same word as with the fruit trees and herbs, with “lə-mî-nê-hem” denoting that God made every creature and species (https://crossguardministries.com/2026/08/30/genesis-19-13-the-third-day-of-creation/)
way-yar ’ĕ-lō-hîm kî- ṭō-wḇ: God surveys His creation and finds it beneficial for life and His purposes in the scheme of Creation.
Genesis 1:22
English: “And God blesses them, saying, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let the bird multiply in the earth”:
Hebrew: “way-ḇā-reḵ ’ō-ṯām ’ĕ-lō-hîm lê-mōr pə-rū ū-mil-’ū ’eṯ- ham-ma-yim bay-yam-mîm wə-hā-‘ō-wp̄ yi-reḇ bā-’ā-reṣ.”
way-ḇā-reḵ ’ō-ṯām ’ĕ-lō-hîm, “And God blessed them”- we see the first action of God towards an intelligent (to an extent) creation is to bless His good creation. The root word is barak, which is used in a multitude of contexts: from God blessing man, or man towards God as an act of adoration, or even to kneel. This root becomes the backbone of God’s mercy and grace- that even when man does not bless Him, He still blesses us (in 1:22 he blesses the fish and birds; in 2:28 he blesses the land animals and man, the Sabbath is “blessed”; and the blessing upon humanity is reestablished with Noah in Genesis 9:1). The NET Bible makes a point that, one of the better ways to understand this would be that “God endowed them with fruitfulness”- essentially allowing them/giving them the capacity to reproduce. They argue this is a more proper understanding of the verbiage due to the context.
Pə-rū comes from parah, which means “to bear fruit, be fruitful, increase”. In this case, it obviously means that the Lord has said and decreed that they are to reproduce and increase in number.
It should be understood that this is not saying God spoke to the animals and the animals were able to understand Him and obey Him, but rather that the fruitfulness of the animal world is because of His decree- and not some pagan ritual.
Genesis 1:23
English: “and there is an evening, and there is a morning—[the] fifth day.”
Hebrew: “way-hî- ‘e-reḇ way-hî- ḇō-qer yō-wm ḥă-mî-šî.”
We see again the marker notifying us of the end of the creation for that day, which is the Fifth Day of Creation.
So What Now?
How can we take what we have just studied and then apply it to our lives some 3,000-4,000 years later? We can extract 3 principles in particular from this text: two concerning Elohim, and one concerning our physical world.
God is Sovereign Over Chaos
When Moses is recording this story of God creating the tanninim, he is also speaking into a world filled with myths around chaotic sea creatures, dragons, and rival gods. These sea creatures/dragons were revered and feared as symbols of disorder, evil, and chaos. Yet here, these seemingly terrifying symbols are reduced to servants of Elohim. They are not rivals; they are His subjects.
We see this theme throughout Scripture, where the Lord constantly demonstrates His authority over the sea, storms, and creatures that represented chaos in the ancient world. The Psalms celebrate God’s victory over Leviathan (Psalm 74:14- who is more of a literary symbol of chaos in this context), and Jesus simply speaks, and the sea stands still (Mark 4:35-41; cf. Matt. 8:23-27; Luke 8:22-25). He has power over the chaos that we do not possess.
We may not face large sea creatures, or fear mythical tales of dragons and gods fighting, but we all face chaos that we have no control over: financial upheaval, a sudden death, sickness, anxiety, broken relationships, or a clouded future. Genesis is a constant reminder to us that while we may not have control over the chaos, there is someone who does- and there is no force that existed yesterday, nor exists today and tomorrow, that is outside of God’s sovereignty. What feels overwhelming to us is never overwhelming to Him.
God is a Generous Catalyst for Life
The first response to His first creatures in the Creation Story is not judgment, command, or restriction- but rather, blessing. Genesis 1:22 records the first blessing in Scripture, which is God granting the creatures the capacity to be fruitful and multiply. Life doesn’t exist just because God allows it; it exists because God blesses it.
This, like the previous principle, is a pattern that continues throughout Scripture. God will bless humanity in Genesis 1:28, re-establish His blessing after the Flood, and bless Abraham, which then will turn into a blessing for the world through Jesus- the pinnacle of God’s blessing and generosity. From bə-rê-šîṯ (“In the beginning”) to amén (“so be it”), the Bible tells the story of a God who delights in giving life, sustaining life, and redeeming life.
There are many people in this world who view God as One who seeks opportunities to punish or withhold. Genesis paints a very different picture: God’s heart is revealed through blessing. Every breath, meal, friendship, opportunity, and especially the gift of salvation ultimately flows from Him. James writes that every good and perfect gift comes from “the Father of Lights” (James 1:17).
Our World is a Masterpiece
On the fifth day, God fills the domains He had already prepared. The seas suddenly teem with life, and the open skies become filled with birds. What was once empty now overflows with abundance, color, motion, and diversity. The repetition of “according to their kinds” emphasizes both complexity and intentionality. Creation is not random; it is created.
Throughout Scripture, creation is presented as a testimony to its Creator. The heavens declare God’s glory, the earth displays His wisdom, and the diversity of life reflects His creativity (Ps. 19:1-4, 104:24; Rom. 1:20; Job 12:7-9). The world is not merely functional; it is beautiful because it was designed by an artistic God.
Modern life often conditions us to view creation as ordinary or merely useful. Genesis challenges us to recover a sense of wonder. Every ecosystem, every species, every bird in flight, and every creature beneath the sea points back to the wisdom and creativity of God. When we take time to appreciate creation, we are reminded that we live in a world that bears the fingerprints of its Creator. And if God expended such care on the world around us, how much more should we value human beings who bear His image- a topic that will be discussed in our next blog post.
Conclusion
On the fifth day of Creation, God filled the seas and skies with abundant life. In doing so, He revealed Himself as the Sovereign who rules over chaos, the Giver who blesses life, and the Master Artist whose creativity is displayed throughout creation. The creatures of the sea were not rival gods but servants of Yahweh. Their fruitfulness was not self-generated but the result of His blessing. Their diversity was not accidental but intentional. As believers, we can trust His authority over the chaos we face, thank Him as the source of every blessing, and look at the world around us with renewed wonder, recognizing it as the masterpiece of a wise and loving Creator.
Thank you for taking the time to read this article, and please subscribe to get notifications about the next post! As always, research this yourself- go feed yourself with the Word; don’t rely on others to feed you.
God bless, and stand firm!
P.S. – If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to comment down below!
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