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.

8666. 'And they came into the tent' means the holiness of union. This is clear from the meaning of 'the tent' as the holiness of love, dealt with in 414, 1102, 2145, 2152, 4128, and so the holiness of union, since love consists in union. Consequently 'coming into the tent' means being united by holy love. The subject in the present verse is the union of Divine Good with God's truth; and since all union is brought about by the flowing of the one into the other, which results in perception, then by a bringing towards and placing in contact of one with the other, and after that a joining together of them, the influx and resulting perception is described first, 8660, then the bringing of one towards the other, 8662, and also the placing one in contact with the other, 8663, after that the joining together, 8664, and finally the union through love.