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וְעֹוף֙ יְעֹופֵ֣ף עַל־הָאָ֔רֶץ Flyers flying over the earth As with the swarm, the flock of "birds" is a large general category. The verb form, עוּף ( `uwf ), is used to designate flying. The root further points to the most common flyer, the birds, due to their using their wings to wrap, or cover, their young. The noun form is עוֹף (`owf), with the pointing of the vowel different. עַל־פְּנֵ֖י רְקִ֥יעַ הַשָּׁמָֽיִם The face of the firmament There has been much discussion on the nature of the firmament and its relationship with the heavens. As we saw on the second day, the firmament is called "heaven". However, many translate this simply as the air. This seems to be the sense of the birds. But what is the surface of the sky? Where does the air begin? These concepts are defined by the observer. The air that every living thing on earth and in the sky breathes begins at the surface of the earth. However, the surface of the heavens is to be viewed from below. ...

הַתַּנִּינִ֖ם הַגְּדֹלִ֑ים The great whales The verb bara , to create, is used a second time when animal life is bestowed upon creatures of the sea and air. The first mentioned is the תַּנִּין, tanniyn, an nonspecific designation for a fearsome creature sometimes called a "dragon". The creatures is said to be quite large. Their size alone would have demanded respect from all other animals in the sea. The contrast between the "monsters" and the "minnows", so to speak, is another merism. The act of creating was universal in scope. Twice in this verse the Hebrew word כָּל, kal, is used. Be they in the water or the air, every animal was especially designed for its niche in God's world.

לְאֹתֹת֙ וּלְמֹ֣ועֲדִ֔ים וּלְיָמִ֖ים וְשָׁנִֽים Signs, seasons, days and years Having made the earth habitable, God made the heavens useful. Aside from distinguishing day from night, the "clock" became a calendar. The word "signs" is the Hebrew אוֹת (ōth). As with the translation, the word indicates a signal. Signs identify the true state of things. The lights in the sky are used to confirm the message of the creator. A season (מוֹעֵד mo`ed) is an appointed place or time. Affixing the prefix "m" to the root verb יָעַד ( yâʻad) forms the noun. By watching the sky regular meetings and activities can be scheduled. The orbs and points of light also make it possible to observe special days. These include the first day of the month and year (Heb: שָׁנָה, shaneh). The year is marked when the sky returns to its original appearance. The word שָׁנָה is taken from the verb form shanah, the same root for the number two. The place of the earth among the heavenly ...

הַמַּ֨יִם֙ אֲשֶׁר֙ מִתַּ֣חַת The waters which were below The conjunction, or relative pronoun, אֲשֶׁר (asher) is that, which or who, depending of the context. It points to what is related to the subject at hand. The conditions involved were locations centered on earth, the planet. Of the multiple uses, here erets must mean the much smaller body that would become the home of mankind. On this day the sky grows as the earth shrinks. The water below (Heb:  מִתַּ֣חַת ) that covered a rocky world spinning at a rate close to what it would spin for the rest of its existence. Above the waters was an envelope of air with water vapor in the form of a fog. The place called "below" is based on the root תַּחַת (tachath) with abbreviation מִן (min), where the {n} is absorbed. The result is a "prefix", the mem, which often indicates place.

רָקִ֖יעַ בְּתֹ֣וךְ An expanse within Left to itself, the new "water universe" was a competitive community of electrons, nuclea and photons with gravity overpowering the other forces. If God had not spoken again, His work so far would have collapsed in on itself. But once God starts something, He doesn't stop. He speaks again, beginning another day of creation . This time, he calls on the majority of the universal waters to be spread out (Heb: רָקַע raqa` ). The noun form in the text is רָקִ֖יעַ (raqi`a), an expanding wall of water coming from deep within ( תָּוֶךְ tevek) the sphere . God proves to be several steps ahead of nature from the very beginning. As the water is agitated, perhaps by microwaves of compressed light, it rises through the mass toward the voice that called it.