In the Genesis Flood story, Noah was instructed to build the Ark from gopher wood.
Genesis 6:14 tells Noah to make the ark from gopher wood and to coat it inside and outside with pitch. The Hebrew term translated as “gopher wood” is unusual and occurs only in this passage, so its exact botanical meaning is uncertain. Some translations preserve the phrase rather than identifying a known tree.
Because the word is obscure, readers sometimes assume that Genesis names cypress, cedar, or another familiar timber. Those are proposed interpretations, not a universally established translation. The safest canonical answer is the wording used by many English Bibles: gopher wood.
The same instruction also gives the ark compartments, or rooms, and specifies waterproofing. These construction details distinguish the biblical vessel from later artistic reconstructions, which often choose a particular wood based on regional traditions or practical speculation.