Genesis 8:17
in Genesis 8Bring out all the living creatures that are with you—birds, livestock, and everything that crawls upon the ground—so that they can spread out over the earth and be fruitful and multiply upon it.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee of all flesh, both birds, and cattle, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.
KJV
Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.
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This verse in Genesis 8
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThose whom he had brought in "one by one" in order to maintain chastity on the ark, he now brought out "two by two" so that they might "be fruitful and multiply in creation."
This site's exposition
Bring out all the living creatures
on Genesis 8:17-19
Be fruitful and multiply are the words spoken over the creatures on the fifth day at Genesis 1:22 and over man at 1:28, and God says them to Noah again at 9:1. The book starts the world over in the language it used to start it. Every creature comes out kind by kind. The blessing is handed to a family that watched the judgment fall.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Then all creation was cleansed as if of some blemish, removing all defilement caused in it by human wickedness. Its countenance was made resplendent; God then finally commanded the just man to disembark from the ark, freeing him from that awful prison with these words, "Then the Lord God said to Noah, 'Disembark, you and your sons, your wife and your sons' wives with you, as well as all flesh, from birds to cattle; take off with you every reptile that crawls upon the earth, and increase and multiply on the earth.' " Notice God's goodness, how in everything he encourages the good man. After ordering him to disembark from the ark along with his sons, his wife, his sons' wives and all the wild animals, then lest great discouragement should gradually overtake him by this further development and he become anxious at the thought that he would be on his own, dwelling alone in such a vast expanse of earth, with no one else existing, God first said, "Disembark from the ark, and take off everything with you," and then added, "Increase and multiply, and gain dominion over the earth." See how once again this good man receives that former blessing that Adam had received before the fall. The same words were as man heard when he was created: God blessed them in the words "increase and multiply, and gain dominion over the earth." So too this man now hears the words "increase and multiply on the earth." In other words, just as the former man became the beginning and root of all creatures before the deluge, so too this just man becomes a kind of leaven, beginning and root of everything after the deluge. From this point on, what is comprised in the makeup of human beings takes its beginning, and the whole of creation recovers its proper order, both the soil reawakening to productivity as well as everything else that had been created for the service of human beings.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee,....
Those that steadily adhere to God's word as their rule, and are guided by his grace as their principle, and take hints from his providence to assist them in their application of general directions to particular cases, may in faith see him guiding their motions in their march through this wilderness.
The words behind it
21 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כָּל־ | kol- | every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַחַיָּ֨ה | hachaiyah | <the> animal | H2416 → | 498 times |
| אֲשֶֽׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אִתְּךָ֜ | ʾitekha | [is] with you | H854 → | 929 times |
| מִכָּל־ | mikol | some of all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| בָּשָׂ֗ר | basar | flesh | H1320 → | 270 times |
| בָּע֧וֹף | baof | among the bird[s] | H5775 → | 71 times |
| וּבַבְּהֵמָ֛ה | uvabehemah | and among the livestock | H929 → | 190 times |
| וּבְכָל־ | uvekhol- | and among every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָרֶ֛מֶשׂ | haremes | <the> creeping thing | H7431 → | 17 times |
| הָרֹמֵ֥שׂ | haromes | which creeps | H7430 → | 17 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הָאָ֖רֶץ | haaretz | the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| הַיְצֵ֣א | haytze' | bring out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| אִתָּ֑ךְ | ʾitakh | with you | H854 → | 929 times |
| וְשָֽׁרְצ֣וּ | vesharetzu | and they will swarm | H8317 → | 14 times |
| בָאָ֔רֶץ | vaaretz | on the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| וּפָר֥וּ | ufaru | and they will be fruitful | H6509 → | 29 times |
| וְרָב֖וּ | veravu | and they will multiply | H7235 → | 227 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הָאָֽרֶץ׃ | haaretz | the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
כָּל־every
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הַחַיָּ֨ה<the> animal
hachaiyahH2416 →498 times
אֲשֶֽׁר־which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
אִתְּךָ֜[is] with you
ʾitekhaH854 →929 times
מִכָּל־some of all
mikolH3605 →5413 times
בָּשָׂ֗רflesh
basarH1320 →270 times
בָּע֧וֹףamong the bird[s]
baofH5775 →71 times
וּבַבְּהֵמָ֛הand among the livestock
uvabehemahH929 →190 times
וּבְכָל־and among every
uvekhol-H3605 →5413 times
הָרֶ֛מֶשׂ<the> creeping thing
haremesH7431 →17 times
הָרֹמֵ֥שׂwhich creeps
haromesH7430 →17 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הָאָ֖רֶץthe earth
haaretzH776 →2504 times
הַיְצֵ֣אbring out
haytze'H3318 →1067 times
אִתָּ֑ךְwith you
ʾitakhH854 →929 times
וְשָֽׁרְצ֣וּand they will swarm
vesharetzuH8317 →14 times
בָאָ֔רֶץon the earth
vaaretzH776 →2504 times
וּפָר֥וּand they will be fruitful
ufaruH6509 →29 times
וְרָב֖וּand they will multiply
veravuH7235 →227 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הָאָֽרֶץ׃the earth
haaretzH776 →2504 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 1:28God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature…
it leads to
- Genesis 9:1
And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 9:7
But as for you, be fruitful and multiply; spread out across the earth and multiply upon it.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 128:3–4
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine flourishing within your house, your sons like olive shoots sitting around your table.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Leviticus 26:9
I will turn toward you and make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will establish My covenant with you.
- Genesis 22:17–18
I will surely bless you, and I will multiply your descendants like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will possess the gates of their enemies.
- Genesis 9:1
Through
Genesis 9:1And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.
it leads to
- Genesis 1:28
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 1:28
Through
Psalms 107:38He blesses them, and they multiply greatly; He does not let their herds diminish.
it leads to
- Exodus 1:7
but the Israelites were fruitful and increased rapidly; they multiplied and became exceedingly numerous, so that the land was filled with them.
- Genesis 12:2
I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
- Exodus 1:7
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Genesis
This page draws on Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON GENESIS 6.12.2; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on Genesis; John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 26.16; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.