Clean animals by sevens in early reading

Says Of every clean animal Noah is to take שִׁבְעָה שִׁבְעָה, seven seven (BSB: “seven pairs”; its footnote, by sevens), male and female, and of the unclean two (Gen 7:2); the birds likewise (7:3); then clean and unclean come “two by two” (7:8–9). The distinction is named, not explained.

Onqelos has “seven and seven, male and female” of the clean animals and “two and two” of the unclean; Pseudo-Jonathan has “seven by seven”. Josephus has living creatures, “the male and his female”, “and others of them by sevens”. Augustine asks why it was necessary to send in “two unclean and seven clean animals of each species, when both could have been preserved in equal numbers”, and takes this as a sign of figurative meaning beside the history. Calvin holds that “by sevens” means “not of seven pairs of each kind, but of three pairs, to which one animal is added for the sake of sacrifice”; Keil likewise counts “three pair and a single one, probably a male for sacrifice”, and holds that the distinction did not begin with Moses. These are their views. For the divine names, the doublets and the sevens and pairs as a source question, see note.historical.Gen.2.4-Gen.2.25.two-accounts-question.

Uncertain Whether שִׁבְעָה שִׁבְעָה means seven animals or seven pairs (Calvin and Keil count seven; the BSB, seven pairs), and how the sevens relate to the “two by two” of 7:9, are open. No lean is taken, and these readings do not fix the meaning of 7:2–9.