The Meaning of Genesis 1:24 Explained

Genesis 1:24

KJV: 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.

YLT: And God saith, 'Let the earth bring forth the living creature after its kind, cattle and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after its kind:' and it is so.

Darby: And God said, Let the earth bring forth living souls after their kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth, after their kind. And it was so.

ASV: And God said, Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind, cattle, and creeping things, and beasts of the earth after their kind: and it was so.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Genesis 1:24 Mean?

Study Notes

living creature
"Creature," Heb. nephesh, trans. soul in Genesis 2:7 and usually. In itself nephesh, or soul, implies self-conscious life, as distinguished from plants, which have unconscious life. In the sense of self-conscious life animals also have "soul." See verses; Genesis 1:26 ; Genesis 1:27 ; Genesis 2:7 ; Genesis 2:21-23 .
make man in our image
Man. Genesis 1:26 ; Genesis 1:27 gives the general, Genesis 2:7 ; Genesis 2:21-23 the particular account of the creation of man. The revealed facts are:
(1) Man was created not evolved. This is
(a) expressly declared, and the declaration is confirmed by Christ Matthew 19:14 ; Mark 10:6 ,
(b) "an enormous gulf, a divergence practically infinite" (Huxley) between the lowest man and the highest beast, confirms it;
(c) the highest beast has no trace of God-consciousness--the religious nature;
(d) science and discovery have done nothing to bridge that "gulf."
(2) That man was made in the "image and likeness" of God. This image is found chiefly in man's tri-unity, and in his moral nature. Man is "spirit and soul and body" 1 Thessalonians 5:23 .
"Spirit" is that part of man which "knows" 1 Corinthians 2:11 and which allies him to the spiritual creation and gives him God-consciousness. "Soul" in itself implies self-consciousness life, as distinguished from plants, which have unconscious life. In that sense animals also have "soul" Genesis 1:24 . But the "soul" of man has a vaster content than "soul" as applied to beast life. It is the seat of emotions, desires, affections Psalms 42:1-6 . The "heart" is, in Scripture usage, nearly synonymous with "soul." Because the natural man is, characteristically, the soulual or physical man, "soul" is often used as synonymous with the individual, e.g. Genesis 12:5 . The body, separable from spirit and soul, and susceptible to death, is nevertheless an integral part of man, as the resurrection shows; John 5:28 ; John 5:29 ; 1 Corinthians 15:47-50 ; Revelation 20:11-13 . It is the seat of the senses (the means by which the spirit and soul have world-consciousness) and of the fallen Adamic nature. Romans 7:23 ; Romans 7:24 .
us , Genesis 11:7

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 1:24 mean?

And said God let bring forth the earth the creature living according to its kind livestock and creeping thing and beast of the earth [each] according to its kind And it was so
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֗ים תּוֹצֵ֨א הָאָ֜רֶץ נֶ֤פֶשׁ חַיָּה֙ : לְמִינָ֔הּ בְּהֵמָ֥ה וָרֶ֛מֶשׂ וְחַֽיְתוֹ־ אֶ֖רֶץ לְמִינָ֑הּ וַֽיְהִי־ כֵֽן

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר  And  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
אֱלֹהִ֗ים  God 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
תּוֹצֵ֨א  let  bring  forth 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect Jussive, third person feminine singular
Root: יׄוצֵאת 
Sense: to go out, come out, exit, go forth.
הָאָ֜רֶץ  the  earth 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
נֶ֤פֶשׁ  the  creature 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: נֶפֶשׁ  
Sense: soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion.
חַיָּה֙  living 
Parse: Adjective, feminine singular
Root: חַי 
Sense: living, alive.
: לְמִינָ֔הּ  according  to  its  kind 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular construct, third person feminine singular
Root: מִין  
Sense: kind, sometimes a species (usually of animals).
בְּהֵמָ֥ה  livestock 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: בְּהֵמָה  
Sense: beast, cattle, animal.
וָרֶ֛מֶשׂ  and  creeping  thing 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular
Root: רֶמֶשׂ  
Sense: creeping things, moving things, creeping organism.
וְחַֽיְתוֹ־  and  beast 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: חַי 
Sense: living, alive.
אֶ֖רֶץ  of  the  earth 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
לְמִינָ֑הּ  [each]  according  to  its  kind 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular construct, third person feminine singular
Root: מִין  
Sense: kind, sometimes a species (usually of animals).
וַֽיְהִי־  And  it  was 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
כֵֽן  so 
Parse: Adverb
Root: כֵּן 
Sense: so, therefore, thus.