How many stories did Genesis say Noah’s Ark had?

Genesis says Noah’s Ark had three stories, or decks.

Genesis 6:16 instructs Noah to make the Ark with lower, second, and third decks. This is the biblical text’s description of its vertical arrangement, alongside instructions for a roof, an opening, and a door at the side.

The three-story detail does not mean the Ark had three separate vessels. It describes levels within one large structure. The text gives no surviving architectural plan showing how rooms, animal pens, or access routes were arranged across those levels.

Popular illustrations often add elaborate ramps, cages, and decks based on artistic or engineering reconstructions. Those additions may visualize the story, but the primary passage itself specifies only the three levels and a limited set of structural features. The number of stories is therefore more certain than any detailed interior layout.