1:20 God said, “Let the water swarm with swarms 1 of living creatures and let birds fly 2 above the earth across the expanse of the sky.”
2:1 The heavens and the earth 3 were completed with everything that was in them. 4
1 tn The Hebrew text again uses a cognate construction (“swarm with swarms”) to emphasize the abundant fertility. The idea of the verb is one of swift movement back and forth, literally swarming. This verb is used in Exod 1:7 to describe the rapid growth of the Israelite population in bondage.
2 tn The Hebrew text uses the Polel form of the verb instead of the simple Qal; it stresses a swarming flight again to underscore the abundant fruitfulness.
3 tn See the note on the phrase “the heavens and the earth” in 1:1.
4 tn Heb “and all the host of them.” Here the “host” refers to all the entities and creatures that God created to populate the world.