Devine Scripture

Genesis 7:2

What does Genesis 7:2 mean?

A plain-English look at Genesis 7:2 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.

What Genesis 7:2 means

God provides specific instructions regarding the numbers of animals Noah is to bring into the ark. For clean beasts, seven pairs (fourteen in total) of each kind are to be taken, suggesting a provision not only for preservation but also for sacrifice and sustenance after the flood. Of unclean beasts, only one pair of each kind is specified for preservation. This distinction between clean and unclean animals, revealed here before the Mosaic Law, indicates an ancient understanding of ritual purity and sets a precedent for later biblical dietary and sacrificial laws.

Parallel translations

WEB

World English Bible · 2000

Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee seven and seven, the male and his female; and of the beasts that are not clean two, the male and his female:

KJV

King James Version · 1611

Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.

ASV

American Standard Version · 1901

Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee seven and seven, the male and his female; and of the beasts that are not clean two, the male and his female:

BBE

Bible in Basic English · 1949

Of every clean beast you will take seven males and seven females, and of the beasts which are not clean, two, the male and his female;

YLT

Young's Literal Translation · 1862

of all the clean beasts thou dost take to thee seven pairs, a male and its female; and of the beasts which are not clean two, a male and its female;

DRA

Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752

Of all clean beasts take seven and seven, the male and the female.

DBY

Darby Bible · 1890

Of all clean beasts thou shalt take to thee by sevens, a male and its female; but of the beasts that are not clean two, a male and its female.

Context

This verse elaborates on the animal selection, building upon the initial command for Noah and his family to enter the ark. It clarifies the precise quantities for different animal categories, which is vital detail for understanding the logistics of the ark. This specific instruction precedes the declaration of the seven-day waiting period, emphasizing the thoroughness of God's preparation before the flood's onset.

v.1And Jehovah said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.

v.2This passage

v.3of the birds also of the heavens, seven and seven, male and female, to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.

Cross references

Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

  • Genesis 8:20

    And Noah builded an altar unto Jehovah, and took of every clean beast, and of every clean bird, and offered burnt-offerings on the altar.

  • Genesis 6:19

    And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.

  • Ezekiel 44:23

    And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.

  • Genesis 7:8

    Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of birds, and of everything that creepeth upon the ground,

  • Leviticus 10:10

    and that ye may make a distinction between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean;

  • Acts 10:11

    and he beholdeth the heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending, as it were a great sheet, let down by four corners upon the earth:

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