What material does Genesis say Noah used to build the Ark?

Genesis says Noah used gopher wood to build the Ark.

Genesis 6:14 instructs Noah to make the ark from “gopher wood,” a term whose exact meaning is uncertain. The Hebrew expression appears only in this biblical passage, so there is no independently confirmed species of tree that can be identified with certainty as gopher wood.

English translations preserve the phrase in several ways. Some use “gopher wood,” while others render it as “cypress wood,” “resinous wood,” or another type of timber. These differences reflect translation choices and attempts to connect the unusual Hebrew word with a known building material.

The same verse tells Noah to make rooms in the ark and cover it inside and outside with pitch, a waterproofing substance. Genesis also provides measurements in cubits: 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high. Because the length of a cubit varied historically, the exact modern dimensions are uncertain, but the text clearly presents the ark as a large, enclosed wooden vessel.