Genesis 1:10

10 And god called the drye lande the erth and the gatheringe togyther of waters called he the see. And God sawe that it was good

Genesis 1:10 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 1:10

And God called the dry land earth
The whole chaos, that was a turbid fluid, a mixture of earth and water, a rude unformed mass of matter, was called earth before; but now that part of the terraqueous globe, which was separated from the waters, and they from it, is called "earth": which has its name in the Arabic language from its being low and depressed; the lighter parts having been elevated, and moved upwards, and formed the atmosphere; the grosser parts subsiding and falling downwards, made the earth, which is low with respect to the firmament, which has its name in the same language from its height ^F6, as before observed.

And the gathering together of the waters called he seas;
for though there was but one place into which they were collected, and which is the main ocean, with which all other waters have a communication, and so are one; yet there are divers seas, as the Red sea, the Mediterranean, Caspian, Baltic or which are denominated from the shores they wash, as the German, British and even lakes and pools of water are called seas, as the sea of Galilee and Tiberias, which was no other than the lake of Gennesaret.

And God saw [that it was] good;
that these two should be separate, that the waters should be in one place, and the dry land appear, and both have the names he gave them: and this is here mentioned, because now the affair of the waters, the division aud separation of them, were brought to an end, and to perfection: but because this phrase is here used, and not at the mention of the second day, hence Picherellus, and some others, have thought, that this work is to be ascribed to the second day, and not to the third, and render the beginning of the ninth verse, and "God had said", or "after God had said, let the waters under the heaven" ( Genesis 1:9 )

---

FOOTNOTES:

F6 (Mymv) "a verbo", (hmv) "sublimis, elatus, altus fuit"; (Ura) "lingua Arabica, humilis, depressus fuit significat", Bottinger. Thesaur, Philolog. l. 1. c. 2. sect. 6. p. 234.

Genesis 1:10 In-Context

8 And God called the fyrmament heaven And so of the evenynge and morninge was made the seconde daye

9 And God sayd let the waters that are vnder heaven gather them selves vnto one place that the drye londe may appere: And it came so to passe.

10 And god called the drye lande the erth and the gatheringe togyther of waters called he the see. And God sawe that it was good

11 And God sayd: let the erth bringe forth herbe and grasse that sowe seed and frutefull trees that bere frute every one in his kynde havynge their seed in them selves vpon the erth. And it came so to passe:

12 ad the erth brought forth herbe and grasse sowenge seed every one in his kynde and trees berynge frute and havynge their seed in the selves every one in his kynde. And God sawe that it was good: