Gen 6:19 And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.
Gen 7:2 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.
[Genesis 6:19] is taken [by some] to contradict Genesis 7:2 which says 7 of every clean kind. But the verse probably refers to the overall act of bringing a pair, or in absolute terms, at least a pair of every living thing (there wouldn’t be that many clean animals anyway). The point of [Gn 6:19] is to describe that a male and a female will be brought [of both the clean and the unclean animals], saving the species, and not as to exactly how many pairs [of each] will be brought. Genesis 7:2 is more specific in [the area of ‘clean animals’]. [It] says [to bring of every clean beast, sevens; some take this to mean that a total of 7 of each clean species was to be taken, and that would be 3 or 4 males and 4 or 3 females… totaling 7. But the word ‘sevens’ is clarified with the next phrase, “male and its female”.] [This] is probably the author’s two by two in Genesis 7:9,15.
Gen 7:9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.
15 And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life.
Gn 7:2 clearly states that there were to be a male and his female, and there were to be a group of seven of these gender pairs. Thus, 7 male and female pairs of each clean specie… for a total of 14… they would go in to the ark 2 by 2… husband and wife as it were.
The 6th chapter of Genesis makes no mention of any ‘clean’ animals in its figure, while the 7th chapter specifically delineates between the clean and unclean animals. Genesis 7:2 says Noah was to bring in 7 pairs of ‘clean’ animals and [one] pair of every kind of ‘unclean’ animal.
The reason for including seven of the clean species is perfectly evident: they were to be used for sacrificial worship after the flood had receded (as indeed they were, according to Genesis 8:20).
And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
Obviously if there had not been more than two of each of these clean species, they would have been rendered extinct by their being sacrificed on the altar. But in the case of the unclean animals and birds, a single pair would suffice, since they would not be needed for blood sacrifice.
Furthermore, Gn 6:19 states that these unclean animals were to be ‘kept alive’; thus, they were not for food or for a sacrifice; they were for keeping the animal species from going extinct.
