What is the Ark’s construction wood called in the Book of Genesis?

The Book of Genesis calls the Ark’s construction material gopher wood.

Genesis 6:14 instructs Noah to make the Ark from “gopher wood,” but the text does not explain what kind of wood that term identifies. Because the Hebrew word appears only in this passage, its precise botanical meaning remains uncertain.

English translations have generally retained “gopher wood” rather than identifying a modern tree species. Proposed interpretations over the centuries have included cypress, cedar, and other durable woods, but none is established as the definitive identification. Some translations use wording such as “wood of cypress” while noting the uncertainty.

The term is therefore best treated as a traditional translation rather than a confirmed species name. It should not be confused with the acacia wood used for several objects in the Tabernacle instructions of Exodus, a separate biblical construction context.