Land Animals – The Sixth Day – Part 1

God begins the sixth day by creating land animals.

Genesis 1:24-25  And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.  25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

The Hebrew word translated “creature” is nephesh.  It was first used in verse 20 in reference to animals living in the water.  Its basic meaning is “soul” or “life”.  It should be understood as a “living being”.  It is used of Adam in Genesis 2:7 after God breathed into him and brought him to life.  Continue reading

Water Creatures and Flying Animals

On the fifth day, God creates all those things which live in the water and all birds.

Genesis 1:20-23  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.  21 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.  22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.  23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

Notice that God does not say “fish” or “crustaceans” or anything specific.  He simply commands that the waters “bring forth abundantly the moving creature”.  The Hebrew verb translated “bring forth abundantly” is a cognate of the Hebrew word translated “moving creature”.  They both have to do with teeming or swarming.  Continue reading