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Genesis 7:14

EOB (Eastern / Greek Orthodox Bible):

They all went into the ark—every kind of wild animal, every kind of livestock, every kind of creature that crawls on the ground, and every kind of bird and winged creature.

EOB Footnote:

The MT includes the phrase “according to its kind” (repeated for each category of animal), which appears more systematically than in some LXX witnesses. The MT also reads “every bird, every winged creature” where the LXX has a slightly different arrangement of the bird categories. DSS: No manuscript witness exists for this verse among the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Other Translations:

KJV (King James Version):

They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort.

WEB (World English Bible):

They, and every animal according to its kind, all the livestock according to their kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth according to its kind, and every bird according to its kind, every bird of every sort.

Benton LXX (Vaticanus):

And all the wild beasts after their kind, and all cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing moving upon the earth after its kind, and every fowl after its kind, every bird of every sort.

Douai-Rheims (Vulgate):

“And they and every beast according to its kind, and all the cattle according to their kind, and every thing that moveth upon the earth according to its kind, and every fowl according to its kind, all birds, and all that fly,”

Apostoliki Diakonia (LXX):

They and every wild animal according to its kind, and all the livestock according to their kinds, and every creature that moves along the ground according to its kind, and every bird according to its kind, every bird of every sort.

YLT (Young Literal Translation )(MT):

All of them, and every bird according to its kind, and every beast according to its kind, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth according to its kind, and every bird of every sort.

BBE (Bible in Basic English):

The Bible in Basic English (BBE) version of Genesis 7:14 is: “They and every beast after its sort, and all the cattle after their sort, and everything which goes on the earth after its sort, and every bird after its sort, every bird of every sort.”

EOB COMMENTARY:

EOB Commentary:

Commentary on Genesis 7:14

The Gathering of All Flesh into the Ark

This verse presents a comprehensive catalogue of living creatures entering Noah’s ark, emphasizing the universality of God’s salvific action. The fourfold classification—beasts, cattle, creeping things, and birds—echoes the creative ordering of Genesis 1, suggesting that the ark represents a microcosm of creation itself, a vessel of re-creation amid the waters of judgment.

Typological Significance for Christ and the Church

The Fathers consistently interpreted the ark as a type of the Church and of Christ Himself. Saint Ambrose of Milan writes that just as all kinds of creatures found salvation within the wooden structure of the ark, so too all nations and peoples find salvation within the Church, built upon the wood of the Cross. The ark gathered every kind according to its kind, preserving the diversity of creation while uniting all within one vessel of salvation. This prefigures the catholicity of the Church, which embraces all peoples while maintaining the unity of faith.

Saint John Chrysostom observes that the animals entered peacefully together—predator alongside prey—suggesting the eschatological peace that Christ brings. The wolf dwelling with the lamb, prophesied by Isaiah, finds its prototype here. Within the ark, the natural enmity between creatures was suspended by divine grace, just as within the Church, the divisions of humanity are overcome in Christ.

Liturgical and Baptismal Connections

The Orthodox baptismal rite draws deeply from the flood narrative. The blessing of baptismal waters recalls how God saved Noah through water, making the flood a type of baptism. Just as the creatures passed through the waters of judgment within the safety of the ark to emerge into a renewed world, so the catechumen passes through the baptismal waters within the Church to emerge into new life in Christ.

The phrase “two by two” (or seven pairs of clean animals) has been understood as pointing toward the conjugal blessing preserved through the flood, ensuring the continuation of life. The Church sees here an affirmation of marriage as part of God’s providential ordering of creation.

Spiritual Application

For Orthodox spirituality, this verse invites reflection on the comprehensiveness of salvation. Nothing that God has made is excluded from His saving purpose. Every creature, from the greatest beast to the smallest creeping thing, has its place within the divine economy. This teaches humility and wonder before the Creator who numbers even the hairs of our heads and marks the fall of every sparrow. The faithful are called to enter the ark of the Church not as isolated individuals but as part of the whole community of creation, awaiting the final restoration of all things in Christ.

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