43. Verse 22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas; and let birds be multiplied upon the earth.

Everything that has life in it from the Lord is fruitful and multiplies without limit. This does not happen during a person's lifetime, but in the next life it does so to an astonishing extent. In the Word 'to be fruitful' has reference to matters of love, while 'to multiply' has reference to matters of faith. The fruit of love contains the seed by which it multiplies itself to so great an extent. The Lord' s blessing also means, in the Word, fruitfulness and multiplication, for they are the outcome of that blessing.

Verse 23 And there was evening, and there was morning, a fifth day.

Evening, a time when the light and heat are fading away, represents a state in which a person -- or a community of people -- is turning away from the Lord, with little desire left to be good and little knowledge left regarding what good is. Evening is often a time of judgment.

In Genesis 19:1, the evening signifies the visitation that comes before judgment. (Arcana Coelestia 2318)

In Genesis 30:16, this signifies the good or truth in a state of good, but in the obscurity that is characteristic of the natural. (Arcana Coelestia 3949)