Genesis 1:9

9 And God said, Let the water which is under the heaven be collected into one^[a] place, and let the dry land appear, and it was so. And the water which was under the heaven was collected into its places,^[b] and the dry land appeared.

Genesis 1:9 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 1:9

And God said, let the waters under the heaven be
gathered together unto one place
Which are before called the waters under the firmament; and which were either on the surface of the earth, or in the bowels of it, or mixed with it, which by the compressure of the expanse or air were separated from it and these, by apertures and channels made, were caused to flow as by a straight line, as the word ^F5 used signifies, unto the decreed place that was broke up for them, the great hollow or channel which now contains the waters of the ocean: this was done by the word of the Lord, at his rebuke; and when it seems there was a clap thunder, and perhaps an earthquake, which made the vast cavity for the sea, as well as threw up the hills and mountains, and made the valleys; see ( Job 38:10 ) ( Psalms 104:6-8 ) ,

and let the dry land appear:
clear of the waters, dried by the expanded air, hardened by the fiery light, and as yet without any herb or tree upon it:

and it was so;
immediately done, the waters were drained off the earth, directed to their proper channels, and caused to run as by line to their appointed place; and the solid parts of the earth became dry, and appeared in sight.

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FOOTNOTES:

F5 (wwqy) "congregentur tanquam ad amussim et regulam", Fagius; "recto et equabili cursu contendant et collineant", Junius.

Genesis 1:9 In-Context

7 And God made the firmament, and God divided between the water which was under the firmament and the water which was above the firmament.

8 And God called the firmament Heaven, and God saw that it was good, and there was evening and there was morning, the second day.

9 And God said, Let the water which is under the heaven be collected into one place, and let the dry land appear, and it was so. And the water which was under the heaven was collected into its places, and the dry land appeared.

10 And God called the dry land Earth, and the gatherings of the waters he called Seas, and God saw that it was good.

11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the herb of grass bearing seed according to its kind and according to its likeness, and the fruit-tree bearing fruit whose seed is in it, according to its kind on the earth, and it was so.

Footnotes

• [a]. Gr. meeting
• [b]. Gr. their meetings