Genesis 1:20 · Bible study
Genesis 1:20 Commentary: The Living Soul and the Swarming Waters
Hebrew · 10 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Explore the meaning of 'living soul' (nephesh chayah) and why birds are created from waters, with commentary from across traditions.
Research Summary
- Meaning: By God’s command, waters swarm with every kind of marine life, and birds fly across the sky, both created on the fifth day.
- Key words: yishretsu (let them swarm), sherets (swarm), nephesh chayah (living soul/animal life).
- Main debate: Whether birds originate from the waters (literal command) or are merely commanded to fly alongside the aquatic creation (coordinate clause).
- Theological theme: God as the source of life, filling the emptiness with teeming, fruitful creatures, culminating in blessing.
- Best use: A meditation on God’s creative abundance and care for all living things, leading to praise and responsible stewardship.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
And God said, “Let the waters teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the sky.”
WEB World English Bible 2000
God said, “Let the waters abound with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the sky.”
KJV King James Version 1769
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.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
And God said, Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
And God saith, `Let the waters teem with the teeming living creature, and fowl let fly on the earth on the face of the expanse of the heavens.'
Darby Darby Bible 1890
And God said, Let the waters swarm with swarms of living souls, and let fowl fly above the earth in the expanse of the heavens.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
God also said: let the waters bring forth the creeping creature having life, and the fowl that may fly over the earth under the firmament of heaven.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Y dijo Dios: Produzcan las aguas reptil de ánima viviente, y aves que vuelen sobre la tierra, en la abierta expansión de los cielos.
E disse Deus: Produzam as águas répteis de alma vivente, e aves que voem sobre a terra, na expansão aberta dos céus.
Dieu dit: Que les eaux produisent en abondance des animaux vivants, et que des oiseaux volent sur la terre vers l’ étendue du ciel.
Und Gott sprach: Es errege sich das Wasser mit webenden und lebendigen Tieren, und Gevögel fliege auf Erden unter der Feste des Himmels.
En God zeide: Dat de wateren overvloediglijk voortbrengen een gewemel van levende zielen; en het gevogelte vliege boven de aarde, in het uitspansel des hemels!
Poi Dio disse: “Producano le acque in abbondanza animali viventi, e volino degli uccelli sopra la terra per l’ampia distesa del cielo”.
I rzekł Bóg: Niech hojnie wywiodą wody płaz duszy żywiącej; a ptactwo niech lata nad ziemią, pod rozpostarciem niebieskim.
И сказал Бог: да произведет вода пресмыкающихся, душу живую; и птицы да полетят над землею, по тверди небесной. [И стало так.]
神 說：「水 要多多滋生 有生命 的物；要有雀鳥 飛 在 地面以上，天 空 之中。」
And God said, Let the waters be full of living things, and let birds be in flight over the earth under the arch of heaven.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Genesis 1:20
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that this verse describes the fifth day’s creation of sea creatures and birds as a sudden, teeming abundance. The Hebrew verb yishretsu (“let them swarm”) and the noun sherets (“swarm”) form a cognate construction that stresses multiplication (Barnes; Cambridge Bible). The phrase nephesh chayah (“living soul”) denotes animal life, breath, movement, sensation, not the immortal soul (Calvin; Keil & Delitzsch). On the question of birds arising from waters, most see a literal statement that birds were produced from the water element (Matthew Henry; Gill), though some note that Genesis 2:19 shows them formed from the ground, leading to harmonizing readings. All affirm that God is the direct creator: the waters are not an independent cause but the medium through which God’s command takes effect (Keil & Delitzsch; Wesley).
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Literal origin from waters: The command 'let the waters swarm' and the parallel structure of day three ('let the earth produce') suggest a direct material origin (Gill, Matthew Henry).
- Coordinate or independent clause for birds: The Hebrew grammar allows reading 'let birds fly' as a separate command, not necessarily from the waters, harmonizing with Genesis 2:19 where birds are formed from the ground (Calvin, Keil & Delitzsch, Cambridge Bible).
- Nephesh as animal life, not spirit: The term denotes breathing, living creatures; it does not attribute an immortal soul to animals (consensus of all major commentators from Calvin to Barnes).
