New Living Translation
Genesis 7:2
2Take 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.
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.
- New International Version (NIV)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,
- 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;
Context of Genesis 7:2
1When everything was ready, the Lord said to Noah, “Go into the boat with all your family, for among all the people of the earth, I can see that you alone are righteous. 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. 3Also take seven pairs of every kind of bird. There must be a male and a female in each pair to ensure that all life will survive on the earth after the flood. 4Seven days from now I will make the rains pour down on the earth. And it will rain for forty days and forty nights, until I have wiped from the earth all the living things I have created.”
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 7:8With them were all the various kinds of animals—those approved for eating and for sacrifice and those that were not—along with all the birds and the small animals that scurry along the ground.
- Genesis 6:19Bring a pair of every kind of animal—a male and a female—into the boat with you to keep them alive during the flood.
- Genesis 8:20Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and there he sacrificed as burnt offerings the animals and birds that had been approved for that purpose.
- Leviticus 11:1Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
- Deuteronomy 14:1“Since you are the people of the Lord your God, never cut yourselves or shave the hair above your foreheads in mourning for the dead.
- Acts 10:11He saw the sky open, and something like a large sheet was let down by its four corners.
- Leviticus 10:10You must distinguish between what is sacred and what is common, between what is ceremonially unclean and what is clean.
- Ezekiel 44:23They will teach my people the difference between what is holy and what is common, what is ceremonially clean and unclean.
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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