Genesis 1:21

Genesis 1:21 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
• New International Version (NIV)So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
• English Standard Version (ESV)So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
• New King James Version (NKJV)So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

Context of Genesis 1:21

19There was evening, and there was morning, a fourth day. 20God said, “Let the water swarm with swarms of living creatures and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.” God created the great sea creatures and every living and moving thing with which the water swarmed, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. God saw that it was good. 22God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.” 23There was evening, and there was morning, a fifth day.

Genesis 1:21 word by word

וַיִּבְרָ֣א אֱלֹהִ֔ים אֶת־הַתַּנִּינִ֖ם הַגְּדֹלִ֑ים וְאֵ֣ת כָּל־נֶ֣פֶשׁ הַֽחַיָּ֣ה׀ הָֽרֹמֶ֡שֶׂת אֲשֶׁר֩ שָׁרְצ֨וּ הַמַּ֜יִם לְמִֽינֵהֶ֗ם וְאֵ֨ת כָּל־ע֤וֹף כָּנָף֙ לְמִינֵ֔הוּ וַיַּ֥רְא אֱלֹהִ֖ים כִּי־טֽוֹב׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• createdבָּרָאbârâ' · to createH1254
• greatגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: largeH1419
• whalesתַּנִּיןtannîyn tannîym · serpent: monsterH8577
• and every livingחַיchay · aliveH2416
• creatureנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: animalH5315
• that movethרָמַשׂrâmaώ · to creepH7430
• which the watersמַיmayim · waterH4325
• brought forth abundantlyשָׁרַץshârats · to swarmH8317
• after their kindמִיןmîyn · kindH4327
• and every wingedכָּנָףkânâph · wingH3671
• fowlעוֹף‛ôph · birdH5775
• sawרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• goodטוֹבţôb · pleasantH2896

Cross-references for Genesis 1:21

• Genesis 6:20Of the birds after their kinds, and of the cattle after their kinds, and of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every kind will come to you so you can keep them alive.
• Genesis 7:14They entered, along with every living creature after its kind, every animal after its kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, everything with wings.
• Genesis 8:19Every living creature, every creeping thing, every bird, and everything that moves on the earth went out of the ark in their groups.
• Job 7:12Am I the sea, or the creature of the deep, that you must put me under guard?
• Job 26:5“The dead tremble – those beneath the waters and all that live in them.
• Psalms 104:24How many living things you have made, O Lord! You have exhibited great skill in making all of them; the earth is full of the living things you have made.
• Ezekiel 32:2“Son of man, sing a lament for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him: “‘You were like a lion among the nations, but you are a monster in the seas; you thrash about in your streams, stir up the water with your feet, and muddy your streams.
• Jonah 2:10Then the Lord commanded the fish and it disgorged Jonah on dry land.
• Matthew 12:40For just as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish for three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.
• Genesis 8:17Bring out with you all the living creatures that are with you. Bring out every living thing, including the birds, animals, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. Let them increase and be fruitful and multiply on the earth!”
• Genesis 9:7But as for you, be fruitful and multiply; increase abundantly on the earth and multiply on it.”
• Exodus 1:7The Israelites, however, were fruitful, increased greatly, multiplied, and became extremely strong, so that the land was filled with them.
• Exodus 8:3The Nile will swarm with frogs, and they will come up and go into your house, in your bedroom, and on your bed, and into the houses of your servants and your people, and into your ovens and your kneading troughs.
• Genesis 1:18to preside over the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good.

Commentaries on Genesis 1:21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21And God created great whales - הגדלים התנינם hattanninim haggedolim . Though this is generally understood by the different versions as signifying whales, yet the original must be understood rather as a general than a particular term, comprising all the great aquatic animals, such as the various species of whales, the porpoise, the dolphin, the monoceros or narwal, and the shark. God delights to show himself in little as well as in great things: hence he…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20-23Verses 20-23 - VII. The Fifth Day 20. שׁרץ shārats “crawl, teem, swarm, abound.” An intransitive verb, admitting, however, an objective noun of its own or a like signification. נפשׁ nephesh “breath, soul, self.” This noun is derived from a root signifying to breathe. Its concrete meaning is, therefore, “that which breathes,” and consequently has a body, without which there can be no breathing; hence, “a breathing body,” and even a body that once had…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 20-25Verses 20-25 God commanded the fish and fowl to be produced. This command he himself executed. Insects, which are more numerous than the birds and beasts, and as curious, seem to have been part of this day's work. The Creator's wisdom and power are to be admired as much in an ant as in an elephant. The power of God's providence preserves all things, and fruitfulness is the effect of his blessing.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 21Unlike pagan beliefs that the great sea creatures existed from the beginning along with God, the Bible teaches that God created them. God has complete power and authority over them. The Hebrew word tanninim (“sea creatures”) can also refer to: crocodiles (Ezekiel 29:3), powerful monsters (Jeremiah 51:34), or the sea creature Leviathan (Isaiah 27:1; compare Job 41:1–34).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 20-2320. moving creature--all oviparous animals, both among the finny and the feathery tribes--remarkable for their rapid and prodigious increase. fowl--means every flying thing: The word rendered "whales," includes also sharks, crocodiles, &c.; so that from the countless shoals of small fish to the great sea monsters, from the tiny insect to the king of birds, the waters and the air were suddenly made to swarm with creatures formed to live and sport in their…Read the comment

Topics related to Genesis 1:21

• Birds
• Dragon
• Fish
• God
• Propagation
• Whale

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Living Creature
• Appear
• Beginning
• Call
• Create
• Darkness
• Divide
• Dragon

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