The Hebrew word for Noah's Ark in Genesis is tebah.
Tebah is commonly translated as “ark,” “box,” or “chest.” It appears in the flood narrative for Noah's vessel and is also used for the basket in which the infant Moses is placed in the Book of Exodus. That shared word has led scholars and readers to note a literary connection between the two rescue stories.
The term does not specifically mean a conventional sailing ship. Its broad sense helps explain why Genesis focuses on the Ark's dimensions, compartments, waterproofing, door, and window rather than describing a navigable bow, mast, or steering system.
English translations vary in how they render tebah, but “Ark” is the established traditional form in the Noah story. The word should not be confused with the Hebrew term aron, used for the Ark of the Covenant, a different object with a different textual history.