Thoughts about Genesis (9)

Genesis 1:24-25
²⁴ Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after their kind”; and it was so.
²⁵ God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good.

Day 6 starts with and God said, and ends with there was evening, and there was morning. On day six, God will create the mammals, the birds of the air, and the fish (and all swimming) creatures of the sea. Until day six, the land had been empty of life (except for the plants). The water on the earth and the sky have filled with animal life, but now it is time for the mammals. As we noted previously, the intelligence behind the creation is stunning. God created the atmosphere and then created plants to fill it with oxygen. The plants then provide food for the birds and sea creatures, providing CO2 for the plants to convert back into oxygen. The excrement provided by the birds and animals provides fertilizer, further enhancing plant growth. The creation happened in a very logical progression. Now, the land is ready for animals and humanity.

Genesis 1:24
Then God (אֱלהִים - Elohim) said (אָמַר - amar), “Let the earth (אֶרֶץ - erets) bring forth (יָעָא - yatsa) living (חַי - chay) creatures (נֶפֶשׁ - nephesh) after their kind (מִין - min): cattle (בְּהֵמָה - behemah) and creeping things (רֶמֶשׂ - remes) and beasts (חַי - chay) of the earth (אֶרֶץ - erets) after their kind (מִין - min); and it was (הָיָה - hayah) so (כֵּן - ken).

Once again we find God speaking something into existence. As discussed in the second lesson (lesson 2), the word Elohim (Strong’s H430) is common noun that means strength, might, and power(ful). Since the word Elohim is a common noun, it is a descriptor, not a name. The phrase and said (Strong’s H559) means to speak from the heart.

The English rendition of let the earth bring forth can be a little confusing. It makes it sound like the earth is giving birth to the animals. However, the text is very clear that God spoke them into existence. The phrase bring forth (Strong’s H3318) means to go, and specifically to go out or forth.¹ The text is not saying that the creatures were going to spring out of the earth as if they planted. Rather, as God spoke the animals into existence, they would go out or spread across the land.

The word living (Strong’s H2416) is typically translated as living thing, living being. The word generically refers to all kinds of animals and birds.² The emphasis is not so much on the fact that creatures under the water are alive but that God gave them life. Once again, we must remember that the emphasis is always on God. It was God who gave the animals life. Thus, every creature on the land owes their life to God. Scientists estimate that there are around 6.5 million species of land animals.³ When God spoke the animal kingdom into existence, he created a multitude of them.

The word creatures (נֶפֶשׁ - nephesh - Strong’s H5315) means breath, life, desire. In the context of this verse, it means the literal breath of the animals. Since breath is equivalent to life itself, nephesh essentially means life.⁴ It is interesting that nephesh also includes desire. This desire refers to the aspects of sentience (the ability to perceive sensations, the ability to feel and sense) in both humans and animals. It is often translated as living being(s). It emphasizes the point that the creatures living under the water are complex beings. They think, feel, and have emotions. The creatures under the water are far more complex than we think. That fact alone demonstrates the greatness of God, who created them. The phrase living creatures answers the question of what the swarms (swimming things) are: they are living creatures.

The phrase after their kind (Strongs’ H4327) means species.⁵ This phrase represents the boundaries within which a group of organisms (species) can reproduce. These boundaries, however, allow for a significant amount of variation among organisms and microorganisms yet provide limits or boundaries to that variation. Organisms have never varied outside the boundaries of their kinds, and they never will in the future. For example, cows only produce cows, but there are many different types (kinds) of cows. Keep in mind that the Israelites were farmers and shepherds. God is using language that they could easily relate to and understand.

The word cattle (בְּהֵמָה - behemah - Strong’s H929) can be translated as beast, animal, or cattle.⁶ In the Old Testament, the word is used to describe domesticated cattle, horses, donkeys, sheep, goats, wild animals, and almost any other large quadruped. The word typically refers to domesticated animals with which farmers, such as the ancient Israelites, were familiar.

