Genesis 1:28

Hebrew Bible

26 Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, after our likeness, so they may rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move on the earth.” 27 God created humankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply! Fill the earth and subdue it! Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that moves on the ground.” 29 Then God said, “I now give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the entire earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the animals of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has living breath in it—I give every green plant for food.” It was so.

Exodus 1:7

Hebrew Bible

5 All the people who were directly descended from Jacob numbered 70. But Joseph was already in Egypt, 6 and in time Joseph and his brothers and all that generation died. 7 The Israelites, however, were fruitful, increased greatly, multiplied, and became extremely strong, so that the land was filled with them. 8 Then a new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to power over Egypt. 9 He said to his people, “Look at the Israelite people, more numerous and stronger than we are!

 Notes and References

"... These terms are all of course pointed verbal allusions to the Creation story, as is the final clause of the verse since the Hebrew for “land,” ʾarets, can also mean “earth.” Despite exile and impending slavery, the dynamic of the first creation is resumed by the Israelites in Egypt. In fact, the thematic grounds of the Patriarchal Tales have notably shifted: instead of the constantly perilous struggle for procreation of the patriarchs, the Hebrews now exhibit the teeming fecundity of the natural world. It is for this reason that the verb “swarm” (sharats), which in the Creation story is attached to creeping things, is assigned to the Israelites. The verbal root for becoming vast (King James Version, “mighty”) does not figure at the beginning of Genesis, but it is part of God’s covenantal promise — “For Abraham will surely be a great and mighty nation” (Genesis 18:18) ..."

Alter, Robert The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary (pp. 485-486) W. W. Norton & Company, 2018

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