Genesis 6:19

19 And of all living beasts of all flesh, thou shalt bring into the ship twain and twain, of male kind and female, that they live (along) with thee; (And of all living beasts of all flesh, thou shalt bring into the ship two of each kind, male and female, so that they can continue to live, along with thee;)

Genesis 6:19 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 6:19

And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort
shalt thou bring into the ark
That is, of fowls, cattle, and creeping things, as after explained; and two of each sort at least were to be brought, as Jarchi observes, and not fewer; though of the clean sort there were to be more, even seven, as after directed; and these were to be brought, that they might preserve their species, as it follows: to keep [them] alive with thee;
to be fed and nourished by him in the ark, while others perished by the flood, that so they might propagate their own species, and be continued, for which reason it is further ordered: they shall be male and female;
not any two, but one male and one female, for the end before mentioned.

Genesis 6:19 In-Context

17 Lo! I shall bring waters of deluge, or great flood, on the earth, and I shall slay each flesh in which is the spirit of life under heaven, and all things that be in [the] earth, shall be wasted. (Lo! and then I shall bring in waters of a deluge, or of a great flood, on the earth, and I shall kill all flesh under heaven in which is the spirit of life, and all the things that be on the earth shall be destroyed.)
18 And I shall set my covenant of peace with thee (But I shall make my covenant of peace with thee); and thou shalt enter into the ship, [thou,] and thy sons, and thy wife, and the wives of thy sons shall enter with thee.
19 And of all living beasts of all flesh, thou shalt bring into the ship twain and twain, of male kind and female, that they live (along) with thee; (And of all living beasts of all flesh, thou shalt bring into the ship two of each kind, male and female, so that they can continue to live, along with thee;)
20 of birds by their kind, and of work beasts in their kind, and of each creeping beast of [the] earth, by their kind; twain and twain of all shall enter with thee, that they may live. (of birds by their kind, and of work beasts by their kind, and of reptiles by their kind; two of each kind shall enter with thee, so that they will continue to live.)
21 Therefore thou shalt take with thee of all meats that may be eaten, and thou shalt bear together at thee, and those shall be as well to thee as to the beasts into meat. (And so thou shalt take with thee all kinds of food that can be eaten, and thou shalt carry it all with thee, and this shall be food for thee, and for the beasts.)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.