How many human passengers did Genesis say entered Noah’s Ark?
Answer
Eight people
Genesis describes eight human passengers entering Noah’s Ark: Noah, his wife, his three sons, and his sons’ three wives. Genesis 7:13 names this household as entering the ark before the Flood.
The three sons are Shem, Ham, and Japheth, identified earlier in Genesis. Counting Noah and his wife gives two parents, while the three sons and their wives add six more people, making eight altogether.
This count is sometimes confused with the number of animals or with later traditions that expand the story’s details. Genesis does not give the names of Noah’s wife or his daughters-in-law in the Flood account. It does, however, clearly describe the family relationship and total household.
The New Testament also refers to Noah’s family as “eight souls” in 1 Peter 3:20, echoing the Genesis-based count.