How many pairs of clean animals does Genesis say Noah took onto the Ark?

Genesis 7 says Noah took seven pairs of clean animals onto the Ark. The passage distinguishes clean animals from animals that were not clean, directing Noah to bring more of the clean animals.

This detail is often simplified in popular retellings into the phrase “two of every kind.” Genesis does use that broader pair-based description, but the later instructions add a different number for clean animals. The distinction is connected with the story’s later sacrifice: after leaving the Ark, Noah builds an altar and offers some clean animals and birds.

Translations differ slightly in how they phrase the number. Some say “seven pairs,” while older English translations may say “by sevens” or “seven and seven.” The underlying contrast is between a larger group of clean animals and a single pair of animals described as not clean.

Because the biblical classification of clean animals is not identical to modern zoological taxonomy, the passage should be read as an ancient religious classification rather than a modern scientific inventory.