In the biblical Noah’s Ark story, how many floors or decks did the ark have?

In the biblical Noah’s Ark story, the ark had three decks. Genesis 6:16 instructs Noah to make the vessel with lower, second, and third decks.

The verse is part of a compact set of construction instructions that also gives the ark’s length, breadth, height, door, and window. These details make the biblical account more structured than many simplified retellings, which often show only a single open interior or a few animal stalls.

The three-deck description does not tell us exactly how the interior was arranged or how many compartments each deck contained. Nor does the Bible describe the ark as having the ornate shape often shown in modern illustrations. The text focuses on its function as a sealed, multi-level vessel designed to carry Noah’s family, animals, and provisions during the Flood.