In the Genesis account of Noah’s Ark, what wood was the vessel made from?

According to Genesis, Noah’s Ark was made from gopher wood.

Genesis 6:14 gives Noah the instruction to build the ark from “gopher wood,” but the biblical text does not identify what modern tree or timber the term describes. Because of that uncertainty, translations sometimes preserve the Hebrew-sounding word, while others use phrases such as “resinous wood” or “cypress wood.” “Gopher wood” is therefore the standard traditional answer, not a securely identified modern species.

The instruction also says to make rooms in the ark and coat it inside and outside with pitch, a waterproofing substance. The account presents the vessel as a large survival craft built before the flood, rather than as an ordinary ship designed for sailing to a destination.

A common mix-up is to treat cypress as the certain answer. Cypress is a proposed interpretation in some translations and commentaries, but Genesis itself names only gopher wood. The Epic of Gilgamesh, a separate Mesopotamian flood tradition, gives different construction details and should not be used to replace the Genesis wording.