God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear;” and it was so.
Parallel Translations
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God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear;” and it was so.
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And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
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And God said: 'Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear.' And it was so.
Cross-references (15)
Passages linked to Genesis 1:9 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 2 Peter 3:5 For this they willfully forget that there were heavens from of old, and an earth formed out of water and amid water by the word of God,
- Jonah 1:9 He said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear Yahweh, the God of heaven, who has made the sea and the dry land.”
- Psalms 95:5 The sea is his, and he made it. His hands formed the dry land.
- Jeremiah 5:22 Don’t you fear me?’ says Yahweh ‘Won’t you tremble at my presence, who have placed the sand for the bound of the sea, by a perpetual decree, that it can’t pass it? Though its waves toss themselves, yet they can’t prevail. Though they roar, they still can’t pass over it.’
- Psalms 33:7 He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap. He lays up the deeps in storehouses.
- Proverbs 8:28-29 when he established the clouds above, when the springs of the deep became strong, when he gave to the sea its boundary, that the waters should not violate his commandment, when he marked out the foundations of the earth,
- Ecclesiastes 1:7 All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full. To the place where the rivers flow, there they flow again.
- Job 26:10 He has described a boundary on the surface of the waters, and to the confines of light and darkness.
- Psalms 104:5-9 He laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be moved forever. You covered it with the deep as with a cloak. The waters stood above the mountains. At your rebuke they fled. At the voice of your thunder they hurried away. The mountains rose, the valleys sank down, to the place which you had assigned to them. You have set a boundary that they may not pass over, that they don’t turn again to cover the earth.
- Job 38:8-11 “Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it broke out of the womb, when I made clouds its garment, and wrapped it in thick darkness, marked out for it my bound, set bars and doors, and said, ‘You may come here, but no further. Your proud waves shall be stopped here?’
- Psalms 24:1-2 The earth is Yahweh’s, with its fullness; the world, and those who dwell in it. For he has founded it on the seas, and established it on the floods.
- Psalms 136:5-6 to him who by understanding made the heavens; for his loving kindness endures forever: to him who spread out the earth above the waters; for his loving kindness endures forever:
- Revelation 10:6 and swore by him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there will no longer be delay,
- Job 26:7 He stretches out the north over empty space, and hangs the earth on nothing.
- Psalms 104:3 He lays the beams of his rooms in the waters. He makes the clouds his chariot. He walks on the wings of the wind.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (19 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 9. Let the waters... be gathered together This also…
9. Let the waters... be gathered together This also is an illustrious miracle, that the waters by their departure have given a dwelling-place to men. For even philosophers allow that the natural position of the waters was to cover the whole earth, as Moses declares they did in the beginning; first, because being an element, it must be circular, and because this element is heavier than the air, and lighter than the earth, it ought cover the latter in its whole circumference. But that the seas, being gathered together as on heaps, should give place for man, is seemingly preternatural; and therefore Scripture often extols the goodness of God in this particular. See Psalm 33:7,
‘He has gathered the waters together on a heap, and has laid them up in his treasures.’
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Also Psalm 78:13,
‘He has collected the waters as into a bottle.’
Jeremiah 5:22,
‘Will ye not fear me? will ye not tremble at my presence, who have placed the sand as the boundary of the sea?’
Job 38:8,
‘Who has shut up the sea with doors? Have not I surrounded it with gates and bars? I have said, Hitherto shalt thou proceed; here shall thy swelling waves be broken.’
Let us, therefore, know that we are dwelling on dry ground, because God, by his command, has removed the waters that they should not overflow the whole earth.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Ps. 33:7; Ps. 89:11; Ps. 136:6; Job 38:4
Ps. 33:7; Ps. 89:11; Ps. 136:6; Job 38:4
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Gen 1:9 And God said, Let the waters under…
Gen 1:9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry [land] appear: and it was so.
Ver. 9,10. Let the waters under the heaven be gathered, &c.] The water, they say, is ten times greater than the earth, as is the air ten times greater than the water, and the fire than the air. Sure it is, that the proper place of the water is to be "above the earth". {Psa 104:6} Sailors tell us that as they draw nigh to shore, when they enter into the haven, they run as it were downhill. "The waters stood above the mountain," till (at God’s rebuke here) they "fled, and hasted away at the voice of his thunder, to the place which he had founded for them". {Psa 104:6-8} This drew from Aristotle, in one place, {a} a testimony of God’s providence, which elsewhere he denies. And David, in the 104th Psalm, which one calleth his Physics, tells us that till the word of command, "Let the waters," &c., God "had covered the earth with the deep as with a garment." For as the garment, in the proper use of it, is above the body, so is the sea above the land. And such a garment, saith the divine cosmographer, would it have been to the earth, but for God’s providence towards us, as the shirt made for the murdering of Agamemnon, where he had no issue out. But "thou hast set a bound," saith the psalmist, "that they may not pass over, that they turn not again to cover the earth". {Psa 104:9} God had set the solid earth upon and above the liquid waters for our conveniency; so that men are said "to go down" (not up) "to the sea in ships". {Psa 107:23} See his mercy herein, as in a mirror, and believe that God, whose work it is still to "appoint us the bounds of our habitation," {Act 17:26} will not fail to provide us a hospitium, a place to reside in, when cast out of all, as he did David, {Psa 27:10} and David’s parents, {1Sa 22:4} and the apostles, {2Co 6:10} and the English exiles in Queen Mary’s days, and, before them, Luther, who, being asked where he thought to be safe, answered Under Heaven, {Sub caelo} {b} and yet before him, those persecuted Waldenses, after whom the Romish dragon cast out so much water as a flood, but the earth swallowed it; {Rev 12:15} and God so provided that they could travel from Cullen in Germany to Milan in Italy, and every night lodge with hosts of their own profession. {c} The waters of affliction are often gathered together against the godly, but, by God’s gracious appointment, ever under the heaven, - where our conversation is, {Php 3:20} though our commoration be a while upon earth, - and unto one place, as the text here has it. {d} The dry land will appear, and we shall come safe to shore, be sure of it. The rock of eternity, {Isa 26:4} whereupon we are set, is above all billows. Washed we may be, as Paul was in the shipwreck; drowned we cannot be, because in the same bottom with Christ, and "kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation." {1Pe 1:5}
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{a} Lib. De Mirabil.
{b} Scultet. Annal.
{c} Cade. Of the Church, p. 180.
{d} Pareus, in loc.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain The waters under the heaven; both the great abyss,…
The waters under the heaven; both the great abyss, or deep of water which is shut up in the bowels of the earth, Gen 7:11; Psa 24:2; 33:7; 136:6; as also the sea and rivers, all which are here said to be gathered together into one place, because of their communication and mixture one with another.
Let the dry land appear; for hitherto it was covered with water, Gen 1:2; 2Pe 3:5.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain The third day's work is related in these verses…
The third day's work is related in these verses - the forming of the sea and the dry land, and the making of the earth fruitful. Hitherto the power of the Creator had been exerted and employed about the upper part of the visible word; the light of heaven was kindled, and the firmament of heaven fixed: but now he descends to this lower world, the earth, which was designed for the children of men, designed both for their habitation and for their maintenance; and here we have an account of the fitting of it for both, and building of their house and the spreading of their table. Observe,
I. How the earth was prepared to be a habitation for man, by the gathering of the waters together, and the making of the dry land to appear. Thus, instead of the confusion which there was (Gen 1:2) when earth and water were mixed in one great mass, behold, now, there is order, by such a separation as rendered them both useful. God said, Let it be so, and it was so; no sooner said than done. 1. The waters which had covered the earth were ordered to retire, and to gather into one place, namely, those hollows which were fitted and appointed for their reception and rest. The waters, thus cleared, thus collected, and thus lodged, in their proper place, he called seas. Though they are many, in distant regions, and washing several shores, yet, either above ground or under ground, they have communication with each other, and so they are one, and the common receptacle of waters, into which all the rivers flow, Ecc 1:7. Waters and seas often, in scripture, signify troubles and afflictions, Psa 42:7; Psa 69:2, Psa 69:14, Psa 69:15. God's own people are not exempted from these in this world; but it is their comfort that they are only waters under the heaven (there are none in heaven), and that they are all in the place that God has appointed them and within the bounds that he has set for them. How the waters were gathered together at first, and how they are still bound and limited by the same Almighty had that first confined them, are elegantly described, Psa 104:6-9, and are there mentioned as matter of praise. Those that go down to the sea in ships ought to acknowledge daily the wisdom, power, and goodness, of the Creator, in making the great waters serviceable to man for trade and commerce; and those that tarry at home must own themselves indebted to him that keeps the sea with bars and doors in its decreed place, and stays its proud waves, Job 38:10, Job 38:11. 2. The dry land was made to appear, and emerge out of the waters, and was called earth, and given to the children of men. The earth, it seems, was in being before; but it was of no use, because it was under water. Thus many of God's gifts are received in vain, because they are buried; make them to appear, and they become serviceable. We who, to this day, enjoy the benefit of the dry land (though, since this, it was once deluged, and dried again) must own ourselves tenants to, and dependents upon, that God whose hands formed the dry land, Psa 95:5; Jon 1:9.
