- Genesis 6:19 "And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark."
- Genesis 7:8-9 "Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth, There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah."
- Genesis 7:15 "And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life."
vs.
- Genesis 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."
So how many?
< STRONG Only land-dwelling, air-breathing animals needed to be brought aboard.
According to World Book Encyclopedia, scientists have named and classified more than 1 1/2 million animals. Over half of these are insects, with more species being discovered every year. There may be between 2 million to 50 million kinds of animals alive today! Despite this, the majorty of these species are capable of surviving in water and wouldn't need to have been brought aboard the ark (i.e. marine animals such as: the 21,000 species of fish, the 600 echinoderms, 107,000 mollusks, 10,000 coelenterates, 5,000 sponges, or the 30,000 protozoans). Aquatic mammals would not have been needed to be brought aboard (whales, seals, porpoises). Nor all species of the amphibians, nor reptiles (sea turtles, snakes, alligators), nor a large number of the 838,000 species of arthropods (lobsters, shrimp, crabs, barnacles). Along with many insects, many of the 35,000 species of worm could have survived outside of the ark. This brings down the number of animals needed significantly to include only those which were land dwelling and air breathing.
Doctors Morris and Whitcomb conjecture that no more than 35,000 individual animals needed to be included on the ark (The Genesis Flood). John Woodmorappe conlcuded that as few as 2,000 animals may have been needed for the ark (Noah's Ark: A Feasibility Study). To accomodate for possible errors, he demonstrated that the ark could easily hold 16,000 animals.
- http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/edn-c013.html
>> There could be more animals than those included in the estimates.
The estimates range from 2000 to 35000. That's a huge difference. They could be off by thousands.
< STRONG Even if the number was 50,000, the ark could still hold the animals.
Let's add on a bunch of animal species, far more than required, to appease the skeptics. Suppose there were 50,000 animals (including extinct animals, those not properly categorized, and then some) to be taken onto the ark.
"The total available floor space on the ark would have been over 100,000 square feet, which would be more floor space than in 20 standard-sized basketball courts. The total cubic volume would have been 1,518,000 cubic feet [462,686.4 cubic meters] --that would be equal to the capacity of 569 modern railroad stock cars" (http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/edn-c013.html).
Assuming that the average animal was about the size of a sheep, the average double-deck stock car could accomodate 240 sheep. Three trains hauling 69 cars each would have plenty of space to carry 50,000 animals, with 361 cars left over to carry food, supplies, and Noah and his family. The 50,000 animals would fill only 37% of the ark!!
< STRONG There are millions of species present today, however what we call a species and the term used in Genesis ("created kinds") is different. Fewer animals would be needed, therefore a large estimate would be inaccurate.
The word species and the Biblical word "kind" are often used interchangeably. This is incorrect since they are not synonymous. The Biblical word kind denotes an organism that reproduces others like itself. The species concept is much narrower than this; therefore many species can be included in a single Biblical "kind." The word kind is probably closer to the modern taxonomic unit of genus, and in some cases the larger taxonomic unit, family.
The Canidae (canine) family includes about 14 genera of dog like animals. These include the coyote, dog, wolf, jackal, etc. The ark did not have to contain the hundreds of species of canines that make up this group. In reality, these were all represented by a few "kind." These "kind" would then produce all the animals that make up the Canidae family. For example all of the hundreds of varieties of domestic pigeons that have all been produced originated from one species, the wild rock pigeon (Columbia livia).
- http://www.biblestudy.org/basicart/was-noah-ark-big-enough-to-hold-all-animals.html
[emphasis added]
Click here for more.
< STRONG The clean animals were taken in by sevens, while the unclean animals were taken in by twos. More of the clean animals were needed for sacrifices unto God.
The clean beasts and birds entered the ark “by sevens” (KJV), while the unclean animals went into the ark by twos. There is no contradiction here. Genesis 6:19 indicates that Noah was to take “two of every sort into the ark.” Then, four verses later, God supplemented this original instruction, informing Noah in a more detailed manner to take more of the clean animals. It was necessary for Noah to take additional clean animals because, upon his departure from the ark after the Flood, he “built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the alter” (Genesis 8:20). If Noah had taken only two clean animals from which to choose when sacrificing to God after departing the ark, then he would have driven the various kinds of clean beasts and birds into extinction by sacrificing one of each pair. Thus, after God told Noah to take two of every kind of animal into the ark, He then instructed him to take extras of the clean animals.
- http://www.apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=6&article=656
< There is a translation difficulty over the number of clean animals taken onto the ark. Is it seven individuals or seven pairs?
The Hebrew phrase shibb’ah shibb’ah is translated differently in the KJV and ASV Bibles. According to the King James Version, clean animals were taken into the ark “by sevens” (Genesis 7:2). The American Standard Version says that the clean animals were taken “seven and seven.”
Newer translations don't clear this up. The NKJV and NIV both agree that Noah took seven of each clean animal into the ark, whereas the RSV, NEB, and ESV all translate shibb’ah shibb’ah to mean “seven pairs” of clean animals.
- http://www.apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=6&article=656
< Noah took 7 individual clean animals and birds onto the ark, not 7 pairs.
When properly understood, Noah took on seven (7) individual animals and birds (not seven pairs) of each kind that were clean. Since these were clean animals and clean birds that would be used for food later, it would be important to have extra breeding stock. There were three pairs of clean animals and clean birds plus a seventh. The seventh one was to be offered as a sacrifice at the end of the flood (Genesis 8:20).
- http://www.biblestudy.org/basicart/was-noah-ark-big-enough-to-hold-all-animals.html
[emphasis added]
< Seven individuals- reflecting the week and Sabbath.
Three pairs (6) were left for domestication, for man to have food and clothing, as well as more animals to sacrifice. Matthew Henry says it could be modeling the working week and Sabbath, in that God gives us one for each day of the week, while the seventh is for devotion to God.
- http://www.apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=6&article=656
>> WEAK Clean and unclean animals weren't described until the time of the Mosaic law- 600 years after the flood.
The determination of clean versus unclean animals wasn't laid out until the time of Moses. Instructions regarding these animals wasn''t given until hundreds of years after the Flood (Lev 11, Deut 14). Thus, there weren't any clean/unclean animals in Noah's time.
< STRONG Rules concerning animals existed before Moses- even before the Flood.
The belief that clean and unclean animals weren't differentiated between before the time of Moses is completely unsubstantial. Mankind had been sacrificing animals since their fall and it is quite evident that God had given laws concerning animal sacrifices since the time of Cain and Abel. Abel was able to offer a sacrifice "by faith," which meant he must have received revelation from God on how to properly offer a sacrifice (for faith comes by hearing the word of God). The revelation could easily have delineated between which animals were acceptable, or clean, and which weren't.
Further, Abraham sacrificed a heifer, female goat, ram, turtledove, and pigeon as part of his covenant with God (Gen 15:9). These same animals were declared "clean" under Mosaic Law hundreds of years later (Lev 1:2, 10, 14).
The distinction between clean and unclean animals existed long before the time of Moses. Animal sacrifice was practiced during the Patriarchal age, and it's apparent that the faithful were able to distinguish between what was clean and what wasn't. Certainly, Noah knew the difference.
- http://www.apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=6&article=656
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