What is clear: God directly commands and creates sea creatures and birds on the fifth day, blessing them to multiply, establishing Him as the sovereign source of all animal life.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Origin of birds from the waters | Christians agree that God created birds on the fifth day, before land animals, and that He is the ultimate Creator. | Some read the command literally: birds were produced from the water element (Gill, Matthew Henry). Others, noting Genesis 2:19 where birds are formed from the ground, argue that the grammar of Genesis 1:20 allows reading the bird clause as independent: 'let birds fly' without stating their material origin (Calvin, Keil & Delitzsch, Cambridge Bible). |
| Meaning of nephesh chayah ('living soul') | All traditions agree that nephesh chayah refers to animal life, breathing, moving creatures with sensation, distinct from plant life. | Evangelical and Reformed commentators often restrict nephesh to animal life, noting it does not imply an immortal soul for animals (Calvin, Barnes). Some Catholic and Orthodox traditions, while agreeing on the distinction, may allow more room for a spiritual dimension in animals, but the dominant historic reading equates nephesh here with 'living being' rather than 'soul' in the human sense. |
| Relationship between the fifth day and the second day | Christians see a structural parallel: day two (waters and firmament) is filled with inhabitants on day five, a pattern of order and filling. | Some interpreters (e.g., classic Reformed) emphasize the literary structure of the creation week as a framework, while others (including many conservative Protestants and Catholics) hold to a more literal chronological sequence. Both affirm God’s sovereignty over the process. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Verse 20 opens the fifth day, the second triad of creation week. On day two God separated the waters and made the firmament (expanse); now on day five He fills those waters and the sky with living inhabitants. The pattern moves from inanimate structures to animate life, and within life from lower to higher forms (Matthew Henry; Wesley).
In the ancient Near East, waters were often seen as chaotic forces (Tiamat in Mesopotamian myth) or habitats of monsters. Here God simply speaks, and the waters teem, a direct assertion of His sovereignty over the sea and air. The word raqia (“firmament”) appears earlier in Genesis 1:7, describing the solid-looking vault of the sky. Birds are to fly “on the face of the firmament,” meaning against the visible backdrop of the sky, in the region between earth and the heavenly waters (Cambridge Bible).
The vocabulary of swarming (sharats) carries overtones of vast numbers and rapid reproduction, already noted by Pliny and later naturalists like Leeuwenhoek (Clarke). This fecundity is not accidental but the result of God’s blessing in verse 22. The cultural context of a landlocked audience (Israel) would have magnified the wonder: the sea, mysterious and dangerous, becomes a cradle of life at God’s command.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for Genesis 1:20. The Hebrew text is stable across major manuscripts. The main translational differences arise from how to render the cognate construction yishretsu sherets (“let them swarm with swarms”) and whether the bird clause is coordinated or subordinated, but these are interpretive choices, not textual variants.
Reception History
Early Christian readers such as Augustine saw the fifth day as a demonstration of God’s creative word filling the lower waters and air with living souls, often allegorizing the waters as representing the human soul’s need to teem with good works. Medieval commentators linked the sea creatures and birds to the two-fold life of contemplation (birds soaring) and action (fish swimming in the deep). The Reformers (Calvin, Luther) read the text more literally, insisting on the direct creation of animals by God’s word and rejecting the idea of secondary causes. Modern evangelical scholarship continues to debate the relationship between the days of creation and scientific chronology, but on this verse all traditions hold to the central theological truth: God creates life in abundance and blesses it.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- God speaks life into the waters. The command is not a suggestion but a creative word that brings about teeming abundance. Preach the sovereignty of God over the chaotic and the empty.
- Life is a gift, not a given. The phrase “living soul” (nephesh chayah) emphasizes that animals possess breath and sensation, a different order from plants. God is the source of all vitality.
- Blessing follows creation. In verse 22 God blesses the creatures to be fruitful. Multiplication is God’s design, not mere biology. The same blessing extends to humanity later.
Five-point outline
- The command: “Let the waters swarm”, God orders the elements to produce life.
- The content: “swarms of living creatures”, the vast variety of sea life, from micro-organisms to whales.
- The air: “let birds fly”, birds are also included on this day, originating from the waters (or alongside them).
- The medium: “above the earth in the open expanse of the sky”, the firmament is the stage for winged life.
- The implication: Life is dependent on God’s word and sustained by His blessing.
Illustration hooks
- A parent watching a fish tank or an aquarium: the silent, hidden world teeming with color and motion, reflecting God’s creativity beyond what we normally see.
- A farmer watching birds flock at dawn: the instinct to multiply and migrate points to a designed order, not random chance.
- A naturalist’s amazement at the numbers: Clarke mentions that a single cod can carry nearly 9.4 million eggs. That kind of fertility points to a generous Creator.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Why does it matter that birds are said to come from the waters, especially when Genesis 2:19 says they were formed from the ground?
- What does “living soul” mean for animals? Do animals have souls like humans?
- How does this verse show God’s care for creation, and what does it mean for how we treat animals today?
