New International Version
Genesis 7:2
2Take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and one pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate,
Genesis 7:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and his mate, and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and his mate,
- New King James Version (NKJV)You shall take with you seven each of every clean animal, a male and his female; two each of animals that are unclean, a male and his female;
- New Living Translation (NLT)Take with you seven pairs—male and female—of each animal I have approved for eating and for sacrifice, and take one pair of each of the others.
Context of Genesis 7:2
1The Lord then said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation. Take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and one pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate, 3and also seven pairs of every kind of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth. 4Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made.”
Read all of Genesis 7Genesis 7:2 word by word
מִכֹּ֣ל׀ הַבְּהֵמָ֣ה הַטְּהוֹרָ֗ה תִּֽקַּח־לְךָ֛ שִׁבְעָ֥ה שִׁבְעָ֖ה אִ֣ישׁ וְאִשְׁתּ֑וֹ וּמִן־הַבְּהֵמָ֡ה אֲ֠שֶׁר לֹ֣א טְהֹרָ֥ה הִ֛וא שְׁנַ֖יִם אִ֥ישׁ וְאִשְׁתּֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Of every cleanטָהוֹרţâhôr ţâhôr · pureH2889
- beastבְּהֵמָהbehêmâh · animalH929
- thou shalt takeלָקַחlâqach · to take: takeH3947
- to thee by sevensשֶׁ֫בַעsheba‛ shib‛âh · sevenH7651
- the maleאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
- and his femaleאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · woman: wifeH802
- not cleanהוּאhû' hîy' · he/she/itH1931
- by twoשְׁנַ֫יִםshenayim shettayim · twoH8147
Cross-references for Genesis 7:2
- Genesis 7:8Pairs of clean and unclean animals, of birds and of all creatures that move along the ground,
- Genesis 6:19You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you.
- Genesis 8:20Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it.
- Leviticus 11:1The Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
- Deuteronomy 14:1You are the children of the Lord your God. Do not cut yourselves or shave the front of your heads for the dead,
- Acts 10:11He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners.
- Leviticus 10:10so that you can distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean,
- Ezekiel 44:23They are to teach my people the difference between the holy and the common and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean.
Commentaries on Genesis 7:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2Of every clean beast - So we find the distinction between clean and unclean animals existed long before the Mosaic law. This distinction seems to have been originally designed to mark those animals which were proper for sacrifice and food, from those that were not. See Leviticus 11.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-9Verses 1-9 - The Ark Was Entered 2. טהור ṭâhôr “clean, fit for food or sacrifice.” 4. יקוּם yeqûm “standing thing; what grows up, whether animal or plant.” Compare קמה qāmâh “stalk, or standing corn.” Genesis 7:1-4 Here is found the command to enter the ark. The general direction in the preceding chapter was given many years ago, before the ark was commenced. Now, when it is completed, a more specific command is issued. “For thee have I seen…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2every kind of clean animal: There were animals meant to repopulate the earth. There were also these ceremonially clean animals for food and for Noah's sacrifice after the flood (8:20–21). This passage does not use the specific terms found in the rules about ceremonially clean and unclean animals given to Israel at Mount Sinai (see Leviticus 11; Deuteronomy 14:3–12). But the basic idea is the same. It could be that God explained it directly to Noah.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2-32-3. Of every clean beast ... fowls--Pairs of every species of animals, except the tenants of the deep, were to be taken for the preservation of their respective kinds. This was the general rule of admission, only with regard to those animals which are styled "clean," three pairs were to be taken, whether of beasts or birds; and the reason was that their rapid multiplication was a matter of the highest importance, when the earth should be renovated, for…Read the comment
Topics related to Genesis 7:2
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Genesis 7
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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