The Darby Translation is the most accurate, word-for-word translation of these verses. First note that the word "creatures" is the Hebrew word, nephesh, (H5314), and it means soul. Genesis 1:20-23 (DBY), 20 And God said, Let the waters swarm with swarms of living souls, and let fowl fly above the earth in the expanse of the heavens. 21 And God created the great sea monsters, and every living soul that moves with which the waters swarm, after their kind, and every winged fowl after its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply on the earth. 23 And there was evening, and there was morning -- a fifth day."
In Genesis 2:7, God created Adam (Darby Translation), "And Jehovah Elohim formed Man, dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and Man became a living soul (nephesh)." In the Hebrew, all animals are souls.
Also in verse 21, the King James Version of the Bible reads "God created great whales." That's a poor translation. This is Strong's word, (H8565), tanniyn, and it means "a marine or land monster." The Hebrew word for "great" precedes tanniyn, so "great sea monsters" is a good translation. What were those creatures? Sea dinosaurs and winged dinosaurs.
Related Questions
August 18th 2014 | 39354 views What does it mean that we are wonderfully made? Does Satan have influence in the womb when a child is being created? Why are children born deformed and conjoined? (United States)
June 19th 2021 | 91228 views Were there other people outside of the Garden of Eden while Adam and Eve were in the garden?
August 30th 2017 | 44260 views Did God create Satan?
August 18th 2014 | 39898 views Did or didn't Satan fall in Genesis1:2 when "the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep"?
July 08th 2016 | 40829 views How can we reconcile Ecclesiastes 1:4, which says the earth “abides forever,” with scientific claims that the solar system is slowly running down and that the earth may one day become cold and lifeless?
July 30th 2014 | 39704 views Why didn't God just create many people in the garden of Eden since His original command was to be fruitful and multiply?
July 31st 2025 | 15015 views If man was created 6,000 years ago, why should we believe the earth is billions of years old? Is this what evolution teaches? If the dinosaurs died out before man Adam and Eve sinned, why would God call these early creative days “very good”? How does this harmonize with the Bible teaching that by one man death was brought on the earth and by one man death was conquered?
May 16th 2023 | 58303 views