In Genesis, who built Noah’s Ark?

In Genesis, Noah built Noah’s Ark at God’s command. The biblical account presents Noah as a righteous man chosen to survive a catastrophic flood with his family and representatives of the animal world.

Genesis 6–9 describes Noah receiving detailed instructions for the vessel’s construction. He is told to make it from gopher wood, divide it into compartments, coat it with pitch, and provide lower, middle, and upper decks. Noah then gathers his household and the animals before the floodwaters rise.

The name Noah comes from the Hebrew נֹחַ, often connected with rest or consolation. The story is part of the Book of Genesis and is also known through later Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions, although the details differ among those traditions.

A common mix-up is assigning the ark’s construction to Noah’s sons. Genesis names them as passengers and survivors, but Noah is the person explicitly commanded to build the vessel.