In Gen 2:18-20 it talks of G_d bringing all the animals to Adam to name. In the story of Noah’s ark it says that all the animals came in pairs (except the clean animals for eating). With all of the “new” species of animals being discovered throughout recent history, aren’t they really just being REdiscovered? They didn’t just pop out of no where, they’ve been here, we just haven’t bumped into them. Wouldn’t they have been there for Adam to name and then again for Noah to include in the ark?
Thanks for your very interesting question. I think I agree with you. We understand that when Adam named the animals, he wasn’t just making something up. With the incredible spiritual perception that was his before his sin, he was able to understand the essence of each type of animal, and give them the name in Lashon Hakodesh (“The Holy Tongue” – the Hebrew Language) that defines their inner reality, and their importance to humanity. This is the language with which the world was created; it doesn’t make sense that some kinds of animals never got fully defined! Adam named every one of the types of animals in the world, as the Torah says clearly.
Similarly, Noah must have saved all of them. The Torah describes animals as breeding “after their own kind (l’mineihem)”, and this is the description also for what Noah brought into the ark. So I’d guess that the modern term “species”, meaning animals that can properly interbreed, is the right way to describe these divisions.
Best wishes,
Michoel Reach