According to Genesis, what wood was Noah's Ark built from?

According to Genesis, Noah’s Ark was built from gopher wood.

Genesis 6:14 gives Noah the instruction to make the ark from “gopher wood” and to cover it inside and outside with pitch. The Hebrew term translated as “gopher wood” appears only in this passage, so its exact botanical identity is unknown. It may refer to a particular type of wood, a construction technique, or a word preserved through an ancient translation tradition.

The phrase is sometimes mistakenly treated as the name of a known tree. Biblical translations differ: some retain “gopher wood,” while others use expressions such as “resinous wood” or “cypress wood.” None establishes a certain modern species. The passage’s main focus is the ark’s construction and waterproofing, not a scientific identification of the timber.

The ark account later describes the vessel’s dimensions, compartments, and window, but it does not provide a surviving archaeological description of its wood.