According to Genesis, what was the Ark made of?

According to Genesis, the Ark was made of gopher wood. Genesis 6:14 instructs Noah to make the Ark from gopher wood and to cover it inside and outside with pitch. The Hebrew term translated as “gopher wood” is unusual and its exact botanical meaning is uncertain.

Because the word appears only in this passage, translators have not reached a universally accepted identification of a modern tree species. Some translations retain “gopher wood,” while others use broader phrases such as “resinous wood” or “wood of cypress,” reflecting interpretive proposals rather than a settled identification.

The pitch served as a waterproofing substance in the narrative. Genesis does not describe the Ark as being made from cedar, acacia, or another confidently identified species. Those woods occur elsewhere in biblical and ancient Near Eastern contexts, but they should not be substituted for the specific wording traditionally associated with Noah’s Ark.