Genesis 1:22

“And God blessed them, etc.] With a power to procreate their kind, and continue their species, as it is interpreted in the next clause; saying, be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas: and these creatures do multiply exceedingly, and vast quantities there are of them in the mighty waters, though the consumption of some sorts of them is very great. Our English word “fish” is derived from the Hebrew word çwp, “fush”, which signifies to multiply and increase: and let fowl multiply in the earth; as they did, and continue to do to this day.”

“- 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…”

“1:22 God blessed them: God’s blessing commissions and enables the fulfillment of what God has spoken (see “Blessing” Theme Note). • Let the fish . . . let the birds: These directives define the blessing. The fish and birds are fertile by God’s command, not by pagan ritual, as some of Israel’s neighbors thought.”

“Gen 1:28, Gen 8:17, Gen 9:1, Gen 30:27, Gen 30:30, Gen 35:11; Lev 26:9; Job 40:15, Job 42:12; Psa 107:31, Psa 107:38; Psa 128:3, Psa 144:13, Psa 144:14; Pro 10:22 Genesis 1:24”