“Two by Two... and Seven?”

Thursday, December 20, 2012

1. Why did Noah choose seven clean and two unclean animals?
2. What is the difference between clean and unclean animals?

I need the Scriptures, too.

Sincerely,
A Boatload of Questions

Dear A Boatload of Questions,

Giving the Scriptures is our specialty!  In fact, if we don’t give you the Scriptures, you should reject anything we say.

Noah chose seven clean animals and two unclean animals because God told him to (Gen 7:2)… but God probably told him to do it because clean animals were used for animal sacrifices.  That is really the definition of a clean animal – a ‘clean’ animal is an animal that is approved for either:

• Consumption as food (Deu 14:4-20)
• Use as a sacrifice to God (Leviticus 4-8 outlines some of the many sacrifices made to God, and all of them use only clean animals.)

Since Noah made sacrifices to God as soon as the ark landed (Gen 8:20), it was necessary that he have more than just two.  Two animals are enough for repopulation but not enough for animal sacrifices.

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