In the Genesis story of Noah's Ark, how many people entered the vessel with Noah?

The story behind the answer

In the Genesis story of Noah's Ark, seven people entered the vessel with Noah.

Genesis names Noah's wife, his three sons, and the wives of those three sons as the people who accompanied him. Together with Noah, that makes eight human occupants of the Ark. Genesis 7:13 describes Noah, his wife, his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and their wives entering before the Flood.

The answer to this wording is seven because the question asks how many people entered with Noah, excluding Noah himself. If a question asks for the total human passengers, the canonical answer is eight. This distinction is a frequent source of confusion in summaries and quiz questions.

The biblical text does not provide the names of Noah's wife or the wives of his sons. Later Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions supply various names, but those names are not given in Genesis itself.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Oct. 2026

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