What was the biblical name of the wood used to build Noah’s Ark?

Genesis names gopher wood as the material used to build Noah’s Ark.

Genesis 6:14 instructs Noah to make the ark from “gopher wood” and to cover it inside and outside with pitch. Most English translations preserve “gopher” as a transliteration because the Hebrew term appears only in this passage and its precise botanical meaning is uncertain.

That uncertainty is important: gopher wood is not securely identified with a modern tree species. Proposed explanations have included cypress and other resinous woods, but none is universally accepted. Therefore, answers such as cedar or pine are guesses rather than the biblical wording.

The same verse describes the ark as divided into compartments. Genesis 6:16 adds a roof, a side door, and three levels. These construction details have inspired later engineering estimates and replicas, but they do not establish a known historical vessel or identify the wood scientifically.