Genesis 7:2-3

7:2 You must take with you seven ¹  of every kind of clean animal, ²  the male and its mate, ³  two of every kind of unclean animal, the male and its mate, 7:3 and also seven ⁴  of every kind of bird in the sky, male and female, ⁵  to preserve their offspring ⁶  on the face of the earth.

Genesis 26:33

26:33 So he named it Shibah; ⁷  that is why the name of the city has been Beer Sheba ⁸  to this day.

Genesis 46:25

46:25 These were the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter. She bore these to Jacob, seven in all.

Genesis 7:4

7:4 For in seven days ⁹  I will cause it to rain ¹⁰  on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the ground every living thing that I have made.”

[7:2]  ¹ tn Or “seven pairs” (cf. NRSV).

[7:2]  ² sn For a study of the Levitical terminology of “clean” and “unclean,” see L. E. Toombs, IDB 1:643.

[7:2]  ³ tn Heb “a male and his female” (also a second time at the end of this verse). The terms used here for male and female animals (אִישׁ, ’ish) and אִשָּׁה, ’ishah) normally refer to humans.

[7:3]  ⁴ tn Or “seven pairs” (cf. NRSV).

[7:3]  ⁵ tn Here (and in v. 9) the Hebrew text uses the normal generic terms for “male and female” (זָכָר וּנְקֵבָה, zakhar unÿqevah).

[7:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “to keep alive offspring.”

[26:33]  ⁷ sn The name Shibah (שִׁבְעָה, shiv’ah) means (or at least sounds like) the word meaning “oath.” The name was a reminder of the oath sworn by Isaac and the Philistines to solidify their treaty.

[26:33]  ⁸ sn The name Beer Sheba (בְּאֵר שָׁבַע, bÿ’er shava’) means “well of an oath” or “well of seven.” According to Gen 21:31 Abraham gave Beer Sheba its name when he made a treaty with the Philistines. Because of the parallels between this earlier story and the account in 26:26-33, some scholars see chaps. 21 and 26 as two versions (or doublets) of one original story. However, if one takes the text as it stands, it appears that Isaac made a later treaty agreement with the people of the land that was similar to his father’s. Abraham dug a well at the site and named the place Beer Sheba; Isaac dug another well there and named the well Shibah. Later generations then associated the name Beer Sheba with Isaac, even though Abraham gave the place its name at an earlier time.

[7:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “for seven days yet,” meaning “after [or “in”] seven days.”

[7:4]  ¹¹ tn The Hiphil participle מַמְטִיר (mamtir, “cause to rain”) here expresses the certainty of the act in the imminent future.