In Genesis, eight people entered Noah’s Ark and survived the Flood.
The eight are Noah, his wife, their three sons—Shem, Ham, and Japheth—and the wives of those three sons. Genesis does not provide the names of Noah’s wife or his daughters-in-law in the Flood narrative. The group therefore consists of one household rather than a large community of survivors.
The number appears in the New Testament as well. First Peter 3:20 refers to “eight souls” being saved through water, reinforcing the traditional Christian reading of the Genesis account. The figure is also discussed in later Jewish and Christian interpretations of the Flood.
This number should not be confused with the animal totals. Genesis distinguishes between the human passengers and the animals brought aboard. Nor does the number mean that eight named individuals are all fully identified: only Noah and his three sons are named directly in the relevant family list, while the other four are described by their relationships.