- Series:Animals, Transcript English
Genesis 7:2
“Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.”
When you look through the Bible, there is one interesting land animal type which is missing. There is nothing to say that a pair of them got on the Ark, but we have to assume that they did so that they survived until after the Flood. Today, we just think of them strutting around the world, vicious killers, waiting for the opportunity to spring on their next prey. I am referring, of course, to that well-known animal kind – the cat.
Yes, that’s right. The word “cat” is not mentioned anywhere in the Bible. Yet we know they exist, and, as land animals, they must have been created on Day Six.
The Bible does, however, mention two members of the cat kind – lions and leopards. But these animals can hybridize and are therefore part of the same kind. Therefore, the Ark would not have had a pair of lions and a pair of leopards – just a pair of cats.
What sort of cats would have been on the Ark? They would not have been tiny domestic cats which have insufficient genetic material to be responsible for all of today’s cat species. It is more likely that the cats on the Ark were similar to the famous Saber-toothed cats found in the fossil record. Recent scientific studies on a semi-fossilized saber-toothed cat bone found in the North Sea shows that it shared a common ancestor with all other cat species. This DNA research is compelling. Descent and variation happen within a kind, but not from creatures of other kinds – exactly what we expect when we assume the Bible to be true.
Thank You, Lord, for the truth of Your word and for the talent You have given to so many scientists even if they do not acknowledge Your handiwork. Amen.
Author: Paul F. Taylor
Ref: Cell Press. (2017, October 19). Ancient DNA offers new view on saber-toothed cats’ past. ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 21, 2017 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/10/171019143018.htm. Image: Silodon populator, 1903, American Museum of Natural History, Public Domain due to age.
