In the biblical account of Noah’s Ark, Noah was instructed to build it from gopher wood.
Genesis 6:14 gives the Hebrew phrase often translated as “gopher wood.” The Bible does not identify a modern tree species corresponding exactly to this term, so translations preserve the uncertainty in different ways. “Gopher wood” is the traditional English rendering and the standard short answer to this question.
The ark’s construction instructions also mention rooms, a coating of pitch for waterproofing, a door in its side, and three decks. These details appear in the Priestly flood account in Genesis and are among the most frequently cited features of the vessel.
A common mix-up is treating gopher wood as a clearly identified species such as cedar. It is not. The term is a translation of an otherwise uncertain Hebrew word, and proposed identifications include cypress-like or resinous woods, but none is established as definitive.