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II. How the earth was furnished for the maintenance and support of man, Gen 1:11, Gen 1:12. Present provision was now made, by the immediate products of the upstart earth, which, in obedience to God's command, was no sooner made than it became fruitful, and brought forth grass for the cattle and herb for the service of man. Provision was likewise made for time to come, by the perpetuating of the several kinds of vegetables, which are numerous, various, and all curious, and every one having its seed in itself after its kind, that, during the continuance of man upon the earth, food might be fetched out of the earth for his use and benefit. Lord, what is man, that he is thus visited and regarded - that such care should be taken, and such provision made, for the support and preservation of those guilty and obnoxious lives which have been a thousand times forfeited! Observe here, 1. That not only the earth is the Lord's, but the fulness thereof, and he is the rightful owner and sovereign disposer, not only of it, but of all its furniture. The earth was emptiness (Gen 1:2), but now, by a word's speaking, it has become full of God's riches, and his they are still - his corn and his wine, his wool and his flax, Hos 2:9. Though the use of them is allowed to us, the property still remains in him, and to his service and honour they must be used. 2. That common providence is a continued creation, and in it our Father worketh hitherto. The earth still remains under the efficacy of this command, to bring forth grass, and herbs, and its annual products; and though, being according to the common course of nature, these are not standing miracles, yet they are standing instances of the unwearied power and unexhausted goodness of the world's great Maker and Master. 3. That though God, ordinarily, makes use of the agency of second causes, according to their nature, yet he neither needs them nor is tied to them; for, though the precious fruits of the earth are usually brought forth by the influences of the sun and moon (Deu 33:14), yet here we find the earth bearing a great abundance of fruit, probable ripe fruit, before the sun and moon were made. 4. That it is good to provide things necessary before we have occasion to use them: before the beasts and man were made, here were grass and herbs prepared for them. God thus dealt wisely and graciously with man; let not man then be foolish and unwise for himself. 5. That God must have the glory of all the benefit we receive from the products of the earth, either for food or physic. It is he that hears the heavens when they hear the earth, Hos 2:21, Hos 2:22. And if we have, through grace, an interest in him who is the fountain, when the streams are dried up and the fig-tree doth not blossom we may rejoice in him.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And God said, let the waters under the heaven…
And God said, let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place,.... Which are before called the waters under the firmament; and which were either on the surface of the earth, or in the bowels of it, or mixed with it, which by the compressure of the expanse or air were separated from it and these, by apertures and channels made, were caused to flow as by a straight line, as the word (e) used signifies, unto the decreed place that was broke up for them, the great hollow or channel which now contains the waters of the ocean: this was done by the word of the Lord, at his rebuke; and when it seems there was a clap thunder, and perhaps an earthquake, which made the vast cavity for the sea, as well as threw up the hills and mountains, and made the valleys; seeJob 38:10,
and let the dry land appear: clear of the waters, dried by the expanded air, hardened by the fiery light, and as yet without any herb or tree upon it:
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and it was so; immediately done, the waters were drained off the earth, directed to their proper channels, and caused to run as by line to their appointed place; and the solid parts of the earth became dry, and appeared in sight.
(e) "congregentur tanquam ad amussim et regulam", Fagius; "recto et equabili cursu contendant et collineant", Junius.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain The third day's work is related in these verses;…
The third day's work is related in these verses; the forming the sea and the dry land, and making the earth fruitful. Hitherto the power of the Creator had been employed about the upper part of the visible world; now he descends to this lower world, designed for the children of men, both for their habitation, and their maintenance. And here we have an account of the fitting of it for both; the building of their house, and the spreading of their table. Observe,
1. How the earth was prepared to be a habitation for man by the gathering of the waters together, and making the dry land appear. Thus, instead of that confusion which was, when earth and water were mixed in one great mass; now there is order, by such a separation as rendered them both useful. (1.) The waters which covered the earth were ordered to retire, and to gather into one place, viz. those hollows which were fitted for their reception. The waters thus lodged in their proper place, he called Seas; for though they are many, in distant regions, yet either above ground or under ground, they have communication with each other, and so they are one, and the common receptacle of waters, into which all the rivers run. (2.) The dry land was made to appear, and emerge out of the waters, and was called Earth. Observe,
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2. How the earth was furnished for the support of man, ver. 11, 12. Present provision was made, by the immediate products of the earth, which, in obedience to God's command, was no sooner made but it became fruitful. Provision was likewise made for time to come, by the perpetuating of the several species of vegetables, every one having its seed in itself after its kind, that during the continuance of man upon the earth, food might be fetched out of the earth, for his use and benefit. See note at "ver. 9"
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Gen 1:9-10. God said, &c. — From the production,…
Gen 1:9-10. God said, &c. — From the production, or separation from gross matter, of light and air, and the assigning them their proper places and uses in the creation, God proceeds, on the third day, to separate, put in order, and control the clement nearest to them in quality and use, fluid like them, comparatively simple, and pure, and although not elastic, yet of great power. Let the waters be gathered into one place — The abyss in the bowels of the earth, Gen 7:11, and the hollows connected therewith. Thus, instead of the confusion which existed when the earth and the water were mixed in one great mass, there was now order; and by such a separation, both were rendered useful: the earth was prepared for the habitation and support of man, and various orders of land animals, and the waters for the still more numerous tribes of living creatures, formed to abide and seek their sustenance in the seas, lakes, and rivers.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain - V. The Third Day
- V. The Third Day
9. קוה qāvâh “turn, bind, gather, expect.”
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יבשׁה yabāshâh “the dry, the ground.” יבשׁ yabēsh, “be dry.” בושׁ bôsh, “be abashed.”
11. דשׁא deshe', “green thing, grass.”
עשׂב ‛ēśāb, “herb.”
זרע zēra‛, “seed.” זרע zāra‛, “sow,” sero.
פרי perı̂y, “fruit.” ברה pārâh, “bear”; φέρω pherō.
The work of creation on this day is evidently twofold, - the distribution of land and water, and the creation of plants. The former part of it is completed, named, reviewed, and approved before the latter is commenced. All that has been done before this, indeed, is preparatory to the introduction of the vegetable kingdom. This may be regarded as the first stage of the present creative process.
Gen 1:9
Let the water be gathered to one place; let the ground appear. - This refers to the yet overflowing deep of waters Gen 1:2 under “the expanse.” They must be confined within certain limits. For this purpose the order is issued, that they be gathered into one place; that is, evidently, into a place apart from that designed for the land.
Gen 1:10
Then called God to the ground, land. - We use the word “ground” to denote the dry surface left after the retreat of the waters. To this the Creator applies the term ארץ 'erets, “land, earth.” Hence, we find that the primitive meaning of this term was land, the dry solid surface of matter on which we stand. This meaning it still retains in all its various applications (see note on Gen 1:2). As it was soon learned by experience that the solid ground was continuous at the bottom of the water-masses, and that these were a mere superficial deposit gathering into the hollows, the term was, by an easy extension of its meaning, applied to the whole surface, as it was diversified by land and water. Our word “earth” is the term to express it in this more extended sense. In this sense it was the meet counterpart of the heavens in that complex phrase by which the universe of things is expressed.
