Genesis 7 · Verse 15

Genesis 7:15

And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life.

Genesis 7:15, King James Version

Genesis 7:15 in other translations

BSB	They came to Noah to enter the ark, two by two of every creature with the breath of life.
WEB	Pairs from all flesh with the breath of life in them went into the ship to Noah.
ASV	And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh wherein is the breath of life.
YLT	And they come in unto Noah, unto the ark, two by two of all the flesh in which is a living spirit;
DARBY	And they went to Noah, into the ark, two and two of all flesh, in which was the breath of life.
BBE	They went with Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh in which is the breath of life.
Webster	And they went in to Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, in which is the breath of life.

What does Genesis 7:15 mean?

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 15 And they went in, etc. - It was physically impossible for Noah to have collected such a vast number of tame and ferocious animals, nor could they have been retained in their wards by mere natural means. How then were they brought from various distances to the ark and preserved there? Only by the power of God. He who first miraculously brought them to Adam that he might give them their names, now brings them to Noah that he may preserve their lives. And now we may reasonably suppose that their natural enmity was so far removed or suspended that the lion might dwell with the lamb, and the wolf lie down with the kid, though each might still require his peculiar aliment. This can be no difficulty to the power of God, without the immediate interposition of which neither the deluge nor the concomitant circumstances could have taken place.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Genesis 7:13-16

The ravenous creatures were made mild and manageable; yet, when this occasion was over, they were of the same kind as before; for the ark did not alter their natures. Hypocrites in the church, who outwardly conform to the laws of that ark, are yet unchanged; and it will appear, one time or other, what kind they are after. God continued his care of Noah. God shut the door, to secure him and keep him safe in the ark…

Read the full comment on Genesis 7:13-16 →

Genesis 7:15 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיָּבֹ֥אוּvai.ya.Vo.'uand they cameH935

אֶל\־'el-toH413

נֹ֖חַNo.achNoahH5146

אֶל\־'el-intoH413

הַתֵּבָ֑הha.te.Vahthe arkH8392

שְׁנַ֤יִםshe.Na.yimtwoH8147

שְׁנַ֙יִם֙she.Na.yimtwoH8147

מִכָּל\־mi.kolof allH3605

הַבָּשָׂ֔רha.ba.Sar<the> fleshH1320

אֲשֶׁר\־'a.Sher-whichH834

בּ֖וֹbo[was] in <the> it

ר֥וּחַRu.ach[the] breath ofH7307

חַיִּֽים\׃chai.YimlifeH2416

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Genesis 7:15

Genesis 6:19-20
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. Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive.
Isaiah 11:6
The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

6:20; Isa 11:6

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Genesis 7:14
They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort.
Genesis 7:15
And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life.
Genesis 7:16
And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the Lord shut him in.

Read all of Genesis 7

Genesis 7:15 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Y vinieron á Noé al arca, de dos en dos de toda carne en que había espíritu de vida.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	et ils entrèrent vers Noé dans l’arche, deux par deux, de toute chair ayant en elle esprit de vie.
German Elberfelder 1871	Und sie gingen zu Noah in die Arche, je zwei und zwei von allem Fleische, in welchem ein Hauch des Lebens war.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	ingressæ sunt ad Noë in arcam, bina et bina ex omni carne, in qua erat spiritus vitæ.