The phrase creeping things (רֶמֶשׂ - remes - Strong’s H7431) refers to reptiles, small animals, rodents, and possibly insects.⁷ Davidson, in his Analytical Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon, defined remes as a reptile; that which moves on the earth; ...any land animal, in opposition to fowls.⁸ The main difference between behemah (cattle) and remes (creeping things) is the physical size of the creatures. The behemahh tend to be large quadrupeds, while the remes tend to be reptiles.

The word beasts (חַי - chay - Strong’s H2416) is typically translated as living thing, living being. The word generically refers to all kinds of animals and birds.⁹ I have been unable to discover why the ESV translates chay as beasts in this verse. The emphasis is not so much on the fact that creatures on the land are alive but that God gave them life. Once again, we must remember that the emphasis is always on God. It was God who gave all the creatures life. Thus, every creature on the land owes their life to God.

The word earth (אֶרֶץ - erets - Strong’s H776) is typically translated as earth. Erets, however, is usually used in the context of a land, a country, or a region.¹⁰ In the Old Testament, erets almost always means land or region. It is unlikely that the ancient Israelites even had a concept of planet Earth. The ancient Israelites had no concept of living on a planet that was part of a solar system. The word erets does not refer to the entire planet, but only the land part; it does not include the land that is underneath the seas.¹¹ Although several passages reveal this point, the most telling is Genesis 1:10, “God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that it was good” (NASB). The seas and oceans are not part of the erets. Instead, eretss is associated with that which is dry. Thus, in no case can erets mean planetary earth.¹²

The phrase and it was so consists of two words: (וַֽיְהִי - wayhi) plus (ֵכֵֽן; - ken). There is hyphen that connects the two words together. In a Hebrew Bible the two words appear as one: וַֽיְהִי־כֵֽן. The verb wayhi means to be or to become or to exist.¹³ As a verb, wayhi means ‘to be doing something that defines to doer’ or, in the case of some unfolding event, to happen.¹⁴ The word wayhi defines the doer (God) in that what he says comes to pass. The unfolding event was the dry land becoming visible as the water receded. The adverb ken (Strong’s H3651) (an adverb modifies a verb) expresses confirmation of something previously expressed: usually translated as yes, or so, or thus, but also conveys cause and effect.¹⁵ The word ken lets us know that what God said, came to pass.

Genesis 1:25
God (אֱלהִים - Elohim) made (צָשָׂה - asah) the beasts (חַי - chay) of the earth (אֶרֶץ - erets) after their kind (מִין - min), and the cattle (בְּהֵמָה - behemah) after their kind (מִין - min), and (אֵת - eth) everything (כֹּל - kol) that creeps (רֶמֶשׂ - remes) on the ground (אֲדָמָה - adamah) after its kind (מִין - min); and God (אֱלהִים - Elohim) saw (רָאָה - raah) that (כִּי - kee) it was good (טוֹב - towb).

Verse 25 reinforces that what God had spoken had come to pass, which is further confirmed by the word made. The word made (צָשָׂה – asah – Strong’s H6213) is in the verb form that denotes completed action. In other words, as soon as God spoke, it happened. Asah means to make, to fashion, or do.¹⁶ When used in the sense of make, or made, the emphasis is on the fashioning of the object. In Genesis, the words bara (create) and asah (make) are closely related. The context of Genesis, indeed the whole Bible, indicates that both bara and asah in Genesis 1 are virtually instantaneous acts. This similarity, however, does not mean that the words are interchangeable. The word asah, in this context, means that as soon as God said it, it happened.

Everything God had planned for and with the animal kingdom had happened exactly as he wanted and willed it to. God’s power to create the animals was on display through his spoken word. Once again, we have the phrase, and God saw that it was good. The word saw (Strong’s H7200) means to see, look at, or inspect. The word is often used in the Old Testament to describe seeing with the eyes.¹⁷ The seeing that occurs in the verse is deliberate. God did not accidentally notice that the animals were good. He inspected all the animals by looking them over and giving them his approval. God was pleased with the animals he had created, and his inspection revealed that they operated precisely as designed.

© 2024 by Steven P. Wickstrom, all rights reserved.