And to the gathering of the waters called he seas. - In contradistinction to the land, the gathered waters are called seas; a term applied in Scripture to any large collection of water, even though seen to be surrounded by land; as, the salt sea, the sea of Kinnereth, the sea of the plain or valley, the fore sea, the hinder sea Gen 14:3; Num 34:11; Deu 4:49; Joe 2:20; Deu 11:24. The plural form “seas” shows that the “one place” consists of several basins, all of which taken together are called the place of the waters.
The Scripture, according to its manner, notices only the palpable result; namely, a diversified scene of “land” and “seas.” The sacred singer possibly hints at the process in Psa 104:6-8 : “The deep as a garment thou didst spread over it; above the mountains stood the waters. At thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away. They go up the mountains; they go down the valleys; unto the place that thou hast founded for them.” This description is highly poetical, and therefore true to nature. The hills are to rise out of the waters above them. The agitated waters dash up the stirring mountains, but, as these ascend, at length sink into the valleys, and take the place allotted for them. Plainly the result was accomplished by lowering some and elevating other parts of the solid ground. Over this inequality of surface, the waters, which before overspread the whole ground, flowed into the hollows, and the elevated regions became dry land. This is a kind of geological change which has been long known to the students of nature. Such changes have often been sudden and violent. Alterations of level, of a gradual character, are known to be going on at all times.
This disposition of land and water prepares for the second step, which is the main work of this day; namely, the creation of plants. We are now come to the removal of another defect in the state of the earth, mentioned in the second verse, - its deformity, or rude and uncouth appearance.
Gen 1:11
Let the land grow. - The plants are said to be products of the land, because they spring from the dry ground, and a margin round it where the water is so shallow as to permit the light and heat to reach the bottom. The land is said to grow or bring forth plants; not because it is endowed with any inherent power to generate plants, but because it is the element in which they are to take root, and from which they are to spring forth.
Grass, herb yielding seed, fruit tree bearing fruit. - The plants now created are divided into three classes - grass, herb, and tree. In the first, the seed is not noticed, as not obvious to the eye; in the second, the seed is the striking characteristic; in the third, the fruit, “in which is its seed,” in which the seed is enclosed, forms the distinguishing mark. This division is simple and natural. It proceeds upon two concurrent marks - the structure and the seed. In the first, the green leaf or blade is prominent; in the second, the stalk; in the third, the woody texture. In the first, the seed is not conspicuous; in the second, it is conspicuous; in the third, it is enclosed in a fruit which is conspicuous. This division corresponds with certain classes in our present systems of botany. But it is much less complex than any of them, and is founded upon obvious characteristics. The plants that are on the margin of these great divisions may be arranged conveniently enough under one or another of them, according to their several orders or species.
After its kind. - This phrase intimates that like produces like, and therefore that the “kinds” or species are fixed, and do not run into one another. In this little phrase the theory of one species being developed from another is denied.
Gen 1:12
Here the fulfillment of the divine command is detailed, after being summed up in the words “it was so,” at the close of the previous verse. This seems to arise from the nature of growth, which has a commencement, indeed, but goes on without ceasing in a progressive development. It appears from the text that the full plants, and not the seeds, germs, or roots, were created. The land sent forth grass, herb, tree, each in its fully developed form. This was absolutely necessary, if man and the land animals were to be sustained by grasses, seeds, and fruits.
Thus, the land begins to assume the form of beauty and fertility. Its bare and rough soil is set with the germs of an incipient verdure. It has already ceased to be “a waste.” And now, at the end of this third day, let us pause to review the natural order in which everything has been thus far done. It was necessary to produce light in the first place, because without this potent element water could not pass into vapor, and rise on the wings of the buoyant air into the region above the expanse. The atmosphere must in the next place be reduced to order, and charged with its treasures of vapor, before the plants could commence the process of growth, even though stimulated by the influence of light and heat. Again, the waters must be withdrawn from a portion of the solid surface before the plants could be placed in the ground, so as to have the full benefit of the light, air, and vapor in enabling them to draw from the soil the sap by which they are to be nourished. When all these conditions are fulfilled, then the plants themselves are called into existence, and the first cycle of the new creation is completed.
Could not the Eternal One have accomplished all this in one day? Doubtless, He might. He might have effected it all in an instant of time. And He might have compressed the growth and development of centuries into a moment. He might even by possibility have constructed the stratifications of the earth’s crust with all their slips, elevations, depressions, unconformities, and organic formations in a day. And, lastly, He might have carried on to completion all the evolutions of universal nature that have since taken place or will hereafter take place until the last hour has struck on the clock of time. But what then? What purpose would have been served by all this speed? It is obvious that the above and such like questions are not wisely put. The very nature of the eternal shows the futility of such speculations. Is the commodity of time so scarce with him that he must or should for any good reason sum up the course of a universe of things in an infinitesimal portion of its duration? May we not, rather, must we not, soberly conclude that there is a due proportion between the action and the time of the action, the creation to be developed and the time of development. Both the beginning and the process of this latest creation are to a nicety adjusted to the preexistent and concurrent state of things. And the development of what is created not only displays a mutual harmony and exact coincidence in the progress of all its other parts, but is at the same time finely adapted to the constitution of man, and the natural, safe, and healthy ratio of his physical and metaphysical movements.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain THIRD DAY. (Gen 1:9-13)
THIRD DAY. (Gen 1:9-13)
let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place--The world was to be rendered a terraqueous globe, and this was effected by a volcanic convulsion on its surface, the upheaving of some parts, the sinking of others, and the formation of vast hollows, into which the waters impetuously rushed, as is graphically described (Psa 104:6-9) [HITCHCOCK]. Thus a large part of the earth was left "dry land," and thus were formed oceans, seas, lakes, and rivers which, though each having its own bed, or channel, are all connected with the sea (Job 38:10; Ecc 1:7).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain THIRD DAY — LAND, SEAS, AND VEGETATION, Gen_1:9-13.
THIRD DAY — LAND, SEAS, AND VEGETATION, Gen_1:9-13.
9. Let the waters… be gathered… the dry land appear — The import of these words is, that the land was partially, if not wholly, hidden by the waters; thus further explaining the statement of Gen_1:2, that it was desolate and empty, and made so by the dark overflowing deep. Now, by the divine fiat, the land is supernaturally elevated above “the face of the deep,” and the waters are made to flow off together into surrounding seas. How large a portion of land was thus made to appear is nowhere intimated. A very natural supposition is, that a large island was suddenly heaved up in the midst of the deep. And this was “the land” of the antediluvian world. On this land, thus raised in the midst of the seas, the garden of Eden was planted, and here man was first introduced. This miraculous elevation of the land from the waters we understand to be the true conception of 2Pe_3:5, which, literally and accurately translated, is, “For it is hidden from them who will it, that the heavens were from of old, and the land (γη) from water and by means of water, consisting by the word of God.” Thus Fronmuller, in loc.: “The earth originated out of water — out of the dark matter in which it was comprehended — and through water, that is, through the agency of water, which partly descended into the lower parts of the earth and partly formed the clouds in the sky.” But all was effected by God’s word.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 9–13. The Third Day—Two Creative Acts. (1) The Separation…
9–13. The Third Day—Two Creative Acts. (1) The Separation of Sea and Earth (Gen_1:9-10). (2) The Creation of the Vegetable World (Gen_1:11-13)
9. Let the waters … appear] In this verse the dry land is rendered visible by the removal of the waters, that were under the Heaven, into their special place. The account reads as if the Earth had existed previously, but had been submerged in the water. It is not stated that God made the earth at this juncture; but only that He now caused it to become visible. The description of the formation of the earth, like other details of the old Hebrew cosmogony, has been omitted either for the sake of brevity, or in order to free the account from materials which were out of harmony with its general religious teaching.
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unto one place] According to the Hebrew conception the Earth was supposed to have a flat surface, surrounded on all sides by the ocean; while the ocean was connected by subterranean channels with vast reservoirs of water that lay under the earth and fed the springs and rivers. Cf. Psa_24:2, “for he hath founded it (the world) upon the seas, and established it upon the floods”; Psa_139:9, “if I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea.” In the story of the Flood we read that “all the fountains of the great deep” (Gen_7:11 P) were broken up.
