Commentaries:
God is setting the stage in these verses to show that mankind, intoduced in verse 26, is different from what was previously created—in regard to the law that kind only reproduces after its own kind, as well as to origin.
Notice the earlier verses say, "Let the earth bring forth. . . ." Of course, cattle did not just spring out of the earth! God certainly created the animals, but "earth" is used as a reference to origin in terms of what is physical. That is, He is pointing to a physical origin for those beasts of the field and the inhabitants of the sea.
Verse 26, by contrast, does not contain any reference to the earth in regard to the origin of man, the source of man's life, or to kind-after-kind.
John W. Ritenbaugh
We Shall Be God! (Part 1)
These verses plainly say, without any interpretation, that God created fish to reproduce after their own particular kind, birds after their particular kind, and cattle after the cattle kind. Each kind may have many varieties within it, but all creatures reproduce only after their own "kind. " That is why dogs reproduce dogs, monkeys reproduce monkeys, sheep reproduce sheep, etc.
What It Means to Be Born Again
Verses 20-23 describe the creation of the first animals, the fish and other animals that live in the ocean, and birds that fly in the air. God creates land animals in verses 24-25. It is interesting that God does not specifically mention the creation of flying insects, fungi, bacteria, and many other living things. This is because the creation account is a very brief, condensed version of what happened. We know from many other scriptures (e.g., Exodus 20:11; John 1:3) that God is the Creator of everything that exists.
Earl L. Henn (1934-1997)
Genesis 1: Fact or Fiction?
Other commentary entries containing this verse:
Ecclesiastes 7:1-4
Acts 15:14-18
Library resources that contain this verse:
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