How many decks did God instruct Noah to build into the Ark in Genesis?

Genesis instructs Noah to build three decks into the Ark.

Genesis 6:16 describes the vessel as having lower, second, and third decks. The instruction appears alongside details about the ark's rooms, its single window, and its door. These architectural details show that the biblical text presents the ark as a large structured vessel rather than a simple open raft.

The three decks are sometimes overlooked because popular images focus on the animals, roof, and exterior shape. The text does not provide a modern naval blueprint, and it gives no complete plan for how rooms, food stores, or animal areas were arranged.

The number of decks should also be separated from the number of animals. Genesis uses different numerical details for the vessel's construction and for the animals brought aboard, so they should not be combined into one figure.