Genesis 7:15

And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

7:13-16 The ravenous creatures were made mild and manageable; yet, when this occasion was over, they were of the same kind as before; for the ark did not alter their natures. Hypocrites in the church, who outwardly conform to the laws of that ark, are yet unchanged; and it will appear, one time or other, what kind they are after. God continued his care of Noah. God shut the door, to secure him and keep him safe in the ark; also to keep all others for ever out. In what manner this was done, God has not been pleased to make known. There is much of our gospel duty and privilege to be seen in Noah's safety in the ark. The apostle makes it a type of christian baptism, 1Pe 3:20,21. Observe then, it is our great duty, in obedience to the gospel call, by a lively faith in Christ, to come into that way of salvation which God has provided for poor sinners. Those that come into the ark, should bring as many as they can with them, by good instructions, by persuasions, and by good examples. There is room enough in Christ for all comers. God put Adam into paradise, but did not shut him in, so he threw himself out; but when God put Noah into the ark, and so when he brings a soul to Christ, the salvation is sure: it is not in our own keeping, but in the Mediator's hand. But the door of mercy will shortly be shut against those that now make light of it. Knock now, and it shall be opened, Lu 13:25.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

There is a simple grandeur in the threefold description of the entrance of Noah and his retinue into the ark, first in the command, next in the actual process during the seven days, and, lastly, in the completed act on the seventh day. "Every living thing after its kind" is here unaccompanied with the epithet רעה rā‛âh, evil, or the qualifying term of the land or of the field, and therefore may, we conceive, be taken in the extent of Genesis 6:20; Genesis 7:2-3, Genesis 7:6. At all events the whole of the wild animals did not need to be included in the ark, as their range was greater than that of antediluvian man or of the flood. "And the Lord shut him in." This is a fitting close to the scene. The whole work was manifestly the Lord's doing, from first to last. The personal name of God is appropriately introduced here. For the Everlasting now shows himself to be the causer or effecter of the covenant blessing promised to Noah. In what way the Lord shut him in is an idle question, altogether unworthy of the grandeur of the occasion. We can tell nothing more than what is written. We are certain that it would be accomplished in a manner worthy of him.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

9. There went in two and two—Doubtless they were led by a divine impulse. The number would not be so large as at first sight one is apt to imagine. It has been calculated that there are not more than three hundred distinct species of beasts and birds, the immense varieties in regard to form, size, and color being traceable to the influence of climate and other circumstances.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

See Poole on "Genesis 7:9". i.e. All living creatures forementioned, Genesis 7:14.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And they went in unto Noah into the ark,.... Noah went in first, and the creatures of themselves came to him, or were conducted by the ministry of angels; and they were delivered into his hands, and he placed them in the ark as was most convenient for them: it is very likely he went in and out as occasion required, for the better management and disposition of things; for he seems to be the last of all that went in, see Genesis 7:16,

two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life; they that went by sevens, yet being seven couples, as has been observed, as those which were only two or four, went by pairs: this is true of them all.

Geneva Study Bible

And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two {f} of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life.

(f) Every living thing that God would have be preserved on earth, came into the ark to Noah.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

15. all flesh … breath of life] See note on Genesis 6:17.

two and two] See note on Genesis 6:19-20. LXX adds “male and female.”

16 (P). as God commanded him] This is evidently P’s account: notice the use of Elohim, and the phrase itself, cf. Genesis 6:22, Genesis 7:5; Genesis 7:9.

(J) and the Lord shut him in] Notice the introduction of Jehovah. These words are evidently from J, and probably originally concluded the previous account of Noah’s entry into the ark (Genesis 7:7-9) before the seven days mentioned in Genesis 7:10, and before the rain (Genesis 7:12).

On the anthropomorphism of this action, see note on Genesis 6:6; and compare Genesis 3:8, Genesis 11:5.

17 (R). forty days] Cf. Genesis 7:12, where the rain lasts for 40 days and 40 nights. Here it is the duration of the Flood.

18 (P). the waters prevailed] The description given in Genesis 7:17 of the rising waters and of the floating ark is here repeated, in order to introduce the record of the more elaborate details contained in Genesis 7:19-20.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 15. - And they went in unto Noah into the ark (cf. Genesis 6:20, which affirmed they should come), two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life. Cf. the three expressions for an animated creature - חַיָּה (Genesis 1:30), יְקוּס: (Genesis 7:4), אֲשֶׂראּבּו רוּחַ חיִּיס. Genesis 7:15

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

"In the self-same day had Noah...entered into the ark:" בּא, pluperfect "had come," not came, which would require יבא. The idea is not that Noah, with his family and all the animals, entered the ark on the very day on which the rain began, but that on that day he had entered, had completed the entering, which occupied the seven days between the giving of the command (Genesis 7:4) and the commencement of the flood (Genesis 7:10).