Instead of “place,” the LXX reads “gathering,” συναγωγήν, the word which is reproduced in the familiar term “synagogue.” It has been suggested that this may very possibly represent the original reading; and that, at any rate, the less usual word מִקְוֶה, miqveh = “gathering,” was more likely to be altered in transcription into the common word מָקוֹם, maqom = “place,” than vice versa. On the other hand, the word מִקְוֶה, miqveh, occurs in the following verse (Gen_1:10), “the gathering together of the waters” (τὰ συστέματα τῶν ὑδάτων), in a slightly different sense, and a copyist may have introduced the word here by accident and given rise to the LXX rendering.
the dry land] That is, the surface, or crust, as it would now be called, of the earth, consisting of soil, sand, and rock. Christian tradition, until the beginning of the 19th or the end of the 18th century, was satisfied that the Hebrew narrative, attributing the origin of the earth’s crust to the work of a single day, adequately met the requirements of terrestrial phenomena, and did justice to the conception of Divine omnipotence. The rise of the science of Geology, in the last century and a half, has totally transformed educated opinion. It is recognized that the Hebrew cosmogony is devoid of scientific value (see p. 4). Geologists are agreed that the cooling process, by which the surface of the glowing and molten body of our planet came to be sufficiently solidified to support the weight of vast seas, must have extended over long ages to be reckoned by millions and millions of years. The subsequent geological ages, Palaeozoic, Mesozoic, Cainozoic, and Quaternary, which account for the gradual formation of the rocks as we know them, have been demonstrated to have covered a similarly stupendous length of time. The thicknesses of the successive geological strata furnish the means of estimating the relative durations of the periods. The infinite tracts of time and space, which modern science has in an increasing degree revealed to be in relation to one supreme and all embracing harmony, testify to the omnipotence of the Divine Will and Wisdom even more impressively than did the brief and intermittent acts of Creative Power, which in the legends of the ancient world accounted for the origin of earth and sea and stars.
The LXX adds at the end of the verse, “And the water that was under the heaven was gathered together into their gatherings (συναγωγὰς αὐτῶν), and the dry land appeared,” which looks like a gloss. But αὐτῶν implies a Heb. original (i.e. the plural form הַמַּיִם, “the waters,” not the sing. τὸ ὕδωρ).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (9) Let the waters be gathered together.—The verb, as…
(9) Let the waters be gathered together.—The verb, as Gesenius shows, refers rather to the condensation of water, which, as we have seen, was impossible till the surface of the earth was made cool by the radiation of heat into the open expanse around it.
Unto one place.—The ocean bed. We must add the vast depth of the ocean to the height of the mountains before we can rightly estimate the intensity of the forces at work on the third day. Vast, too, as the surface of the ocean may appear compared with the dry land, it is evidently only just sufficient to supply the rain necessary for vegetation. Were it less, either the laws of evaporation must be altered, with painful and injurious effects, or much of the earth’s surface would be barren.
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Let the dry land appear.—Simple as this might appear, it yet required special provision on the part of the Creator; for otherwise the various materials of the earth would have arranged themselves in concentric strata, according to their density, and upon them the water would have reposed evenly, and above it the air. But geologists tell us that these strata have been broken up and distorted from below by volcanic agencies, while the surface has been furrowed and worn by the denuding power of water. This was the third day’s work. By the cooling of the crust of the earth the vast mass of waters, which now covers two-thirds of its surface, and which hitherto had existed only as vapour, began to condense, and pour down upon the earth as rain. Meanwhile the earth parted with its internal heat but slowly, and thus, while its crust grew stiff, there was within a mass of molten fluid. As this would be acted upon by the gravity of the sun and moon, in just the same way as the ocean is now, this inner tidal wave would rupture the thin crust above, generally in lines trending from northeast to south-west. Hence mountain ranges and deep sea beds, modified by many changes since, but all having the same final object of providing dry land for man’s abode.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Day three. The distribution of land and water and…
CHAPTER 1:9-13
Day three. The distribution of land and water and the production of vegetation on this day engaged the formative energy of the word of Elohim. And God said, Let the waters under heaven be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear. To explain the second part of this phenomenon as a consequence of the first, the disclosure of the solid ground by the retirement of the waters from its surface, and not rather vice versa, is to reverse the ordinary processes of nature. Modern analogy suggests that the breaking up of the hitherto universal ocean into seas, lakes, and rivers was effected by the upheaval of the land through the action of subterranean fires, or the subsidence of the earth"s crust in consequence of the cooling and shrinking of the interior Psa_104:7 hints at electric agency in connection with the elevation of the mountains and the sinking of the ocean beds. At thy rebuke they (the waters) fled: at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away (were scattered). The mountains rose, the valleys sank (ajnabainousin orh kainousi pedia LXX; ascendunt montes, et descendunt campi Jerome) to the place which thou hadst established for them" (Perowne). The gathering of the waters into one place implies no more than that they were, kern this day forward, to be collected into one vast body, and restrained within bounds in a place by themselves, so as to admit of the exposure of the earth"s soil. The "place founded for them" was, of course, the depths and hollows in the earth"s crust, into which they were immediately withdrawn, not through direct supernatural agency, but by their own natural gravitation. The configuration of the dry land is not described; but there is reason to believe that the original distribution of land and water was the same, or nearly the same, as it is at present. Physical geographers have observed that the coast lines of the great continents and the mountain ranges generally run from north-east to southwest, and that these lines are in reality parts of great circles, tangent to the polar circle, and at right angles to a line drawn from the suns center to the moon"s, when these bodies are either in conjunction or in opposition. These circles, it has further been remarked, are "the lines on which the thin crust of a cooling globe would be most likely to be ruptured by its internal tidal wave." Hence, though considerably modified by the mighty revolutions through which at successive periods the earth has passed, "these, with certain subordinate lines of fracture, have determined the forms of continents from the beginning" (Dawson, "O.W.," p. 184; of. "Green"s Geology," p. 512). And it was so. Though the separation of the dry land from the waters and the distribution of both were effected by Divine agency, nothing in the Mosaic narrative obliges us to think that these works were instantaneously completed. "There is truly no difficulty in supposing that the formation of the hills kept on through the succeeding creative days" (Lange). "Generally the works of the single creative days consist only in laying foundations; the birth process that is introduced in each extends its efficacy be, yond it" (Delitzsch). "Not how long, but how many times, God created is the thing intended to be set forth" by the creative days (Hoffman). Scripture habitually represents the world in an aspect at once natural and supernatural, speaking of it as natura and creatura, fusiv and ktisiv (cf. Marten, sen"s "Dogmatics," and although the latter is the view exhibited with greatest prominence, indeed exclusively, in the Mosaic cosmogony, vet the frowner is not thereby denied, Not immediateness, but certainty of execution, is implied in the "it was so" appended to the creative fiat.
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HOMILETICS.
Vers. 9-12.
Sea, land, and vegetation, contrasted and compared.
I CONTRASTED, in respect of
1. Their constitutions; sea being matter liquid and mobile, land matter solid and dry, vegetation matter organized and living. All God"s creatures have their own peculiar natures and characteristic structures. Each one"s nature is that which makes it what it is. A change of constitutional characteristics would be equivalent to an alteration of being. The nature and structure of each are assigned it by God. Whence may be gathered
(1) that if all creatures are not the same, it is because God has so willed it;
(2) that God has so willed it, for this among other reasons, that he delights in variety;
(3) that no separate creature can be other than its individual nature will allow;
(4) that to wish to be different from what God has made us is to be guilty of a foolish as well as sinful discontent; and
(5) that a creature"s highest function is to act in accordance with its God-assigned nature.
