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.

7110. 'And Pharaoh gave orders that day' means a strong desire to molest the Church's truths while in that state. This is clear from the meaning of 'giving orders' as a command, and since a command issued by the evil contains a strong desire to do what is evil - for that is the source of any command they issue - 'he gave orders' also means a strong desire; from the representation of 'Pharaoh' as those who molest the Church's truths, dealt with in 6651, 6679, 6683; and from the meaning of 'day' as state, dealt with in 23, 487, 488, 497, 893, 2788, 3462, 3785, 4850.