In Genesis, how many people entered Noah’s Ark, counting Noah and his family?

In Genesis, eight people entered Noah’s Ark: Noah, his wife, his three sons, and their wives.

Genesis 7:7 describes Noah entering with his wife, his sons, and the wives of his sons. That group totals eight individuals. The New Testament also refers to “eight souls” being saved through the flood, reinforcing the traditional count in Christian biblical interpretation.

The number is sometimes confused with the animals aboard the ark. Genesis distinguishes Noah’s human household from the animals brought into the vessel. It also gives different instructions for certain animal categories, so animal counts should not be added to the human total.

The eight-person figure is the count of Noah’s immediate family presented in the narrative, not a census of an extended clan or a later population estimate. It is also separate from traditions outside Genesis that expand or reinterpret the story’s family details.