In Genesis, eight human survivors left Noah’s Ark after the flood. The group consisted of Noah, his wife, their three sons—Shem, Ham, and Japheth—and the three wives of those sons.
Genesis 7:13 describes these family members entering the Ark, and later biblical passages refer to Noah as one of eight people preserved through the flood. The count therefore includes Noah and his wife plus six people connected through his sons’ marriages.
The number eight is easy to misremember because the story also discusses large numbers of animals and the three sons by name. It is not a count of Noah’s sons, a count of families, or a count of Ark occupants of every kind. It refers specifically to human survivors.
Later religious traditions expand the story in different ways, but the Genesis account gives this compact family group as the human community that begins again after the waters recede.