Genesis 7:3
in Genesis 7and seven pairs of every kind of bird of the air, male and female, to preserve their offspring on the face of all the earth.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
of the birds also of the heavens, seven and seven, male and female, to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.
KJV
Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.
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This verse in Genesis 7
Commentary
6 notes on this verseNow let us consider by what means Noah commanded the clean animals to enter the ark, seven and seven, male and female (Gen. VII, 2): but of the unclean animals, two and two, so that the seed may be nourished in all the earth. And as I think, he asserts that the clean week begins; because the world and the sacred seventh number are clean. For it is not mixed with any other, nor is it generated from another.
This site's exposition
Go into the ark, you and all your family
on Genesis 7:1-3
The LORD tells Noah to enter the ark. Clean and unclean animals are named here for the first time, long before Leviticus 11 sets the division down in law. The seven pairs of clean animals are what Noah will have to spare at the altar of Genesis 8:20.
This site's exposition
to preserve their offspring
The word the Berean gives as offspring is zera, seed, the word of the promise at 3:15. Birds go in by sevens along with the clean beasts. Ambrose read the loading as keeping seed alive for all the earth.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and his female,....
Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and his female,....
Thanks be to God, there are not herds of lions as there are of oxen, nor flocks of tigers as there are of sheep. (2.) Because the clean were for sacrifice to God; and therefore, in honour to him, more of them were preserved, three couple for breed, and the odd seventh for sacrifice, ch. viii.
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| גַּ֣ם | gam | also | H1571 → | 769 times |
| מֵע֧וֹף | meof | of [the] bird[s] of | H5775 → | 71 times |
| הַשָּׁמַ֛יִם | hashamayim | the heavens | H8064 → | 421 times |
| שִׁבְעָ֥ה | shivah | seven | H7651 → | 394 times |
| שִׁבְעָ֖ה | shivah | seven | H7651 → | 394 times |
| זָכָ֣ר | zakhar | male | H2145 → | 82 times |
| וּנְקֵבָ֑ה | unekevah | and female | H5347 → | 22 times |
| לְחַיּ֥וֹת | lechaiyot | to preserve alive | H2421 → | 282 times |
| זֶ֖רַע | zera' | offspring | H2233 → | 229 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| פְּנֵ֥י | penei | [the] surface of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| כָל־ | khol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָאָֽרֶץ׃ | haaretz | the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
גַּ֣םalso
gamH1571 →769 times
מֵע֧וֹףof [the] bird[s] of
meofH5775 →71 times
הַשָּׁמַ֛יִםthe heavens
hashamayimH8064 →421 times
שִׁבְעָ֥הseven
shivahH7651 →394 times
שִׁבְעָ֖הseven
shivahH7651 →394 times
זָכָ֣רmale
zakharH2145 →82 times
וּנְקֵבָ֑הand female
unekevahH5347 →22 times
לְחַיּ֥וֹתto preserve alive
lechaiyotH2421 →282 times
זֶ֖רַעoffspring
zera'H2233 →229 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
פְּנֵ֥י[the] surface of
peneiH6440 →2123 times
כָל־all
khol-H3605 →5413 times
הָאָֽרֶץ׃the earth
haaretzH776 →2504 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies9
On this verse
About Genesis
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ambrose of Milan, On Noah and the Ark, 12.39; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.