In Genesis, Noah takes seven pairs of clean animals in the traditional wording.
Genesis 7:2 tells Noah to take seven pairs, male and female, of clean animals, while one pair of animals that are not clean is also mentioned. Some translations render the phrase as “seven pairs,” while others use “seven, male and female,” creating a translation difference about whether the number means seven pairs or seven individual animals of each sex.
The distinction matters because Genesis 7:8–9 summarizes animals entering the Ark in pairs. The account also connects clean animals with Noah’s later sacrifice in Genesis 8:20. The category is therefore part of the narrative’s ritual vocabulary, not a modern zoological classification.