According to Genesis, what was the ark’s main building material?

According to Genesis, the ark’s main building material was gopher wood.

In Genesis 6:14, God tells Noah to make the ark from “gopher wood,” but the biblical text does not identify this wood with a modern botanical species. The Hebrew term appears only in this passage, making its precise meaning uncertain.

Some translations preserve the phrase as “gopher wood,” while others have proposed terms such as cypress wood or resinous wood. These alternatives are interpretations rather than universally established identifications, so “gopher wood” is the safest answer when the question follows the wording of Genesis.

The same instruction also says that the ark should be divided into compartments and coated inside and outside with pitch. That coating would have helped make the vessel watertight. The text gives construction details but does not provide archaeological evidence identifying a surviving ark or a confirmed ancient vessel built from this material.