1:20-23 - And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky." So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth." And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.
[T - OL ]
The waters have been separated in "the waters above" and "the waters below" by the creation of the raqia' on Day Two. Balancing it, the "waters" are now commanded (and in the commanding, empowered) to "teem teems of living creatures," and "flying things that fly" above the earth and against the raqia' of the heavens. Most modern translations speak of "birds." The Hebrew noun 'op, from the verb for flying, refers to anything that flies.
Each thing thus commanded into existence suited appropriately where they were placed. God never misses His mark in what He does.
The verb bara', "create," was first used in the introductory summary statement in v1. As noted in the comments on v1, bara' refers to the special and exclusive act of God. In the account of the six days of creation itself (vv2-31) this is the first time it is used. It is particularly interesting that it is first applied to the tannim, the "great monsters," followed by the "living creatures that move" and the "winged bird." Tannim is elsewhere in the Old Testament translated as "snakes" (Exo 7:9, 10, 12; Deut 32:33), "dragons" (Job 7:12; Psm 74:13, 148:7; Eze 29:3, 32:2). The mythical creatures, the Leviathan and the Rahab, are both described as such monsters. The Old Testament authors were never afraid of adopting pagan imageries, but they never subscribe to their theologies.
The mention of these monsters here is tantalizing both because they are marked out for particular attention by the use of the verb "create," and, at the same time, they are downplayed by being mentioned only in passing. Two explanations may account for this. First, these creatures typically symbolize rebellion in Ancient Near Eastern mythologies.1 However fearful they may be to us, here they are mere creatures founded by the unique powers of God, and He "saw that it was good." But (and second) these creatures are also worth mentioning only in passing. In Psm 104:26 the Leviathan is only a toy God created to play with, "a duck in God's bathtub."2 In Psm 148:7 these very monsters are called upon to praise the Lord. Therefore, "outside God there is nothing to fear."3 Yes, if we fear God there is nothing else we need to fear.
Outside God there is nothing to fear.
G. von Rad
Notice that all the creatures have been declared good in the previous verse. They were good not because they were blessed. They were good and now blessed.
The verb 'bless,' barak, in the OT means "to endue with power for success, prosperity, fecundity, longevity." When God blesses us He fills us with these powers. When we bless God, we acknowledge that He is the generous giver of such powers. When we bless a person we pronounce upon or declare our desire for him/her such powers from God. The command, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill . . . " spells out more specifically what those blessed by God were meant to do. But notice the order: blessing—the enabling to do what they are required to do—precedes commandment. This pattern of lavishing with grace before demand for right living is the consistent pattern of God's working in creation as well as in history. God never demands more than His grace would enable. God's grace is always more than sufficient to the task.
It seems strange though that God should command these creatures to procreate, to "be fruitful"; isn't that what animals naturally do, sometimes to our famine? Though suggested in a different context, Hamilton may have an important point when he observes that "[i]n view of the fact that, at least in Mesopotamia and maybe in Canaan, creation motifs were often employed in fertility rites, Gen. 1 may be saying that reproduction is a blessing and gift from God, and is in no way dependent upon . . . rites or activities."4
For the first time God speaks to someone, commanding them to be fruitful. "Soliloquy gives way to monologue . . ."5 Notice that the very monsters that we fear were the first of all creatures blessed and the first to be addressed directly by God.
You may wish to read the following commentaries-expositions:
Low Chai Hok
©Alberith, 2016