2. Their situations; which were all different, yet all adapted to their respective natures and uses, and all wisely appointed. The waters were gathered into the earth"s hollows, the lands raised above the ocean"s surface, the plants spread upon the ground. It is the nature of water to seek the lowest levels; and, collected into ocean, lake, and riverbeds, it is of infinitely greater value than it would have been had it continued to overspread the globe. Similarly, Submerged beneath the waters, neither could the land have been arrayed in verdure, or made a habitation for the beasts, much less a home for man; nor could the plant, have grown without a dry soil to root in, while their beauty would have been concealed and their utility destroyed. And then each one has the place assigned it by God, out of which it cannot move, and against which it need not fret. The place founded for the waters has received them, and God has set a bound to them that they cannot pass. The dry land still maintains its elevation above the sea; and, as if in obedience to the Divine Creator"s will, the waves are continually building up terraces and raised beaches in compensation for those they are taking down, Nor does it seem possible to shake off the vegetation from the soil. Scarcely has a square inch of ground been recovered from the waters, than it begins to deck itself in green. Let us learn here
(1) that every creature of God, man included, has its own place; which is
(2) best suited to its nature, functions, and roses on the earth; and
(3) assigned it by God. Also,
(4) that to vacate that place would be to run counter to God"s ordinance and to God"s wisdom, as well as to its own nature and usefulness; and
(5) that it becomes every one to abide in that sphere of life in which he has been placed by God contentedly, cheerfully and diligently seeking to glorify his Creator. Their operations; which are as diversified as are their natures and places. The sea moves, the land rests, the plant grows. The sea fertilizes and beautifies the soil, the soil sustains and nourishes the plant, the plant decorates the land and gives food to man and beast. The sea fills the clouds, the clouds fill the rivers and the streams, the rivers and the streams slake the thirst of the valleys, the valleys, yield their substance to the corn and the wine and the oil, and these again deliver up their treasures to their master man. The sea divides the land into continents, which, in turn, are broken up into countries by rivers; and thus nationalities are formed, and peace promoted by division. As the great highway of the nations, too, the sea helps to diffuse abroad the blessings of civilization, and to teach men their interdependence. So, likewise, the land has its specific functions in the economy of nature, being assigned to support, sustain, enrich, instruct, and comfort man. And different from both are the uses of the plants. All which is fitted to suggest wisdom.
(1) That each separate creature has its own separate work to do, for which it has been fitted with appropriate powers a lesson of diligence.
(2) That there are many different ways of serving God in this world a lesson of charity.
(3) That God does not wish all his creatures either to be or to serve alike-a lesson of contentment.
(4) That the best way to serve God is to be ourselves and use the powers we possess, without condescending to imitate our neighbors-a lesson of individuality.
(5) That though each separate creature has its own nature, place, and power, yet each is subservient to the other, and all to the whole-a lesson of co-operation.
II COMPARED, in respect of
1. Their natures, as being God"s creatures. Land, sea, and vegetation all owe their existence to his Almighty fiat, and all equally proclaim themselves to be his handiwork. Hence they are all God"s property the earth with its fullness, the sea with its treasures, the plants with their virtues. Consequently man should
(1) reverently worship him who made the sea and formed the dry land, and caused the grass to grow;
(2) thankfully receive those highly serviceable creatures at God"s hand; and,
(3) remembering whose they are and that himself is but a steward, faithfully employ them for their Creator"s glory.
1. Their characters, as being obedient to the Divine word. "Gathered be the seas," said the word, and the seas were gathered. "Let the dry land appear," and it appeared. "Let the grass grow." And the grass grew. Let the land, sea, and plants be our teachers. Obedience the first duty of a creature. Nothing can compensate for its want. (1Sa_15:22) And this obedience must be prompt, complete, and continual, like that of sea, land, and vegetation.
2. Their varieties. The seas were divided into oceans, lakes, rivers; the land into mountains, hills, and valleys the plants into grasses, herbs, and trees. God loves diversity in unity. As in a great house there are vessels of small quantity and vessels of large quantity, (Isa_22:24) so in the world are the creatures divided into more important and less. In society men are distributed into ranks and classes according to their greatness and ability; in the Church there are "babes" and there are "perfect men" in Christ; there are those possessed of many talents and much grace, and those whose endowments and acquirements are of smaller dimensions.
3. Their qualities, as being all good in their Creator"s estimation. The highest excellence of a creature is to be approved by its Maker, rot simply commended by its fellow-creature; to be good in the judgment of God, and not merely in the sight of men.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain The gathering together of the waters called He seas
Gen_1:9-10
The gathering together of the waters called He seas
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The sea and the dry land
I.
THE SEA. Let the waters . . . unto one place.
1. The method of their location. Perhaps by volcanic agency.
2. The degree of their proportion. If the sea were smaller, the earth would cease to be verdant and fruitful, as there would not be sufficient water to supply our rivers and streams, or to distil upon the fields. If the sea was larger, the earth would become a vast uninhabitable marsh, from the over abundance of rain. Hence, we see how needful it is that there should be a due proportion between the sea and dry land, and the wisdom and goodness of the Creator, in that it is established so exactly and beneficently.
3. The extent of their utility. They not only give fertility to the earth, but they answer a thousand social and commercial purposes.
II. THE DRY LAND.
1. The dry land was made to appear. The land had been created before, but it was covered with a vast expanse of water. Even when things are created, when they merely exist, the Divine call must educate them into the full exercise of their utility, and into the complete manifestation of their beauty. So it can remove the tide of passion from the soul, and make all that is good in human nature to appear.
2. It was made to be verdant. And let the earth bring forth grass. The plants now created are divided into three classes: grass, herb, and tree. In the first, the seed is not noticed, as not obvious to the eye. In the second, the seed is the striking characteristic. In the third, the fruit. This division is simple and natural.
3. It was made to be fruitful. And the fruit tree yielding fruit. The earth is not merely verdant and beautiful to look at, but it is also fruitful and good for the supply of human want. Nature appears friendly to man, that she may gain his confidence, invite his study, and minister to the removal of his poverty.
III. AND IT WAS GOOD.
1. For the life and health of man.
2. For the beauty of the universe.
3. For the commerce and produce of the nations. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
Various uses of the sea
1. Water is as indispensable to all life, whether vegetable or animal, as is the air itself. But this element of water is supplied entirely by the sea. All the waters that are in the rivers, the lakes, the fountains, the vapours, the dew, the rain, the snow, come alike out of the ocean. It is a common impression that it is the flow of the rivers that fills the sea. It is a mistake. It is the flow of the sea that fills the rivers.
2. A second use of the sea is to moderate the temperature of the world. A common method of warming houses in the winter is by the use of hot water. The water, being heated in the basement, is carried by iron pipes to the remotest parts of the building, where, parting with its warmth and becoming cooler and heavier, it flows back again to the boiler, to be heated anew, and so to pass round in the same circuit continuously. The advantage of this method is, that the heat can be carried to great distances, and in any direction.
3. A third important use of the sea is to be a perpetual source of health to the world. Without it there could be no drainage for the lands. The process of death and decay, which is continually going on in the animal and vegetable kingdoms, would soon make the whole surface of the earth one vast receptacle of corruption, whose stagnant mass would breathe a pestilence, sweeping away all the life of a continent. The winds would not purify it; for, having no place to deposit the burden, it would only accumulate in their hands, and filling their breath with its poisonous effluvia, it would make them swift ministers of death, carrying the sword of destruction into every part of the world at once.
4. It may be mentioned, as a fourth office of the sea, that it is set to furnish the great natural pathways of the world. Instead of a barrier, the sea is a road across the barrier. Hence the ocean has been the great educator of the world. The course of empire began on its shores, and has always kept within sight of its waters. No great nation has ever sprung up except on the seaside, or by the banks of those great navigable rivers which are themselves but an extension of the sea. Had it not been for the Mediterranean, the history of Egypt, of Phoenicia, of Greece and Rome and Carthage, would have been impossible.
5. A fifth office of the sea is to furnish an inexhaustible storehouse of power for the world. Of the three great departments of labour which occupy the material industry of the race,--agriculture, commerce, and manufactures,--we have seen how the first depends upon the ocean, the one for the rains which support all vegetable life, the other for the thousand paths on which its fleets are travelling. We now find that the third one also, though at first appearing not to have very intimate connection with the ocean, does in fact owe to it almost the whole of its efficiency. Ninety-nine hundredths of all the mechanical power now at work in the world is furnished by the water wheel and the steam engine.
6. A sixth office of the sea is to be a vast storehouse of life. The sea has a whole world of life in itself. It is said that the life in the sea far exceeds all that is out of it. There are more than twenty-five thousand distinct species of living beings that inhabit its waters. Incredible numbers of them are taken from the sea; in Norway, four hundred millions of a single species in a single season; in Sweden, seven hundred millions; and by other nations, numbers without number.
