גַּ֣ם מֵע֧וֹף הַשָּׁמַ֛יִם שִׁבְעָ֥ה שִׁבְעָ֖ה זָכָ֣ר וּנְקֵבָ֑ה לְחַיּ֥וֹת זֶ֖רַע עַל־פְּנֵ֥י כָל־הָאָֽרֶץ׃
공중의 새도 암수 일곱씩을 취하여 그 씨를 온 지면에 유전케 하라
Midrash Tanchuma
Similarly, in the verse And he blotted out every living substance which was upon the face of the ground, both man and cattle (Gen. 7:3). He mentioned man first, because man was the first to sin, and after that he refers to beasts and creeping things. Likewise, since Scripture states: And they smote the men that were at the door with blindness, both small and great (ibid. 19:11), they smote the least important ones first and then the greater ones. Likewise, in accordance with the verse I will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast, man was punished first and then the beast. Another illustration is in the verse Thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword (Deut. 13:16). He smote the inhabitants of the city with the sword, and then he slew the cattle. Similarly, And her belly shall swell (Num. 5:27) is followed by And her thighs shall fall away. That is, the part of the body that sinned first was punished first. Is it not logical to conclude that if retribution is exacted first from the one who commits an evil deed first, then the reward for good deeds, whose reward is far greater, is dispensed according to the same rule.
Bereshit Rabbah
“From every pure animal, you shall take to you seven pairs, a male and his mate, and of the animals that are not pure, two, a male and his mate” (Genesis 7:2).
“From every pure animal…” – Rabbi Yudan in the name of Rabbi Yoḥanan, Rabbi Berekhya in the name of Rabbi Eliezer, and Rabbi Yaakov of Kefar Ḥanin in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi: We find that the Holy One blessed be He went out of His way to add two or three words in the Torah so as to avoid uttering an expression of impurity. That is what is written: “From every pure animal, you shall take to you seven pairs, a male and his mate,”; “and of the unclean animals” is not written here, but rather, “and of the animals that are not pure.”
Rabbi Yudan ben Rabbi Menashe said: Also, when He came to tell them [the people of Israel] the signs of an unclean animal, He began only with the signs of the pure animal:15The Torah mentions four animals that possess one of the two signs of pureness, but are missing the second. In each case the Torah first states the sign that the animal does possess, and afterwards the sign that is lacking. “The camel, because its hoof is not split” is not written [first] here, but rather, “because it brings up the cud” (Leviticus 11:4). “And the hyrax, because its hoof is not split” is not written [first] here, but rather, “because it brings up the cud” (Leviticus 11:5). “And the pig, because it does not bring up its cud” is not written [first] here, but rather, “because its hoof is split” (Leviticus 11:7).
“Also from the birds of the heavens, seven each, male and female, to sustain offspring on the face of all the earth” (Genesis 7:3).
“Also from the bird of the heavens, seven each” – if you say that this means [just seven birds] from each species, would there not be one [bird] that remains without a mate? It means, rather, seven males and seven females.
It is not that I [God] need them, but rather, it is “to sustain offspring on the face of all the earth.”
“From every pure animal…” – Rabbi Yudan in the name of Rabbi Yoḥanan, Rabbi Berekhya in the name of Rabbi Eliezer, and Rabbi Yaakov of Kefar Ḥanin in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi: We find that the Holy One blessed be He went out of His way to add two or three words in the Torah so as to avoid uttering an expression of impurity. That is what is written: “From every pure animal, you shall take to you seven pairs, a male and his mate,”; “and of the unclean animals” is not written here, but rather, “and of the animals that are not pure.”
Rabbi Yudan ben Rabbi Menashe said: Also, when He came to tell them [the people of Israel] the signs of an unclean animal, He began only with the signs of the pure animal:15The Torah mentions four animals that possess one of the two signs of pureness, but are missing the second. In each case the Torah first states the sign that the animal does possess, and afterwards the sign that is lacking. “The camel, because its hoof is not split” is not written [first] here, but rather, “because it brings up the cud” (Leviticus 11:4). “And the hyrax, because its hoof is not split” is not written [first] here, but rather, “because it brings up the cud” (Leviticus 11:5). “And the pig, because it does not bring up its cud” is not written [first] here, but rather, “because its hoof is split” (Leviticus 11:7).
“Also from the birds of the heavens, seven each, male and female, to sustain offspring on the face of all the earth” (Genesis 7:3).
“Also from the bird of the heavens, seven each” – if you say that this means [just seven birds] from each species, would there not be one [bird] that remains without a mate? It means, rather, seven males and seven females.
It is not that I [God] need them, but rather, it is “to sustain offspring on the face of all the earth.”