Genesis 8:19

19 Every beast, every creeping thing, and every bird, everything that moves on the earth, went out by families from the ark.

Genesis 8:19 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 8:19

Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, [and]
whatsoever creepeth upon the earth
All went out, not one was left, and they went out

after their kind;
not in a confused disorderly manner, mixing with one another; but as they went in by pairs, male and female of every sort, so they came forth in like manner, or, "according to their families" F3; by which it seems as if the creatures did breed in the ark, and had their families of young ones; and which is the sense of some in Aben Ezra, and he himself thinks it not foreign, though he interprets it as we do, and as the Greek version does, "after their kind": thus they

went forth out of the ark;
everyone with his mate, in order to procreate and multiply upon the earth.


FOOTNOTES:

F3 (Mhytxpvml) "juxta familias suas", Tigurine version, Pagninus, Montanus

Genesis 8:19 In-Context

17 Bring out with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh--birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth--that they may swarm on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth."
18 So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives with him.
19 Every beast, every creeping thing, and every bird, everything that moves on the earth, went out by families from the ark.
20 Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
21 And when the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, the LORD said in his heart, "I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.