The biblical account of Noah’s Ark says it was built from gopher wood. Genesis 6:14 gives Noah the instruction to make the ark from this material and to coat it inside and outside with pitch.
“Gopher wood” is a traditional English rendering of the Hebrew phrase used in Genesis. The exact identity of the wood is unknown, so it should not automatically be equated with a modern species such as cypress or cedar. Some translations retain the phrase, while others use broader wording such as “resinous wood.”
The ark’s construction instructions also specify separate compartments, a lower, middle, and upper deck, and a door in its side. These details frame the ark as a large designed vessel rather than an ordinary boat.
A common mix-up is treating “gopher” as the name of a known tree species. In the biblical text, it identifies the building material, but its botanical meaning has not been established with certainty.