The flood-survival vessel in the Bible is called the Ark. In the Genesis narrative, God instructs Noah to build the Ark before the Flood and to bring aboard his family and representatives of the animal world.
The English word “ark” comes through Latin arca, meaning a chest or box. In biblical usage, it describes Noah’s large enclosed vessel and also appears in the name “Ark of the Covenant,” a separate sacred chest associated with the Israelites. The two objects are not the same and belong to different stories.
Genesis describes Noah’s Ark with dimensions, multiple levels, a side entrance, a window, and a coating of pitch. It does not provide the personal name of a ship or call the vessel by a nautical proper noun. “Noah’s Ark” is the standard English designation used in biblical studies and popular culture.
The Ark should also be distinguished from the Tabernacle and Temple, which are later structures in the Hebrew Bible. Their similar religious importance does not make them alternative names for Noah’s vessel.