Genesis describes eight human beings surviving the Flood aboard Noah’s Ark.
The eight are Noah, Noah’s wife, his three sons—Shem, Ham, and Japheth—and the three wives of those sons. Genesis 7:13 lists the family entering the ark, and later biblical references preserve the same total. The number is therefore obtained by counting Noah and his wife plus three sons and three daughters-in-law.
The figure does not include the animals, which the narrative treats separately. It also should not be confused with the number of people who may have been involved in building the ark; Genesis does not provide a construction workforce total.
Later religious traditions retell the flood with additional details, but the Genesis account’s human passenger count is eight. This precise number is one reason the story is often cited in discussions of the ark’s family group and the post-flood genealogies.