7. Omnipresent and everywhere is this need and blessing of the sea. It is felt as truly in the centre of the continent, where, it may be, the rude inhabitant never beard of the ocean, as it is on the circumference of the wave-beaten shore. He is surrounded, every moment, by the presence and bounty of the sea. It is the sea that looks out upon him from every violet in his garden bed; from the broad forehead of his cattle, and the rosy faces of his children; and from the cool-dropping well at his door. It is the sea that feeds him. It is the sea that clothes him, It is the sea that cools him with the summer cloud, and that warms him with the blazing fires in winter.
8. There is a sea within us which responds to the sea without. Deep calleth unto deep, and it is the answer and the yearning of these inward waves, in reply to that outward call, which makes our hearts to swell, our eyes to grow dim with tears, and our whole being to lift and vibrate with such strong emotion when we stand upon the shore and look out upon the deep, or sit in the stern of some noble ship and feel ourselves cradled on the pulsations of its mighty bosom. There is a life within us which calls to that sea without--a conscious destiny which only its magnitude and its motion can symbolize and utter. (Bib. Sacra.)
Genesis of the lands
I. EXPLANATION OF THE PASSAGE.
1. Panorama of emergent lands. A sublime spectacle it is--this resurrection of the terrestrial forms out of oceans baptismal sepulchre--this emergence of island, and continent, and mountain--this heaving into sight of Britain and Madagascar and Cuba and Greenland, of Asia and Africa and Australia and America, of Alps and Himalayas and Andes and Sierra Nevada; more thrilling still, of Ararat and Sinai and Pisgah and Carmel and Lebanon and Zion and Olivet.
2. Geologic confirmation. How could the geologist make out his magnificent geological calendar, if it were not for the successive layers of deposited or stratified rocks of the lands upheaved into view from the depths of old oceans sepulchre? And so, at this very point, the ancient seer and the modern sceptic agree; both say that the earth was formed out of water and by means of water (2Pe_3:5). But they differ as to the explanation. The ancient seer said, The secret of Nature is God. The modern sceptic says, The secret of Nature is Law. And yet both speak truly, for Truth is evermore unutterably large: God is the cause of Nature, and Law is Gods means.
3. Beneficence of the arrangement. God saw that it was good. And well might He delight in it. For a blessed thing this Divine distribution of lands and seas was.
II. MORAL MEANING OF THE STORY.
1. The birth of individuality.
2. The birth of duty. Each man is in himself a little world. The individualization of each man is not so much for the mans own sake as for the sake of all men. This, then, is the stirring thought of the hour: Individualization for the sake of mankind. Go forth then, brother, inspired with the majestic thought that you are a personal unit--a man among men--individualized from the mass of humanity for the sake of humanity andhumanitys King. Yes, happy the day, let me again say it, when God says to thee: Let the waters gather themselves to one place, and let the dry land appear. Thrice happy the day when thou obeyest, looking upward to the opening heavens and outward to the broadening horizon. (G. D.Boardman.)
The third day
Up to this point the unquiet element, which is naturally uppermost in the creature, has prevailed everywhere. Light has come, and shown the waste; a heaven is formed within it; but nothing fixed or firm has yet appeared. Just as in the saint there is first light, and a heaven too within, while as yet he is all instability, with nothing firm or settled. But now the firm earth rises. The state desired by Paul,--that we be no more tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine, but may grow up in all things into Him who is the Head, even Christ,--here begins to be accomplished. Now the will, long buried and overwhelmed with tossing lusts, rises above them to become very fruitful; and the soul, once lost in passions, emerges from the deep, like the earth which He hath founded forever. There is yet more for us to mark in this emerging earth. Not only does it escape the floods: it comes up also into the expanse of heaven. That creature, so long buried, now mounts up to meet the skies, as though aspiring to touch and become a part of heaven; while on its swelling bosom rest the sweet waters, the clouds, which embrace and kiss the hills. When the man by resurrection is freed from restless lusts; when he comes up from under the dominion of passions into a state of rest and peace; not only is he delivered from a load, but he also meets a purer world, an atmosphere of clear and high blessing; where even his hard rocks may be furrowed into channels for the rain; heaven almost touching earth, and earth heaven, Not without awful convulsions can such a change be wrought. The earth must heave before the waters are gathered into one place. (See Psa_104:7-8.) Many a soul shows rents and chasms like the steep mountains. Nevertheless, the mountains bring peace, and the little hills righteousness. And this is effected on the third or resurrection day; for in creation, as elsewhere, the third day always speaks of resurrection. Then the earth brings forth fruit. Fruitfulness, hitherto delayed, at once follows the bounding of the waters. For, being made free from sin, we have fruit unto righteousness, and the end everlasting life. The order of the produce is instructive; first the grass, then the herb, then the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind: as ever, the blade before the ear, the small before the great, from imperfection onwards to perfection. The first thing borne is grass, the common emblem of the flesh. Is it asked how the risen creature can bring forth fruits, which are, like the goodliness of the grass, of the flesh and carnal? Because for long the regenerate man is yet carnal, and his fruits are in the flesh, though with sincere desires for Gods glory. The development of Adam, as exhibited in the Word, not to say experience, gives proofs on proofs of this. The Corinthians, too, were carnal, though with many spiritual gifts. But after grass comes herb and tree, with seed and fruit; some to feed the hungry, some to cure the serpents bite; some hid in a veil of leaves, or bound in shapeless husks; some exposing their treasures, as the lovely vine and olive; the one to cheer mans heart, the other to give the oil to sustain the light for Gods candlestick. Such is the faithful soul, with many-coloured fruits, as the smell of a field which the Lord blesses. The form of the fruit may vary; its increase may be less or more--some thirty, some sixty, some an hundredfold; for the fruit of the Spirit may be love, or peace, or faith, or truth, or gentleness: but all to the praise of His grace, who bringeth forth fruit out of the earth, fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ. Nor let us forget,--whose seed is in itself, after his kind. Gods fruits all multiply themselves: this is their constitution. (A. Jukes.)
Distribution of sea and land
By means of this distribution the waters are ever in motion, which preserves them and almost everything else from stagnancy and putrefaction. That which the circulation of the blood is to the animal frame, that the waters are to the world: were they to stop, all would stagnate and die. See how careful our heavenly Father was to build us a habitation before He gave us a being. Nor is this the only instance of the kind: our Redeemer has acted on the same principle, in going before us to prepare a place for us. (A. Fuller.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain Gen_1:11. Kind] Prop. “form” or “shape,” hence “species,” “kind.”…
CRITICAL NOTES.—
Gen_1:11. Kind] Prop. “form” or “shape,” hence “species,” “kind.” Comp. 1Co_15:38, where note the aorist tense = “as it (originally) pleased him:”—a hint on “the perpetuity of species.”
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MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Gen_1:9-13
THE SEA AND THE DRY LAND
I. The Sea. “And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place.”
1. The method of their location. The great waters which covered the earth were swept into one place, and were environed by the decree and power of God, so that their wild waves would not advance further than the Divine permission. This allocation of the waters may have been instrumentally accomplished by volcanic agency. The land may have been broken up, and, amidst the general crash, the waters may have rushed to their destined home. When it is said that they were gathered into one place, it simply intimates the interdependence of seas and rivers, and also their unity as contrasted with the dry land.
2. The degree of their proportion. We must not imagine that the limit and proportion of the sea to dry land is arbitrary—that it is fixed by chance, but by the utmost exactitude. If the sea were more or less in extent it would be of great injury to the world. If it were smaller, the earth would cease to be verdant and fruitful, as there would not be sufficient water to supply our rivers and streams, or to distil upon the fields. If the sea was larger, the earth would become a vast uninhabitable marsh, from the over abundance of rain. Hence, we see how needful it is that there should be a due proportion between the sea and dry land, and the wisdom and goodness of the Creator, in that it is established so exactly and beneficently.
