In Genesis, what type of animals were brought into the ark by seven pairs?

In Genesis, clean animals were brought into the ark by seven pairs.

Genesis 7:2 instructs Noah to take seven pairs of every clean animal, while one pair of every animal considered unclean is taken. The verse is commonly translated as seven pairs, though translations differ in how they phrase the Hebrew expression. The crucial contrast in the passage is between clean and unclean animals.

Genesis does not provide a complete species list in this episode. The category of clean animals is connected to ritual distinctions that become more fully regulated in later biblical law, especially in Leviticus and Deuteronomy. Genesis also says that birds are taken in sevens, using wording associated with the same preservation plan.

A common mistake is to say that every animal entered in exactly one pair. That is a simplified version of the story. Genesis 7 distinguishes the numbers for clean animals, unclean animals, and birds, so the answer depends on the category named in the question.