English: “A male and its mate” — Do animals have marital status? R’ Abbahu said: [The pairs that entered were] from those that came of their own accord (i.e., animals that naturally pair exclusively with one mate).
On the daf / in context: The anthropomorphic language “ish ve-ishto” is justified by the fact that the animals that arrived of themselves were those that already lived in exclusive pairs; Noach recognized them as the proper “married” couples for the ark.
Type of Learning
Custom (resolution of anthropomorphic language applied to animals).
What Is Learned
The phrase “ish ve-ishto” refers to animals that came in natural exclusive pairs; only those were taken.