3. The extent of their utility. They not only give fertility to the earth, but they answer a thousand social and commercial purposes. The sea is the highway of the nations. It unites the world in the sympathy of common wants; in the hope of common friendships; and through travel on its waters, men gather a breadth of thought and life, that otherwise, would be impossible to them. The men who go down to the sea in ships, carry on the great business of the world. If they were to cease their occupation, society would receive a serious check. Many of the necessities of life—many of our home comforts are imported from foreign shores, and these we could ill afford to dispense with. Not only are our trade relationships sustained by the passage of vessels from shore to shore, but also our political. In this way, other people see our enterprise, and gather an idea of our national prowess. Especially have we, as a nation, cause to be thankful for the billows which surround our Island home, as our protection from the invasion of a foreign foe, and as our discipline in the event of war. True, the seas of the world are often strewn with wrecks, caused either by fire or storm; they are the resting place of a vast army of once living creatures; they separate loving hearts; but notwithstanding, in the present condition of society, they are far more the occasion of joy and help, than of sorrow or impediment. They make the nations brotherly. But the time is coming when there will be no more sea; its commerce will be ended, and men, living in one great home, will never hear the mutter of the storm, or the music of wave.
II. The dry land.
1. The dry land was made to appear. The land had been created before, but it was covered with a vast expanse of water. Now the waters are removed, the earth is unveiled, and dry land appears at the call of God. Even when things are created, when they merely exist, the Divine call must educate them into the full exercise of their utility, and into the complete manifestation of their beauty. The call of God gives harmony, adaptation, utility, perfection to all human being. It can command the sea into one place of repose. So it can remove the tide of passion from the soul, and make all that is good in human nature to appear.
2. It was made to be verdant. “And let the earth bring forth grass.” The plants now created are divided into three classes: grass, herb, and tree. In the first, the seed is not noticed, as not obvious to the eye. In the second, the seed is the striking characteristic. In the third, the fruit. This division is simple and natural. It proceeds upon two concurrent marks, the structure and the seed. This division corresponds with certain classes in our present systems of botany. But it is much less simple and complex. Thus was laid the beautiful carpet of green, that is now spread throughout the world, and that is so welcome to the eye of man. God ordered its colour, that it might be the most restful to human vision. When the eye is weak, we often place a green shade over it to obtain ease. Nature might have been clad in a garment gay and unwelcome to the vision of man, but not so, she is either white in the purity of snow, or green in the verdure of spring.—
“He makes the grass the hills adorn,
And clothes the smiling fields with corn.”
3. It was made to be fruitful. “And the fruit tree yielding fruit.” The earth is not merely verdant and beautiful to look at, but it is also fruitful and good for the supply of human want. It presents attractions to the eye. But even these are designed to win man, that they may satisfy his temporal need. Nature appears friendly to man, that she may gain his confidence, invite his study, and minister to the removal of his poverty.
III. And it was good.
1. For the life and health of man.
2. For the beauty of the universe.
3. For the commerce and produce of the nations.
VEGETATION
I. That it is the result of a combined instrumentality.
1. There was the Divine agency. It was the Power of God that gave seed and life to the earth. For it is very certain that the earth could not have produced grass, and herb, and tree of itself. But when empowered by the Divine mandate there would be no limit to its verdure and fertility.
2. There was the instrumentality of the earth. “And God said, let the earth bring forth grass, &c. So when called by God the most barren instrumentalities become life-giving and verdant. When the Divine Being is about to enrich men, he gives them the power to help themselves. The soil that is to be fruitful must aid the growth of its own seed.
II. It is germinal in the condition of its growth. “Seed.” Fertility never comes all at once. God does not give man blade of grass or tree in full growth, but the seeds from which they are to spring. Germs are a Divine gift. This is not only true in the physical universe, but the mental and the moral. God does not give man a great enterprise, but the first hint of it. He does not make men splendid preachers all at once, but gives only the germinal conditions of the same. Hence, He finds employment for the world. The cultivation of germs is the grandest employment in which men can be engaged.
III. It is fruitful in the purpose of its life. “Yielding fruit.”
1. Life must not always remain germinal. The seed must not alway remain seed. It must expand, develope. This must be the case mentally and morally. Life, when healthy and vigorous, is always progressive and fruitful. The world is full of men who have great thoughts and enterprises in the germ, but they never come to perfection. The fruit must be:—
1. Abundant.
2. Rich.
3. Beautiful.
4. Refreshing.
IV. It is distinctive in its species and development. “Fruit after his kind.” What will Mr. Darwin say to this? Is it not a refutation of his elaborate theory on the origin of species. The growth will always be of the same kind as the seed. There may be variation in the direction and expression of the germinal life, but its original species is unchanged. This is true in the garden of the soul. Every seed produces fruit after its kind.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Gen_1:9. We must learn to leave our private sphere of life to enhance the common good:—
1. Because all creatures are ordained, not for themselves, but for God’s honour, for their mutual support, and for the preservation of the community.
2. Because we enjoy nothing in our own exclusive right, but have all of God’s free gift.
3. Because the applying of ourselves to the furthering of a common good, is our greatest honour, profit and safety.
All creatures in the world obey the Voice of God:—
1. Why should that voice not command them, which made them.
2. Otherwise, it were impossible for God to do all things in righteousness.
3. Let us tremble at the Power of Him whom the winds and seas obey.
Let all men lay it to heart, and bless the Author of this great mercy, when they look upon the firm foundation of their houses, the fruits of the grounds, the increase of their cattle; when they enjoy the air to breathe in, the dry ground to walk on, and the seas to wade in. And let men walk in fear before that God who might as easily let loose the sea, as keep it within the bounds that He hath set [J. White].
The use of the sea:—
1. To fill the hearts of men with fear of that Great God, by beholding so vast a creature ordered by His power.
2. By observing that by it way is made to the discovering of the large circuit of the earth.
3. Beneficial to the life of man by enlarging his sphere of work and intercourse.
Gen_1:10. To God belongs the naming as the making of His creatures; the seas are the waters gathered into their due place. Good is this globe:—
1. Suitable unto God’s mind.
2. Suitable to His own idea of it.
3. Suitable for the residence of man. The beauty of the earth; the sublimity of the sea. The creatures of God’s making are good.
Gen_1:11. It is God’s word that makes the earth fruitful. Propagation of fruit, as well as the first being of it, is by God’s word; He makes the seed and enables it to multiply.
Gen_1:12. God will have nothing barren or unprofitable:—
1. Not the earth.
2. Not the herbs nor plants.
3. Not the beasts, fishes, fowls.
4. Not the sun, moon, nor stars, which cherish all things by their light.
5. Certainly not man. Why?
1. Because all things were made to be fruitful.
2. That they may testify to the overflowing bounty of God.
Even the grass, herbs, trees, are God’s creatures:—
1. Let us take notice of them as such.—
(1.) Their infinite variety.
(2.) Their beautiful shape.
(3.) Their marvellous growth.
(4.) Their life, which kings cannot give nor art imitate. God draws life out of death.
1. God can do it—He is the Life.
2. It is fit He should do it to His glory.
3. Let not the Church despair.
God provides for all his creatures, that though they decay daily, yet they shall not wholly perish:—
1. To shew His own unchangeable continuance by the mutability of His creatures.
2. To quicken us into a desire for heaven, where all things are constant and durable.
3. To shew, in the variety of His works, His eternal wisdom.
The teaching of the plants—
1. To have a life full of good seed.
2. To let the goodness of our moral nature come to maturity.
3. To care for our posterity.
4. To aid the life and enjoyment of others.
Fruit resembles the nature of the stock from which it comes—
1. Therefore let good men shew forth the renewing of their nature by the works of the spirit.
2. Abhor all hypocrisy.
Gen_1:13. The evening—
1. A time for thought.
2. A time for prayer.
3. A time for fear.
4. An emblem of life.
The morning—
1. A time for praise.
2. A time for hope.
3. A time for resolution.
4. A time for work.
SUGGESTIVE ILLUSTRATIONS
Land and Water! Gen_1:10. The actual distribution of sea and land over the surface of the globe is of the highest importance to the present condition of organic life. As Hartwig asserts, if the ocean were considerably smaller, or if Asia and America were concentrated within the tropics, the tides—the oceanic currents—and the meteorological phenomena, on which the existence of the vegetable and animal kingdoms depend, would be so profoundly modified, that it is extremely doubtful whether man could have existed. It is absolutely certain that he could never have risen to a high degree of civilization. But now nations, by means of commerce and missionary enterprise, are holding communion with nations and mutually enriching each other by the stores of knowledge, experience, and religious education which they have each accumulated apart. Christianity is rapidly melting the separate nationalities into one; but the fusion of these discordant elements into one glorious harmony—pure as sunlight—inspiring as a strain of music—will never be accomplished until the Son of God shall come in the clouds of heaven to set His throne upon the borders of the sea of glass mingled with fire—
“And on that joyous shore
Our lightened hearts shall know
The life of long ago;
The sorrow-burdened past shall fade for evermore.”
