Genesis 1:20
וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים יִשְׁרְצוּ הַמַּיִם שֶׁרֶץ נֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה וְעוֹף יְעוֹפֵף עַל־הָאָרֶץ עַל־פְּנֵי רְקִיעַ הַשָּׁמָֽיִם׃
✦ Hebrew interlinear
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✦ The same verse in five languages
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֔ים יִשְׁרְצ֣וּ הַמַּ֔יִם שֶׁ֖רֶץ נֶ֣פֶשׁ חַיָּ֑ה וְעוֹף֙ יְעוֹפֵ֣ף עַל־הָאָ֔רֶץ עַל־פְּנֵ֖י רְקִ֥יעַ הַשָּׁמָֽיִם׃
Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ θεός Ἑξαγαγέτω τὰ ὕδατα ἑρπετὰ ψυχῶν ζωσῶν καὶ πετεινὰ πετόμενα ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς κατὰ τὸ στερέωμα του οὐρανοῦ • καὶ ἐγένετο οὕτως.
Greek text from Swete's edition, CC BY-SA 4.0
Latin (Vulgate)
Dixit etiam Deus: Producant aquæ reptile animæ viventis, et volatile super terram sub firmamento cæli.
Y dijo Dios: Produzcan las aguas reptil de ánima viviente, y aves que vuelen sobre la tierra, en la abierta expansión de los cielos.
And God said, “ Let the waters teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the sky.”
✦ What the text says
Summary
With "and God said" the narrative introduces a command aimed at the waters — let them swarm with living creatures — and at the birds — let them fly above the earth, across the surface of the firmament of the heavens. The Hebrew pairs related verb and noun in two soundplays.
Key words
- yish.re.Tzu ("let them swarm", H8317) — qal imperfect, plural.
- She.retz ("swarming thing[s]", H8318) — construct noun, lexical partner of the previous verb.
- Ne.fesh ("creature[s]", H5315) — feminine singular noun.
- 'Of ("bird[s]", H5775) — masculine singular noun.
- re.Ki.a' ("[the] firmament of", H7549) — construct: "firmament of the heavens".
What the text says
i.Yo.mer ("he said", H0559), in the narrative form, opens the direct speech. The first command uses yish.re.Tzu ("let them swarm", H8317), a qal imperfect in the plural with command force, together with its internal object She.retz ("swarming thing[s]", H8318): a related verb and noun, "let the waters swarm a swarm of…". The content of that swarm is Ne.fesh ("creature[s]", H5315) qualified by chai.Yah ("living", H2416): the phrase the versions render "living creatures" or "ánima viviente".
The second command changes element: 'Of ("bird[s]", H5775) with the verb ye.'o.Fef ("let it fly", H5774), a piel (intensive) imperfect: another pair of related words, "let the flyer fly". The flight is located "above the earth", 'A.retz ("earth", H0776), and "on the surface of the firmament of the heavens": pe.Nei ("[the] surface of", H6440), a plural construct, followed by re.Ki.a' ("[the] firmament of", H7549) and sha.Ma.yim ("heavens", H8064).
Differences between versions
Where the Hebrew says "let the waters swarm", the LXX reads Ἑξαγαγέτω τὰ ὕδατα ("let the waters bring forth") and the Vulgate "Producant aquæ"; the RV1909 follows that line ("Produzcan las aguas"), while the BSB keeps the swarming image ("let the waters teem"). In the Hebrew the birds receive their own verb with command force ("and let birds fly"); in the LXX and the Vulgate, by contrast, the birds are coordinated as objects of the waters' verb (πετεινὰ πετόμενα; "et volatile"), and the RV1909 likewise subordinates them to "produzcan las aguas". The LXX adds at the end καὶ ἐγένετο οὕτως ("and it was so"), with no counterpart in the provided Hebrew of this verse. For "on the surface of the firmament", the Vulgate reads "sub firmamento cæli" ("under the firmament"), and the RV1909 and the BSB add an adjective ("abierta expansión", "open expanse") matching no word in the Hebrew list.
This explanation describes the text using linguistic data; it adds no doctrine or confessional interpretation.