In the biblical account of Noah's Ark, what was the ark made from?

In the biblical account of Noah's Ark, the ark was made from gopher wood.

Genesis 6:14 gives Noah the instruction to build the vessel from “gopher wood” and to make rooms inside it, sealing it with pitch. The Hebrew term is unusual: the Bible does not explain exactly which modern tree or timber it denotes.

That uncertainty has led to many proposed identifications, including cypress and resinous woods, but none is universally accepted. “Gopher wood” is therefore the precise biblical wording, rather than the name of a securely identified species. Some translations render the phrase differently, which can create confusion between a translation choice and a proven botanical identification.

The ark’s stated purpose was to preserve Noah, his family, and representatives of land animals during the Flood. The passage also describes its dimensions and internal layout, but it does not provide a surviving archaeological sample of the wood.