Ask a Baraminologist: Why Two of Every Kind?

Hey kids, welcome to our first “Ask a Baraminologist” article! We’ve received a LOT of questions so far, so I can’t answer them all here today. Instead, I will answer one question today and a few more next week. Please keep the questions coming—I plan on answering every question you send, but I can’t answer them all at once.

This week’s question comes from Olivia, who asks, “Why did God say only 2 of each animal?”

First of all, Olivia, great question! You did not specify whether you meant at creation or on the Ark, so I will answer both questions here! At creation, other than humans, we are not told how many animals of each kind God created. Based on what we know, I suspect that he probably made large numbers of each kind to fill the earth. There were probably large numbers of different animals like dogs, plants like roses, and other organisms created from the beginning with different built-in traits.

In terms of the Ark, not every kind had two. Some kinds had more (Genesis 7:3), but most had just two representatives. While God does not tell us exactly why most kinds were limited to two, there are a few possible reasons. The first would be to save space on the Ark. While the Ark was huge (and if you’ve been to our replica, the Ark Encounter in northern Kentucky, you have seen how massive it was), it did not have unlimited space. It needed to house a lot of animals, eight humans, and enough food and water for them for about a year. It also needed to be seaworthy in the roughest seas the world has ever seen, which requires exact proportions. For everything to fit comfortably within the required dimensions, taking two of most kinds probably made things less complicated and less tightly packed.

There are other possible reasons. Two might be the optimized number that combines taking the fewest animals possible while maintaining maximum genetic diversity. It is also possible that taking a male and female prevented conflicts between members of the same kind during the voyage. Noah and his family had a lot to do: they did not need to spend their time breaking up fights between two males of the cat kind.

I hope this answers your question! Make sure you join us again next week—I will be answering a couple more questions from other kids just like you! If you have a question, ask your parents to help you submit it here.