Gen 1:20-26 | TNotes

1:21 ^a Contrary to the pagan idea that the great sea creatures were co-eternal with God, Genesis states that God created them and is sovereign over them. The Hebrew word tanninim (“creatures”) elsewhere refers to crocodiles (Ezek 29:3 ^b), powerful monsters (Jer 51:34 ^c), or the sea creature Leviathan (Isa 27:1 ^d; cp. Job 41:1-34 ^e).
1:22 ^f God blessed them: God’s blessing commissions and enables the fulfillment of what God has spoken (see thematic note for Blessing at end of chapter).

• 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.
1:26 ^g Let us make is more personal than the remote “Let there be” (e.g., 1:3 ^h, 6 ⁱ).

• The plural us has inspired several explanations: (1) the Trinity; (2) the plural to denote majesty; (3) a plural to show deliberation with the self; and (4) God speaking with his heavenly court of angels. The concept of the Trinity—one true God who exists eternally in three distinct persons—was revealed at a later stage in redemptive history, making it unlikely that the human author intended that here. Hebrew scholars generally dismiss the plural of majesty view because the grammar does not clearly support it (the plural of majesty has not been demonstrated to be communicated purely through a plural verb). The plural of self-deliberation also lacks evidence; the only clear examples refer to Israel as a corporate unity (e.g., 2 Sam 24:14 ^j). God’s speaking to the heavenly court, however, is well-attested in the Old Testament (see Gen 3:22 ^k; 11:7 ^l; 1 Kgs 22:19-22 ^m; Job 1:6-12 ⁿ; 2:1-6 ^o; 38:7 ^p; Ps 89:5-6 ^q; Isa 6:1-8 ^r; Dan 10:12-13 ^s).

• The descriptors in our image and like us are virtually synonymous in Hebrew. Humans enjoy a unique relationship with God.

• They will reign: Humans represent the Creator as his ambassadors, vice-regents, and administrators on earth.