Genesis 7:14

Gen 7:14 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.

Ver. 14. They, and every beast after his kind.] Laying aside all their antipathies, and hostilities, for self-preservation, in that common danger. Oh that men were thus wise! Some Roman generals did so; and some fathers of the Church: but few such now-a-days: Apparent rari ,& c.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Gen 7:14. Every beast after his kind — According to the phrase used in the history of the creation, Gen 1:21, to intimate, that as many species as were created were now saved. Every fowl and every bird — The former word in the original signifies the larger, the latter, the less sort of birds; of every sort — The Hebrew is, of every kind of wing, whether feathered, as the wing is in most birds, or skinny, as in bats.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

(14) Every beast.—Heb., every living thing (as in Gen_8:1), but probably we are to supply “of the field,” and thus it would mean the wild animals.

The cattle—Behêmâh. (See Note on Gen_1:24.)

Creeping thing.—Not specially reptiles, but alt small animals (see ibid.). The last clause literally is, every fowl after its kind, every bird, every wing; whence some understand it as meaning three kinds of winged beings: birds generally, next singing-birds, and lastly, bats, insects, and other such creatures. It more probably means “birds of all sorts.”

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

14. kind] See note on Gen_1:12 and Gen_6:20.

of every sort] Heb. wing. Literally, “every bird, every wing,” i.e. all sorts of birds. The clause is wanting in the LXX. Some scholars prefer the rendering, “every bird, every winged thing,” so that the phrase should include all winged animals, insects as well as birds.

Notice in this verse the comprehensive description of the animal world; “beast” = wild animals, “cattle” = domestic animals, “creeping things,” “fowls,” “winged things of all sorts,” as in Gen_1:21; Gen_1:24-26.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh,.... These pairs were not two males or two females, but one male and one female; so they were coupled for the propagation of their species, which was the end of their entering into the ark, and being preserved:

as God had commanded him: Noah, who took care, as they entered, that there were so many of a sort as was enjoined, and these were male and female:

and the Lord shut him in; or shut the door after him (l), he being the last that entered; and which he could not so well shut himself, at least so close, as was done by the Lord, or by the angels; and this was done to keep out the waters, and all within in safety; and to shut out others, and preserve Noah from the rage of wicked men, as well as the violence of the waters: some (m) have thought that not so much the door of the ark is meant, as the way to it, the pensile bridge which was necessary for the creatures to enter the ark; which being carried away by the force of the waters near the ark, that not being joined to it, precluded all access of the scoffers, whose scoffs were soon turned to lamentation and howling.

(l) "post ipsum", Vatablus, Tigurine version, Cocceius, Schmidt. "Pone eum", Piscator. (m) Scheuchzer. Physica Sacra, vol. 1. p. 45.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Every bird. The first word signifies the greater, the second the less sort of birds, as appears from Gen 15:9-10; Lev 14:4; Psa 104:17.

Of every sort; Heb. Of every kind of wing, whether feathered, as it is in most birds, or skinny and gristly, as in bats.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

And every beast after his kind - According to the phrase used in the history of the creation, chap. i, 21, 24, 25, to intimate, that just as many species as were created at first were saved now, and no more.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

צפור כל כנף [EVERY] BIRD OF EVERY KIND — The word צפור is in the construct state, viz.. birds of every kind of wing, thus including locusts (Chullin 139b). The word כנף means “wingfeather”, as (Leviticus 1:17) “He shall rend it by the wings thereof”, for even its feathers were offered as a sacrifice. Also here, the meaning is, birds with any kind of semblance of wing.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

המה..כל צפור, כל כנף, when the Torah used the word עוף it referred to any creature that could fly, יעוף. Now the Torah became even more explicit, writing כל צפור, a generic term for all the larger birds. The expression צפור includes both the ritually pure birds as well as the ritually impure ones. כל כנף, the Torah adds more detail, writing that every creature that has wings was included in those entering the ark; alternatively, the word could be understood as an adjective, i.e. “every feathered creature.”

Radak on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Eliyahu Munk, HaChut Hameshulash” (CC BY 4.0); “Rabbi Mike Feuer, Jerusalem Anthology” (CC BY 4.0); and “R. David Kimhi on the first book of Psalms, Translated by R.G. Finch, London, 1919” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.