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.

9287. 'You shall keep the feast of unleavened bread' means worship and thanksgiving on account of purification from falsities. This is clear from the meaning of 'the feast' as worship of the Lord and thanksgiving on account of deliverance from damnation, dealt with immediately above in 9286; and from the meaning of 'unleavened bread' as purification from falsities, for 'yeast' means falsity, 7906, 8051, so that what has been made without yeast or is 'unleavened' means good purified from falsities, 2342, 8058. Regarding this feast, which was also called the Passover, see below in 9292, 9294.