According to Genesis 6, how many of every kind of land animal entered Noah’s Ark?

The story behind the answer

According to Genesis 6, two of every kind of land animal entered Noah’s Ark.

Genesis 6:19–20 instructs Noah to bring into the Ark two of every kind of living creature, specifically a male and a female, so that the animals could survive and reproduce after the flood. The passage presents this as part of the Ark’s preservation purpose.

Readers sometimes encounter a different number in the next chapter. Genesis 7:2–3 tells Noah to take additional animals described as clean, including seven pairs in many English translations, while one traditional translation reads “by sevens.” This is why discussions of the Ark often mention both two and seven.

The answer to this question is two because it follows Genesis 6’s general instruction about every kind. The text does not provide a modern species count, and the Hebrew terms for animal categories do not correspond exactly to modern biological taxonomy.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Sept. 2026

Add question to a list

Choose a list to keep this question in: