What wood does Genesis name as the material for Noah’s Ark?

Genesis names gopher wood as the material for Noah’s Ark. Genesis 6:14 instructs Noah to make the Ark from “gopher wood,” though the exact identity of that wood is uncertain.

“Gopher” appears only in this biblical passage, making it a rare and difficult Hebrew term. Many translations retain the phrase as a transliteration rather than identifying a known modern tree species.

Scholars and translators have proposed possibilities such as cypress or resinous wood, but no identification has achieved universal acceptance. That uncertainty is why “gopher wood” is the safest canonical answer to a question about the wording of Genesis.

The same verse also says Noah should make rooms in the Ark and cover it inside and outside with pitch. Those construction instructions are separate from the wood’s identity and should not be confused with later artistic reconstructions of the vessel.