The Hebrew word translated as “ark” in the Genesis flood story is tebah. In Genesis, tebah refers to Noah's vessel and is also used for the basket that carried the infant Moses in Exodus 2.
The shared term is notable because both objects are containers used to preserve a life from dangerous waters. It does not mean “ship” in the broad modern sense, and the Genesis narrative does not describe the ark as a vessel designed for navigation or travel to a destination.
Tebah is distinct from several familiar Hebrew religious terms. Torah means teaching or law, mishkan refers to the tabernacle, and menorah is a lampstand. Translators render tebah as “ark,” but English readers should not assume that the word itself supplies the ark's full design. Its exact ancient semantic range and relationship to Egyptian loanwords remain subjects of linguistic discussion.