The Meaning of Genesis 7:3 Explained

Genesis 7:3

KJV: Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.

YLT: also, of fowl of the heavens seven pairs, a male and a female, to keep alive seed on the face of all the earth;

Darby: Also of the fowl of the heavens by sevens, male and female; to keep seed alive on the face of all the earth.

ASV: of the birds also of the heavens, seven and seven, male and female, to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Of fowls  also of the air  by sevens,  the male  and the female;  to keep  seed  alive  upon the face  of all the earth. 

What does Genesis 7:3 Mean?

Context Summary

Genesis 7:1-24 - The Great Flood
What anguish! They climbed the highest story of their towers, then to the hills, but the greedy waters followed them, till the last crag was covered, and all living things in the first homes of human life had perished. Equally sudden and unexpected shall be the days of the Son of Man. See Luke 17:26; 2 Peter 3:7. But what drowns other men only lifts the child of God nearer his home. The waters bear up the ark. When the loftiest refuges of lies and pride are submerged, and the whole landscape is covered with a monotonous waste of trouble, God says to the soul, "Come into the ark." It is as though He is inside and wants us to enter into close fellowship with Himself. See Psalms 27:5. When God shuts the door behind us, no power can force, no skeleton key can unlock, and no wedge can pry the door. For the extent of the Deluge it is appropriate to consider Luke 2:1-3. [source]

Chapter Summary: Genesis 7

1  Noah, his family and the living creatures enter the ark
6  The flood begins
17  The increase of the flood for forty days
21  All flesh is destroyed by it
24  Its duration of 150 days

What do the individual words in Genesis 7:3 mean?

Also of birds of the air seven by seven male and female to keep alive their seed on the face of all the earth
גַּ֣ם מֵע֧וֹף הַשָּׁמַ֛יִם שִׁבְעָ֥ה שִׁבְעָ֖ה זָכָ֣ר וּנְקֵבָ֑ה לְחַיּ֥וֹת זֶ֖רַע עַל־ פְּנֵ֥י כָל־ הָאָֽרֶץ

גַּ֣ם  Also 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: גַּם  
Sense: also, even, indeed, moreover, yea.
מֵע֧וֹף  of  birds 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: עֹוף  
Sense: flying creatures, fowl, insects, birds.
הַשָּׁמַ֛יִם  of  the  air 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: שָׁמַיִם  
Sense: heaven, heavens, sky.
שִׁבְעָ֥ה  seven 
Parse: Number, masculine singular
Root: שֶׁבַע  
Sense: seven (cardinal number).
שִׁבְעָ֖ה  by  seven 
Parse: Number, masculine singular
Root: שֶׁבַע  
Sense: seven (cardinal number).
זָכָ֣ר  male 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: זָכָר  
Sense: male (of humans and animals) adj.
וּנְקֵבָ֑ה  and  female 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular
Root: נְקֵבָה  
Sense: female.
לְחַיּ֥וֹת  to  keep  alive 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Piel, Infinitive construct
Root: חָיָה  
Sense: to live, have life, remain alive, sustain life, live prosperously, live for ever, be quickened, be alive, be restored to life or health.
זֶ֖רַע  their  seed 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: זֶרַע  
Sense: seed, sowing, offspring.
פְּנֵ֥י  the  face 
Parse: Noun, common plural construct
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
כָל־  of  all 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
הָאָֽרֶץ  the  earth 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.

What are the major concepts related to Genesis 7:3?

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