Genesis 7:15

. 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. Genesis 7:16 Ver. 16. And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh,....

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.

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.

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 .

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.

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

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.

"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 ).

[Bible] 7:5. And Noe did all things which the Lord had commanded him. 7:6. And he was six hundred years old, when the waters of the flood overflowed the earth. 7:7. And Noe went in and his sons, his wife and the wives of his sons with him into the ark, because of the waters of the flood. 7:8. And of beasts clean and unclean, and of fowls, and of every thing that moveth upon the earth, 7:9. Two and two went in to Noe into the ark, male and female, as the Lord had commanded Noe. 7:10. And after the seven days were passed, the waters of the flood overflowed the earth. 7:11. In the six hundredth year of the life of Noe, in the second month, in the seventeenth day of the month, all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the floodgates of heaven were opened: 7:12. And the rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights. 7:13. In the selfsame day Noe, and Sem, and Cham, and Japheth, his sons: his wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, went into the ark. 7:14. They and every beast according to its kind, and all the cattle in 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, 7:15. Went in to Noe into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein was the breath of life. 7:16. And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the Lord shut him in on the outside. 7:17. And the flood was forty days upon the earth: and the waters increased, and lifted up the ark on high from the earth. 7:18. For they overflowed exceedingly: and filled all on the face of the earth: and the ark was carried upon the waters. 7:19. And the waters prevailed beyond measure upon the earth: and all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered. 7:20. The water was fifteen cubits higher than the mountains which it covered.

Also of the fowl of the heavens by sevens, male and female; to keep seed alive on the face of all the earth. For in yet seven days I will cause it to rain on the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living being which I have made will I destroy from the ground. And Noah did according to all that Jehovah had commanded him. And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was on the earth. And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons` wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood. Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowl, and of everything that creeps on the ground, there came two and two unto Noah into the ark, male and female, as God had commanded Noah. And it came to pass after seven days that the waters of the flood were on the earth. In the six hundredth year of Noah`s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that same day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. And the pour of rain was on the earth forty days and forty nights. On the same day went Noah, and Shem and Ham and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah`s wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark; they, and every beast after its kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and all fowl after its kind — every bird of every wing.