In the Book of Genesis, Noah's Ark is instructed to be built from gopher wood.
Genesis 6:14 gives the construction instruction in the phrase “make yourself an ark of gopher wood.” The Hebrew term translated as “gopher wood” appears only in this passage, so its exact botanical identity is unknown. “Wood” is clear in the biblical wording, but the particular species remains uncertain.
Some translations retain “gopher wood,” while others have proposed terms such as cypress or resinous wood. Those alternatives are interpretations rather than established identifications. The phrase therefore describes the prescribed building material without proving which modern tree supplied it.
The same verse also mentions compartments and waterproofing with pitch. Those details belong to the ark’s biblical construction account, while archaeological searches have not verified a surviving vessel.