Kommentar zu Bereschit 7:9

שנים שנים TWO AND TWO —In this number they were all equal — the least number was two.

שנים שנים באו אל נח. They came to Noach in pairs. The Torah points out that these animals came of their own volition; Noach did not have to search for them or catch them. One of the reasons the Torah does not mention seven pairs of pure animals here is that only the number of animals that came to the ark to maintain their species are mentioned here. G'd guided them to the ark and Noach admitted them. The additional animals that served as תשלום, payment, Noach had to provide himself. You find this confirmed in verse 15 when the animals that came to the ark are specifically described as being only pairs.

שנים שנים, in pairs. Seeing that a pair is made up of a male and a female, two pairs of each species came. כאשר צוה אלוקים את נח, the animals came of their own accord, but Noach brought them into the ark as G’d had commanded him to do.

Of their own accord. Otherwise it should say [not בָּאוּ, but] הובְאו (they were brought). [You might ask:] Why did Rashi not offer this comment earlier, on: “Two of each will come to you to be kept alive” (6:20)? [The answer is:] There Scripture tells us the ark’s benefit: it will save them. But here it is an extra phrase, thus we infer that they came of their own accord. (Nachalas Yaakov) [Note: Rashi’s second comment on this verse used to appear first. Accordingly, you might ask:] Why does Rashi reverse the order of the verse and first explain, “Of their own accord,” and then, “The minimum number was two”? It seems the answer is as we explained earlier (6:20): If the animals had not come on their own, and Noach would have had to trap them, Hashem would have given him a sign [to know which ones cleaved to their own species], as we explained. And we would say that this sign is hinted to in our verse: “Two by two,” i.e., animals that go as a couple of male and female, unaccompanied by other animals. So [that we will not say this,] Rashi first explains that בָּאוּ implies that they all came on their own, as we explained on 6:20. Thus Noach could not know [through the sign of “two by two”], since all the animals and birds came. Furthermore, since [Rashi first explains that] they came on their own, then if Noach had such a sign he would need to choose from among the many animals in each species that cleaved to their own kind. Yet Noach would have no way to choose. If he took these, he would cause those to die! Which should he reject? Surely [Noach had no sign], and whatever the ark took in was saved. Thus, “two by two” [is not a sign but is as Rashi says:] “They were all equal in this number...” (R. Yaakov Taryosh)

Sie kamen paarweise zu Noa, wie Gott Noa geboten hatte. Gott hatte Noa die Aufnahme der Tierpaare geboten; allein die Ausführung, insbesondere so weit sie sich auch auf חיות erstreckte und das ganze paarweise Erscheinen nur geschlechtlich rein gehaltener Paare lag völlig außer seiner Macht. Allein hier tritt die im heiligen Schrifttum so bedeutsame Wahrheit, dass derselbe Gott, der dem Menschen Gesetze gibt, auch der Gesetzgeber und Gebieter der Natur ist, mit anderen Worten: dass ה׳ auch אלקי׳ ist, in faktischer Tatsächlichkeit hervor. Der dem Noa das Gebot zur freien Erfüllung erteilte, dessen Gebot führte auch die Tiere in der Weise ihm zu, dass er den göttlichen Auftrag erfüllen konnte. Diese Tatsache, die Identität des Gottes der Natur und des Gottes der Menschheit, das Walten desselben Gotteswortes in der Natur, das dem Menschen sein Gesetz zur freien Erfüllung hinausgab, bildet einen Grundzug des jüdischen Bewusstseins, das unter andern David׳s Psalm in dem Satze besingt: השלח אמרתו ארץ וגו׳ הנתן שלג כצמר וגו׳ משליך קרחו כפתים וגו׳ ישלח דברו ומסם וגו׳ מגיד דברו ליעקב חקיו ומשפטיו לישראל וגו׳. Vergl. oben Raw Hirsch on Genesis 7: 5. ויעש נח ככל אשר צוהו ד׳ und hier שנים שנים באו וגו׳ כאשר צוה אלקים את נח.

באו אל נח THEY CAME TO NOAH — of their own accord (Genesis Rabbah 32).

The minimum number was two. For if not, it contradicts what was said before (v. 2): “Of every clean animal, take to yourself seven pairs.”