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These verses document God’s creation, and classification of all land dwelling creatures.
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God likely places the instinct of mating in birds and sea creatures at this point in time.
This concludes the fifth day of creation.
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The “great creatures of the sea” is a reference to ALL the great creatures of the sea. Collectively with their deep, vast diversity.
Like this great creature of the sea:
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The phrase “let there be” may indicate less a creation than an unveiling; i.e., the removal of the dark clouds which originally covered the planet so that the stars appear for the first time on earth.
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The Hebrew word “dasha”, which is used in this verse, refers to plants that sprout from a seed until the seedling turns green. Based on this, it would appear as though God caused the plants to sprout, grow to maturity, and then produce seeds in order to spread across the planet.
This concludes the third day of creation.
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The phrase “let dry ground appear” as uttered by God, indicates that the land already existed, albeit underwater.
The formation of dry land on earth is further detailed in Psalm 104, which is often referred to as “the creation Psalm”:
“But at your rebuke the waters fled, at the sound of your thunder they took to flight; they flowed over the mountains, they went down into the valleys, to the place you assigned for them.”
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This verse is pretty cut-and-dried. The terms “day” and “night” come to be, and the earth experiences its first morning and evening.
This also concludes the first day of creation.
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Notice that nearly every verse in this chapter begins with a conjunction, which indicates that all of this is part of the continuing action. This verse, however, builds upon the previous one, which describes God allowing light to reach the surface of earth.
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While this verse does not explicitly state where the light originated from, it’s possible that the light came from the earth’s sun, whose creation most likely took place on day one
This also ties back to the second verse, and perhaps reinforces the image of dark clouds covering the earth, only to be removed at God’s command.
It’s also possible that the origin of the light is God himself, as He is also known as the “light of the world,” though that term may not hold a literal meaning when placed in context.
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The “waters” mentioned in this verse may not mean actual, physical water, but rather the nothingness and emptiness of earth at the time. In other words, a “deep,” an abyss.
It’s also possible that – if a particular verse in Job is to be taken literally – the earth was actually covered in dark clouds which prevented light from reaching the surface.
“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? …When I made a cloud its garment, And thick darkness its swaddling band” (Job 38:4-9)
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