Genesis 1:28

Genesis 1:28 in other versions

• New International Version (NIV)God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
• New Living Translation (NLT)Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”

Context of Genesis 1:28

26And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. 29And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. 30And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

Genesis 1:28 word by word

וַיְבָ֣רֶךְ אֹתָם֮ אֱלֹהִים֒ וַיֹּ֨אמֶר לָהֶ֜ם אֱלֹהִ֗ים פְּר֥וּ וּרְב֛וּ וּמִלְא֥וּ אֶת־הָאָ֖רֶץ וְכִבְשֻׁ֑הָ וּרְד֞וּ בִּדְגַ֤ת הַיָּם֙ וּבְע֣וֹף הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וּבְכָל־חַיָּ֖ה הָֽרֹמֶ֥שֶׂת עַל־הָאָֽרֶץ׃Read the interlinear

• And Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• blessedבָּרַךְbârak · to blessH1288
• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• unto them, Be fruitfulפָּרָהpârâh · be fruitfulH6509
• and multiplyרָבָהrâbâh · to multiplyH7235
• and replenishמָלֵאmâlê' mâlâ' · to fillH4390
• the earthאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• and subdue itכָּבַשׁkâbash · to subdueH3533
• and have dominionרָדָהrâdâh · to ruleH7287
• over the fishדָּגָהdâgâh · fishH1710
• of the seaיָםyâm · seaH3220
• and over the fowlעוֹף‛ôph · birdH5775
• of the airשָׁמַיִםshâmayim shâmeh · heavenH8064
• and over every living thingחַיchay · aliveH2416
• that movethרָמַשׂrâmaώ · to creepH7430
• upon the earthאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: soilH776

Cross-references for Genesis 1:28

• Genesis 1:22And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.
• Genesis 8:17Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.
• Genesis 9:1And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.
• Genesis 17:16And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.
• Genesis 22:17That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
• Genesis 24:60And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them.
• Genesis 26:3Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;
• Genesis 33:5And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children; and said, Who are those with thee? And he said, The children which God hath graciously given thy servant.
• Genesis 49:25Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:
• Leviticus 26:9For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you.
• 1 Chronicles 4:10And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.
• 1 Chronicles 26:5Ammiel the sixth, Issachar the seventh, Peulthai the eighth: for God blessed him.
• Job 42:12So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses.
• Psalms 107:38He blesseth them also, so that they are multiplied greatly; and suffereth not their cattle to decrease.
• Psalms 127:1Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.
• Psalms 128:3Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table.

Commentaries on Genesis 1:28

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 28And God blessed them - Marked them as being under his especial protection, and gave them power to propagate and multiply their own kind on the earth. A large volume would be insufficient to contain what we know of the excellence and perfection of man, even in his present degraded fallen state. Both his body and soul are adapted with astonishing wisdom to their residence and occupations; and also the place of their residence, as well as the surrounding…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 24-31Verses 24-31 - VIII. The Sixth Day 24. בהמה behēmâh “cattle; dumb, tame beasts.” רמשׂ remeś “creeping (small or low) animals.” חוּה chayâh “living thing; animal.” חוּת־חארץ chayatô -chā'ārets “wild beast.” 26. אדם 'ādām “man, mankind;” “be red.” A collective noun, having no plural number, and therefore denoting either an individual of the kind, or the kind or race itself. It is connected in etymology with אדמה 'ădāmâh “the red soil,” from which…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 26-28Verses 26-28 Man was made last of all the creatures: this was both an honour and a favour to him. Yet man was made the same day that the beasts were; his body was made of the same earth with theirs; and while he is in the body, he inhabits the same earth with them. God forbid that by indulging the body, and the desires of it, we should make ourselves like the beasts that perish! Man was to be a creature different from all that had been hitherto made…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 28God blessed them: See study note on 1:22; also see 17:16; 48:16; Deuteronomy 7:13. said: God speaks directly and intimately to humans. We are caretakers of his shared authority. subdue it; rule: As representatives of God's rule, humans are responsible for taking care of the world God created and managing it (see also Genesis 9:2; Psalm 8:5–8).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2828. Be fruitful, &c.--The human race in every country and age has been the offspring of the first pair. Amid all the varieties found among men, some black, some copper-colored, others white, the researches of modern science lead to a conclusion, fully accordant with the sacred history, that they are all of one species and of one family (Ac 17:26). What power in the word of God! "He spake and it was done. He commanded and all things stood fast" [Psa 33:9]…Read the comment

Topics related to Genesis 1:28

• Adam
• Benedictions
• Birds
• Eve
• Fruits
• God
• Man
• Propagation

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• the sea, the Great Sea, the western sea
• Adam
• Appear
• Beginning
• Call
• Create
• Darkness
• Divide

Commentaries on Genesis 1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings