day, is now replaced by land and sea in their present configuration. The expressions used: gathered together . . . appear—seem to imply that the earth already existed as a solid mass covered with water, as in Ps. 1045. 6; but Di. thinks the language not inconsistent with the idea of a muddy mixture of earth and water, as is most naturally suggested by v.2. Henceforth the only remains of the original chaos are the subterranean waters (commonly called Tĕhôm, but in Ps. 242 'sea' and 'streams'), and the circumfluent ocean on which the heaven rests (Jb. 2610, Ps. 1399, Pr. 827), of which, however, earthly seas are parts.
We.'s argument, that vv.6-10 are the account of a single work
(above, p. 9 f.), is partly anticipated by IEz., who points out that what
is here described is no true creation, but only a manifestation of what
was before hidden and a gathering of what was dispersed. On the
ground that earth and heaven were made on one day (24), he is driven
to take ויאמר as plup., and assign vv.9. 10 to the second day. Some
such idea may have dictated the omission of the formula of approval at
the close of the second day's work.
11-13. Fourth work: Creation of plants.—The
appearing of the earth is followed on the same day, not
inappropriately, by the origination of vegetable life. The
earth itself is conceived as endowed with productive power—a
recognition of the principle of development not to be
explained as a mere imparting of the power of annual
renewal (Di.); see to the contrary v.12 compared with v.24.—11.
Let the earth produce verdure] דֶּשֶׁא means 'fresh
young herbage,' and appears here to include all plants in
Gn. 4913, Dt. 3319, Ps. 463f. [where it is construed as sing.] 242 etc.) is
mostly poetic and late prose; it is probably not numerical, but pl. of
extension like מַיִם, שָׁמַיִם, and therefore to be rendered as sg.
11. תַּֽדְשֵׁא דֶּשֶׁא] lit. 'vegetate vegetation,' the noun being acc. cognate with the vb.—תַּֽ׳ is ἁπ.λεγ.; on the pointing with Metheg (Baer-De. p. 74) see Kön. i. § 42, 7. S (ܬܦ݁ܘܝ) must have read תוצא as v.12.—דֶּשֶׁא עֵשֶׂב] G (βοτάνην χόρτου) and V treat the words as in annexion, contrary to the accents and the usage of the terms. It is impossible to define them with scientific precision; and the twofold classification given above—herb and tree—is more or less precarious. It recurs, however, in Ex. 925 1012. 15 (all J), and the reasons for rejecting the other are, first,