Leading a Discussion
This verse invites us to marvel at the sheer diversity and abundance of life God created on the fifth day. The Hebrew phrasing emphasizes swarming, teeming life, and the phrase “living soul” marks a new kind of creation, creatures with breath and movement. As you discuss, consider how this passage shows God’s creative power and His delight in variety.
Discussion questions
- Read Genesis 1:20 aloud. What stands out to you about the way God creates sea creatures and birds? How is this different from the creation of light, land, or plants?
- The Hebrew word nephesh is translated “soul” but here refers to animal life. Why is it important that animals are described as having “living soul”? What does that tell us about their value to God?
- Several commentators (Calvin, Keil & Delitzsch) argue that the waters are not the cause but the medium of creation. Why is that distinction important for understanding God’s role as Creator?
- The verse says birds fly “in the open expanse of the sky.” How does this connect to the “firmament” created on day two (Genesis 1:7)? What does it show about the order of creation?
- Why do you think birds are included on the same day as sea creatures? What might that teach about God’s design for different habitats?
- In verse 22, God blesses these creatures to be fruitful and multiply. How does that blessing still operate today? Can you think of examples in nature?
- How does seeing the ocean or a flock of birds differently shape your worship or trust in God after studying this verse?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Genesis 1:7 | God made the expanse, and divided the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so. |
| Genesis 1:14 | God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs to mark seasons, days, and years; |
| Genesis 1:22 | God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” |
| Genesis 1:30 | To every animal of the earth, and to every bird of the sky, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food;” and it was so. |
| Genesis 2:19 | Out of the ground Yahweh God formed every animal of the field, and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. Whatever the man called every living creature became its name. |
| Genesis 8:17 | Bring out with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh, including birds, livestock, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply on the earth.” |
| I Kings 4:33 | He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even to the hyssop that grows out of the wall; he also spoke of animals, of birds, of creeping things, and of fish. |
| Psalms 104:24 | Yahweh, how many are your works! In wisdom, you have made them all. The earth is full of your riches. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
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What the Commentators Say
10 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke draws attention to the sheer scale of life God packed into the waters, from millions of invisible animalcula in a single drop to the vast numbers of eggs a single fish can spawn. He sees this staggering fertility as direct proof of God's wisdom and as a merciful, permanent provision for human nourishment.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes highlights that the Hebrew verb "create" is used here for the first time since verse 1, indicating that animal life is a genuinely new kind of existence, unlike earlier modifications of existing matter. He also notes that the blessing of fruitfulness implies only a single pair of each larger species was made, from which God’s power produced the multitudes that fill the waters and air.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin defends the biblical claim that birds came from water against skeptical mockers. He argues that since God created the world from nothing, producing birds from water is no more remarkable than bringing light out of darkness. Critics who scoff at their Creator should fear the Judge who will bring them to nothing.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentator stresses that the Hebrew phrase behind "bring forth abundantly" literally means "let the waters swarm with swarms, even living soul." This points to a crucial distinction: these creatures receive the active principle of animal life, which the Hebrews called nephesh. He also notes that "fowl" includes all winged things, like insects and bats, flying across the sky.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva notes highlight the specific command for waters to produce every living, creeping thing, distinguishing aquatic life from later creations. They emphasize that birds are created to fly in the open firmament, marking a clear separation between sea creatures and sky dwellers. This order shows God’s deliberate design for diverse habitats and the abundance of life within each.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill notes that the Spirit of God had already impregnated the waters, enabling them to produce both fish and fowl by divine command. He observes that the Hebrew word for "moving creature" applies to fish, which in swimming press close to the water like reptiles. He also allows for a different reading that has birds formed from the earth rather than water.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB highlights that the words "moving creature" and "fowl" cover every egg-laying animal and everything that flies, while "whales" includes sharks and crocodiles. The point is that from the smallest fish to great sea monsters, and from tiny insects to the largest birds, both water and air suddenly teemed with life.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch insist that the Hebrew verbs are imperatives, not relative clauses, so birds are not created from water as some translations imply. They also note the text does not claim only one pair of each kind was made; the wording suggests many individuals were created at once, and the order from lower to higher animals explains why fish and birds came before land animals.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry sees a deliberate pattern in creation's progress: each day produces something more excellent than the last, teaching that we should strive to make our final works our best. He also stresses that God himself performed the command to bring forth life from the waters, not because the waters had any power of their own.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley notes that no living creature was created until the fifth day, showing a gradual advance from less excellent beings to more excellent ones. He emphasizes that both fish and fowl came out of the waters, and that their ongoing fruitfulness from year to year is still the effect of God's original blessing.