Genesis 1:20

“And God said, let the waters bring forth abundantly, etc.] The waters gathered together in one place, the waters of the ocean, and those in rivers, pools and lakes, and which, before their collection into those places, had been sat on, moved, and impregnated by the Spirit of God; so that they could, as they did, by the divine order accompanied with his power, bring forth abundance of creatures, next mentioned: the moving creature that hath life: an animal life, of which sort of creatures as yet there had been none made; vegetables, or such as have a vegetative life, were made on the third day; but those that have a sensitive and animal life not till this day, the fifth; and the less perfect,…”

“FIFTH DAY. The signs of animal life appeared in the waters and in the air. (Gen 1:20-23) moving creature--all oviparous animals, both among the finny and the feathery tribes--remarkable for their rapid and prodigious increase. fowl--means every flying thing: The word rendered "whales," includes also sharks, crocodiles, &c.; so that from the countless shoals of small fish to the great sea monsters, from the tiny insect to the king of birds, the waters and the air were suddenly made to swarm with creatures formed to live and sport in their respective elements.”

“- VII. The Fifth Day 20. שׁרץ shārats, “crawl, teem, swarm, abound.” An intransitive verb, admitting, however, an objective noun of its own or a like signification. נפשׁ nephesh, “breath, soul, self.” This noun is derived from a root signifying to breathe. Its concrete meaning is, therefore, “that which breathes,” and consequently has a body, without which there can be no breathing; hence, “a breathing body,” and even a body that once had breath Numbers 6:6. As breath is the accompaniment and sign of life, it comes to denote “life,” and hence, a living body, “an animal.” And as life properly signifies animal life, and is therefore essentially connected with feeling, appetite, thought, נפשׁ…”

“Each day hitherto hath produced very excellent beings, but we do not read of the creation of any living creature till the fifth day. The work of creation not only proceeded gradually from one thing to another, but advanced gradually from that which was less excellent, to that which was more so. 'Twas on the fifth day that the fish and fowl were created, and both out of the waters. Observe, 1. The making of the fish and fowl at first. Gen 1:20-21 God commanded them to be produced, he said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly - The fish in the waters, and the fowl out of them. This command he himself executed, God created great whales, &c. - Insects which are as various as any species of…”

“Let the waters: Gen 1:22, Gen 2:19, Gen 8:17; Psa 104:24, Psa 104:25, Psa 148:10; Act 17:25 moving: or, creeping, Kg1 4:33 life: Heb. a living soul, Gen 1:30; Ecc 2:21 fowl that may fly: Heb. let fowl fly, This marginal reading is more conformable to the original, and reconciles this passage with Gen 2:19. The word fowl, from the Saxon fleon, to fly, exactly corresponds to the original, which denotes every thing that flies, whether bird or insect. open firmament: Heb. face of the firmament, Gen 1:7, Gen 1:14 Genesis 1:21”

“The Fifth Day. - "God said: Let the waters swarm with swarms, with living beings, and let birds fly above the earth in the face (the front, i.e., the side turned towards the earth) of the firmament." and are imperative. Earlier translators, on the contrary, have rendered the latter as a relative clause, after the πετεινα πετο μενα of the lxx, "and with birds that fly;" thus making the birds to spring out of the water, in opposition to Gen 2:19. Even with regard to the element out of which the water animals were created the text is silent; for the assertion that is to be understood "with a causative…”