Genesis 1:24

1:24 God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: cattle, creeping things, and wild animals, each according to its kind.” ¹  It was so.

Genesis 6:19

6:19 You must bring into the ark two of every kind of living creature from all flesh, ²  male and female, to keep them alive ³  with you.

Genesis 6:21

6:21 And you must take ⁴  for yourself every kind of food ⁵  that is eaten, ⁶  and gather it together. ⁷  It will be food for you and for them.

Genesis 7:3

7:3 and also seven ⁸  of every kind of bird in the sky, male and female, ⁹  to preserve their offspring ¹⁰  on the face of the earth.

Genesis 8:20

8:20 Noah built an altar to the Lord. He then took some of every kind of clean animal and clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. ¹¹ 

Genesis 33:15

33:15 So Esau said, “Let me leave some of my men with you.” ¹²  “Why do that?” Jacob replied. ¹³  “My lord has already been kind enough to me.” ¹⁴ 

Genesis 40:17

40:17 In the top basket there were baked goods of every kind for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them from the basket that was on my head.”

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¹ tn There are three groups of land animals here: the cattle or livestock (mostly domesticated), things that creep or move close to the ground (such as reptiles or rodents), and the wild animals (all animals of the field). The three terms are general classifications without specific details.

² tn Heb “from all life, from all flesh, two from all you must bring.” The disjunctive clause at the beginning of the verse (note the conjunction with prepositional phrase, followed by two more prepositional phrases in apposition and then the imperfect verb form) signals a change in mood from announcement (vv. 17-18) to instruction.

³ tn The Piel infinitive construct לְהַחֲיוֹת (lÿhakhayot, here translated as “to keep them alive”) shows the purpose of bringing the animals into the ark – saving life. The Piel of this verb means here “to preserve alive.”

⁴ tn The verb is a direct imperative: “And you, take for yourself.” The form stresses the immediate nature of the instruction; the pronoun underscores the directness.

⁵ tn Heb “from all food,” meaning “some of every kind of food.”

⁶ tn Or “will be eaten.”

⁷ tn Heb “and gather it to you.”

⁸ tn Or “seven pairs” (cf. NRSV).

⁹ tn Here (and in v. 9) the Hebrew text uses the normal generic terms for “male and female” (זָכָר וּנְקֵבָה, zakhar unÿqevah).

¹⁰ tn Heb “to keep alive offspring.”

¹¹ sn Offered burnt offerings on the altar. F. D. Maurice includes a chapter on the sacrifice of Noah in The Doctrine of Sacrifice. The whole burnt offering, according to Leviticus 1, represented the worshiper’s complete surrender and dedication to the Lord. After the flood Noah could see that God was not only a God of wrath, but a God of redemption and restoration. The one who escaped the catastrophe could best express his gratitude and submission through sacrificial worship, acknowledging God as the sovereign of the universe.

¹² tn The cohortative verbal form here indicates a polite offer of help.

¹³ tn Heb “and he said, ‘Why this?’” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Jacob) has been specified for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

¹⁴ tn Heb “I am finding favor in the eyes of my lord.”