The Meaning of Genesis 1:21 Explained

Genesis 1:21

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.

YLT: And God prepareth the great monsters, and every living creature that is creeping, which the waters have teemed with, after their kind, and every fowl with wing, after its kind, and God seeth that it is good.

Darby: And God created the great sea monsters, and every living soul that moves with which the waters swarm, after their kind, and every winged fowl after its kind. And God saw that it was good.

ASV: And God created the great sea-monsters, and every living creature that moveth, wherewith the waters swarmed, after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind: and God saw that it was good.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Genesis 1:21 Mean?

Study Notes

every living creature
The second clause, "every living creature," as distinguished from fishes merely, is taken up again in Genesis 1:24 , showing that in the second creative act all animal life is included.

Context Summary

Genesis 1:20-31 - Man Creation's Crown
Creation reveals God's nature, as the picture the artist. His eternal Power and Godhead are visible in His works. See Romans 1:20. And all things and beings were made through Jesus Christ. Consider Colossians 1:15-16. The hands of the Son of God wove the blue curtains above us and filled them with luminaries. The seas are His and He made them, and filled them with living creatures. The woodlands are the outcome of His mind, and He filled them with flowers and birds. He taught them to live without care. He filled the tiny heart of the mother-bird with love to her young and blessed her. His are the cattle on a thousand hills. He molded the red earth into His own likeness and made Man. We were made to have dominion. See Psalms 8:6-8. Ask Him to put all things, especially all the evil things of your heart, under your feet. The world is good, and if you were good, you would find it so. [source]

Chapter Summary: Genesis 1

1  God creates heaven and earth;
3  the light;
6  the firmament;
9  separates the dry land;
14  forms the sun, moon, and stars;
20  fishes and fowls;
24  cattle, wild beasts, and creeping things;
26  creates man in his own image, blesses him;
29  grants the fruits of the earth for food

What do the individual words in Genesis 1:21 mean?

So created God - sea creatures great and every thing living that moves with which abounded the waters according to their kinds bird winged according to its kind And saw God that [it was] good
וַיִּבְרָ֣א אֱלֹהִ֔ים אֶת־ הַתַּנִּינִ֖ם הַגְּדֹלִ֑ים וְאֵ֣ת כָּל־ נֶ֣פֶשׁ הַֽחַיָּ֣ה ׀ הָֽרֹמֶ֡שֶׂת אֲשֶׁר֩ שָׁרְצ֨וּ הַמַּ֜יִם לְמִֽינֵהֶ֗ם ע֤וֹף כָּנָף֙ לְמִינֵ֔הוּ וַיַּ֥רְא אֱלֹהִ֖ים כִּי־ טֽוֹב

וַיִּבְרָ֣א  So  created 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: בָּרָא 
Sense: to create, shape, form.
אֱלֹהִ֔ים  God 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
הַתַּנִּינִ֖ם  sea  creatures 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: תַּנִּין  
Sense: dragon, serpent, sea monster.
הַגְּדֹלִ֑ים  great 
Parse: Article, Adjective, masculine plural
Root: גָּבֹול 
Sense: great.
כָּל־  every 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
נֶ֣פֶשׁ  thing 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: נֶפֶשׁ  
Sense: soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion.
הַֽחַיָּ֣ה ׀  living 
Parse: Article, Adjective, feminine singular
Root: חַי 
Sense: living, alive.
הָֽרֹמֶ֡שֶׂת  that  moves 
Parse: Article, Verb, Qal, Participle, feminine singular
Root: רָמַשׂ  
Sense: to creep, move lightly, move about, walk on all fours.
אֲשֶׁר֩  with  which 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
שָׁרְצ֨וּ  abounded 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: שָׁרַץ  
Sense: (Qal) to teem, swarm, multiply.
הַמַּ֜יִם  the  waters 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: מַיִם  
Sense: water, waters.
לְמִֽינֵהֶ֗ם  according  to  their  kinds 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine plural
Root: מִין  
Sense: kind, sometimes a species (usually of animals).
ע֤וֹף  bird 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֹוף  
Sense: flying creatures, fowl, insects, birds.
כָּנָף֙  winged 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: כָּנָף  
Sense: wing, extremity, edge, winged, border, corner, shirt.
לְמִינֵ֔הוּ  according  to  its  kind 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: מִין  
Sense: kind, sometimes a species (usually of animals).
וַיַּ֥רְא  And  saw 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: רָאָה 
Sense: to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider.
אֱלֹהִ֖ים  God 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
כִּי־  that 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
טֽוֹב  [it  was]  good 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: טָבַב 
Sense: good, pleasant, agreeable.