In Genesis 7:2, Noah is told to take seven pairs of clean animals into the Ark, while one pair of animals described as unclean is taken. The wording is commonly translated as “seven pairs,” though some translations render it “seven” of each clean animal.
This instruction appears after Genesis 6:19–20, where Noah is told more generally to bring pairs of every kind of living creature. The two passages are sometimes treated as contradictory, but the narrative may present a general instruction followed by a more specific distinction between clean and unclean animals.
The clean-animal instruction also explains why Genesis later mentions Noah offering burnt offerings from clean animals and birds after leaving the Ark. It should not be confused with the number of people aboard, which Genesis gives as eight. The animal counts concern categories of creatures, not a modern zoological inventory.