CaptainOfOuterSpace

I'm confused... does this mean seven males and seven females? Or, if there are seven total, how many are male and how many female? (7 is not divisible by 2)

Dreaming Skin

I'm convinced more than ever Monty Python wrote the bible.

It doesn't make any sense to me, except that a heterosexual couple shall be given 14 clean animals. What they do with them is anybody's guess.

Regarding the cleanliness of said beasts, I wonder what the guidelines are. Are these to be considered hairless animals that don't trap dirt? Or does it suggest just about any animal that bathes with a vet-approved shampoo?

And why were unclean critters allowed on Noah's Ark if they were inappropriate here as alleged wedding gifts?

CaptainOfOuterSpace

So you're agreeing that it's 14, then?
Yes, good point. The lord doesn't specify the guidelines for cleanliness until much later, so Noah couldn't have known which ones were clean and which ones weren't.

CaptainOfOuterSpace

If it is indeed interpreted as seven animals total (per species), it's probably referring to three pairs (male and female), and a seventh animal for sacrifice immediately after the flood (to create a sweet savour for the lord). Still, what is the gender of the seventh animal?

Doctor X

So which one of the members of the crew carried Smallpox . . . and which one Ebola . . . given that "evilution" never happened. . . .

--J.D.

Dreaming Skin

Well, it's terribly cryptic. It's not clear if these animals are being given to two people, a male and a female or if the seven animals of a combination of genders. 14 was my initial guess, but then again it does say Of every which implies more than one species. So 7 x however many beasts qualify as clean. I guess the numbers could be mind-boggling. I suppose after a few thousand years, we can't really expect the bible to make any sense!