Flowers! Gen_1:11. A pleasant writer tells of a Texas gentleman who had the misfortune to be an unbeliever. One day he was walking in the woods reading the writings of Plato. He came to where the great writer uses the great phrase, “Geometrizing.” He thought to himself, “If I could only see plan and order in God’s works, I could be a believer.” Just then he saw a little “Texas star” at his feet. He picked it up, and thoughtlessly began to count its petals. He found there were five. He counted the stamens, and there were five of them, He counted the divisions at the base of the flower, and there were five of them. He then set about multiplying these three fives to see how many chances there were of a flower being brought into existence without the aid of mind, and having in it these three fives. The chances against it were one hundred and twenty-five to one. He thought that was very strange. He examined another flower, and found it the same. He multiplied one hundred and twenty-five by itself to see how many chances there were against there being two flowers, each having these exact relations of numbers. He found the chances against it were thirteen thousand six hundred and twenty-five to one. But all around him there were multitudes of these little flowers; they had been growing and blooming there for years. Now, he thought, this shows the order of intelligence; the mind that has ordained it is GOD. And so he shut up his book, and picked up the little flower, and kissed it, and exclaimed, “Bloom on, little flowers; sing on, little birds; you have a God, and I have a God; the God that made these little flowers made me.”
Your voiceless lips, O flowers, are living preachers;
Each cup a pulpit—every leaf a book.”—Longfellow.
Flowers! Gen_1:12. Nothing can equal the immense variety of flowers—their charming colours—or their delicious fragrance. Without the flowers, the variety of perfumes which regale our sense of smell would be but small; without them its faculties of enjoyment would not have harmonized with the outer world. Those who have studied most about flowers reckon that there are about 80,000 different kinds already known. An English gentleman, who was travelling in Persia lately, says that on one occasion he was invited into the garden to breakfast, where the flowers were so numerous that a great pile of rose-leaves was heaped up for a table before each guest. A carpet was laid over each pile. Cleopatra, the beautiful but profligate queen of Egypt, made a very poor use of the flowers which God in His goodness has caused to grow for our pleasure, when she wanted to give a splendid feast to Antony, the great Roman general, she procured roses enough to cover the floor of the large dining hall three feet thick all over; mats were then spread over the floor, and the guests sat down to feast. This was a pitiful return to Him who has
“Mantled the green earth with flowers,
Linking our hearts to nature!”—Hemans.
Nature! Gen_1:12. When we see a cottage with honeysuckle and roses twined round its porch, and bright flowers trained in its windows and growing in its little garden plot in front, it is a sign to us, says one, that the evils of poverty are unknown in that home—that the inmates are raised above the fear of want—and that, having the necessary food and raiment provided for them, the head of the home is at leisure and liberty to devote his care to the simple pleasures of natural life. And so, when we see in this great house—this earth of ours—bright flowers growing in every window and doorway, and associated with all the uses of domestic economy, we cannot but regard the circumstance as a proof that the great Householder attends both to the lower and to the higher wants of His family. In other words, if God has provided the superfluities of nature—i.e., flowers—it is a pledge and guarantee that He will provide the things which are necessary—that, in fact, food and raiment shall not be wanting.
“Heart, that cannot, for cares that press,
Sing with the bird, or thy Maker bless”
As the flowers may, blooming sweet,
With never an eye but God’s to greet
Their beauty and freshness, learn to trust!
Lift thy thought from the earthy dust!
Flower-lessons! Gen_1:13. An old woman lived in a cottage, and had long been confined to her bed with sickness. Near her lived a little girl, whose mother was very poor, and had little to give to her stricken neighbour. The maiden had a geranium which some one had given to her. It grew in a flower-pot in the window; and when it bore flowers, both mother and daughter found sweet pleasure in watching their bloom developing. The little girl plucked the nicest of these blossoms, and carried it to the sick woman, who was lying in her bed, suffering great pain. In the afternoon a lady called, and observed the beautiful geranium flower in an old broken tumbler on a little stand by the old woman’s bed. “That flower makes me think what a wonderful God we have; and if a flower like this is not too little for Him to make and take care of, I am sure He will not forget a poor creature like me.” During the great Manchester cotton-famine some years ago there was much distress, and many were in a state of starvation. Among them was an aged couple, who sold everything that could be turned into bread. They could not, however, sell a beautiful flower which they had in a flower-pot; so that they lived in an empty room, with only this gem of nature. “That flower has been such a comfort to us in all our trouble; for when we look at it morning after morning, it seems to preach to us all the time, and to tell us of trust in God.” Yes, God sent them
“To comfort man—to whisper hope,
Where’er his faith is dim;
For He who careth for the flowers,
Will care much more for him”—Howitt.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain The Creation of the Dry Land, Herbs, and Trees
The Creation of the Dry Land, Herbs, and Trees
v. 9. And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear; and it was so. God here finished His creative work on inanimate matter, when His almighty command bade the waters from below the heavens, below the firmament which He had constructed, be gathered together into a single place, by themselves. In chaos the mixture of solids and liquids had been so complete as to preclude the designation "dry land. " But now both the solids and the liquids were to be separated, so that dry land, as we know it, was visible.
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v. 10. And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas. And God saw that it was good. There had been no chemical compound, but a mere mixture of solid and liquid particles in the mass composing chaos. The division took place at God’s almighty command, and the dry land was henceforth known as earth, while the places on the earth’s surface where the waters had come together into large masses were called seas or oceans. And again God saw that the product of His almighty power was good, that it exactly served the purpose for which it was intended.
v. 11. and God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit-tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth. And it was so. The dry land having emerged from the waters, it was now possible, by God’s command, for the earth to be clothed with vegetation, with green, tender grass, with small plants bearing seeds, and with trees of all kinds that bear fruit. As the Lord gave to the earth the power to bring forth the plants, so He placed into the plants the power to propagate their kind by bearing seed and fruit.
v. 12. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind. And God saw that it was good. The mature plants were thus brought into being by the word of God’s power, fully able to reproduce their kind and species by means of seed and fruit. It was not a gradual generation, as under the present laws of nature, but the fully developed specimens were brought forth by the earth as God’s creative work, altogether fit to take their place in the universe. This ended the work of the third day.
v. 13. And the evening and the morning were the third day.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Let the waters ... be gathered
Let the waters ... be gathered
This can be translated with an active verb. This is a command. By commanding that the waters gather together, God made them gather together. AT: "Let the waters ... gather" or "Let the waters ... come together" (See: Active or Passive and Imperatives - Other Uses)
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let the dry land appear
The water had covered the land. Now the water would move aside and some of the land would be uncovered. This is a command. By commanding that dry land should appear, God made it appear. AT: "let dry land become visible" or "let the dry land become clear" or "let the land be uncovered" (See: Imperatives - Other Uses)
dry land
This refers to land that is not covered with water. It does not refer to land that is too dry for farming.
It was so
"It happened like that" or "That is what happened." What God commanded happened just as he said it should. This phrase appears throughout the chapter and has the same meaning wherever it appears. See how you translated it in Genesis 1:7.
the dry land "earth," and
"the part that was dry 'earth,' and"
He saw that it was good
Here "it" refers to the land and the sea. See how you translated this in Genesis 1:4.
translationWords
God
good
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 1:9-10 Let the waters . . . flow together:…
1:9-10 Let the waters . . . flow together: Other ancient cultures viewed the sea as a hostile force. Genesis shows God as further restraining chaos (see study note on 1:2) by prescribing specific boundaries for the sea. The flood—an act of God’s judgment (6:7)—undid these boundaries and returned the earth to chaos (7:1-24).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.