Noah's Ark Construction Material in Genesis
Genesis 6:14 instructs Noah to construct the ark from "gopher wood," a term that has generated considerable interpretive discussion across Jewish and Christian traditions. The Hebrew term gopher appears only once in the biblical text, making its precise identification uncertain. The verse specifies both the primary material and the waterproofing method: "Make an ark of cyprus timbers for yourself. You shall make rooms in the ark; and you shall cover it with asphalt inside and out" [1].
Identification of Gopher Wood
The Targums and ancient rabbinic sources generally understood gopher wood as cedar [4]. Calvin notes that "the Jews are not agreed among themselves respecting the kind of wood of which it was made," listing cedar, fir-tree, and pine as competing identifications [6]. John Gill's commentary expands this catalog further, mentioning box tree (as rendered in the Arabic version), and noting that "the Mahometans say it was the Indian plane tree" [4].
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown offers a more definitive judgment, identifying gopher wood as "probably cypress, remarkable for its durability and abounding on the Armenian mountains" [7]. This identification carries practical weight: cypress wood possesses natural resistance to decay and water damage, properties essential for a vessel intended to float for an extended period. The Armenian mountains, traditionally associated with Ararat where the ark came to rest, would have provided a plausible source for such timber.
The uncertainty surrounding gopher wood reflects a broader pattern in biblical terminology for construction materials. Unlike common woods mentioned repeatedly in Scripture, this hapax legomenon offers no comparative context. The variety of ancient translations—each reflecting the translator's best judgment about a suitable durable wood in their own geographic context—demonstrates how interpretation necessarily involved practical reasoning about what materials would serve the ark's purpose.
Waterproofing with Pitch
Beyond the wood itself, Genesis 6:14 specifies a coating material. The text commands Noah to "cover it with asphalt inside and out" [1]. Jamieson-Fausset-Brown identifies this substance as "mineral pitch, asphalt, naphtha, or some bituminous substance, which, when smeared over and become hardened, would make it perfectly watertight" [7]. This waterproofing was applied to both interior and exterior surfaces, creating a sealed environment capable of withstanding prolonged immersion.
The use of bituminous materials for waterproofing and construction appears elsewhere in Genesis. At Babel, builders used "slime" (bitumen) as mortar because "there being no stone in that quarter, brick is, and was, the only material used for building" [5]. The Mesopotamian context made bitumen a standard construction material, and its mention in the ark narrative reflects practical building knowledge from the ancient Near East. The substance "when hardened, forms a strong cement, commonly used in Assyria to this day, and forming the mortar found on the burnt brick remains of antiquity" [5].
Structural Design
The ark was not designed as a sailing vessel but as "an ark or chest, being like one, flat bottomed, and ridged and sloping upwards, and was made for floating on the waters for a little way" [4]. Easton's Bible Dictionary describes it as "an oblong floating house of three stories, with a door in the side and a window in the roof," measuring "300 cubits long, 50 cubits broad, and 30 cubits high" [3]. The structure included "rooms" or "cabins or small cells" [7], compartmentalizing the interior space for the preservation of animal species and the eight human occupants.
The dimensions given in Genesis 6:15 have prompted discussion about the cubit measurement employed. John Gill notes that "some interpret of geometrical cubits, each of which contained six ordinary cubits; others of sacred cubits, which were larger by an hand's breadth than the common cubit; but the general opinion of learned men now is, that they were common cubits of eighteen inches long" [8]. This measurement question affects calculations of the ark's total capacity and seaworthiness, though the text itself offers no clarification beyond the numerical ratios.
Duration and Purpose
Easton's Bible Dictionary records that the ark "was 100 years in building" [3], a timeframe derived from comparing Noah's age at different points in the Genesis narrative. This extended construction period would have required sustained access to timber resources and continuous labor. The vessel's purpose was explicitly preservationist: "It was intended to preserve certain persons and animals from the deluge which God was about to bring over the earth. It contained eight persons (Gen. 7:13; 2 Pet. 2:5), and of all 'clean' animals seven pairs, and of 'unclean' one pair, and of birds seven pairs of each sort" [3].
After the flood, the preserved materials served a new function. Genesis 8:20 records that "Noah buildeth an altar to Jehovah, and taketh of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and causeth burnt-offerings to ascend on the altar" [2]. While the text does not specify whether Noah used ark timber for this altar, the construction of a substantial altar immediately after disembarkation suggests he employed available materials, potentially including wood from the vessel that had preserved his family through judgment.
The choice of durable, water-resistant wood coated with waterproof pitch reflects practical engineering adapted to the ark's unique purpose: not navigation but preservation through catastrophic flooding. The ambiguity of "gopher wood" has not prevented recognition that the material needed to combine strength, availability, and resistance to prolonged water exposure—qualities that made cypress, cedar, or similar resinous woods the most plausible candidates for this unprecedented construction project.
Sources
- Genesis “Genesis 6:14 (LITV) — Make an ark of cyprus timbers for yourself. You shall make rooms in the ark; and you shall cover it with asphalt inside and out.”
- Genesis “Genesis 8:20 (YLT) — And Noah buildeth an altar to Jehovah, and taketh of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and causeth burnt-offerings to ascend on the altar;”
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Ark — Noah's ark, a building of gopher-wood, and covered with pitch, 300 cubits long, 50 cubits broad, and 30 cubits high (Gen. 6:14-16); an oblong floating house of three stories, with a door in the side and a window in the roof. It was 100 years in building (Gen. 5:32; 7:6). It was intended to preserve certain persons and animals from the deluge which God was about to bring over the earth. It contained eight persons (Gen. 7:13; 2 Pet. 2:5), and of all "clean" animals seven pairs, and of "unclean" one pair, and of birds seven pairs of each sort (Gen. 7:2, 3). It was”
- Genesis (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Genesis 6:12: Make thee an ark of Gopher wood,.... It is not called a ship, for it was not made for sailing to any distant parts, but an ark or chest, being like one, flat bottomed, and ridged and sloping upwards, and was made for floating on the waters for a little way. So Lucian (c), and other Heathen writers, call it "an ark" or "chest": this was made of "Gopher wood", which all the Targums, and the more ancient Rabbins, understand of cedar wood; some the box tree, as the Arabic version; others, the pine; others, fir; the Mahometans say it was the Indian plane tree; and others,”
- Genesis (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Genesis 11:3: brick--There being no stone in that quarter, brick is, and was, the only material used for building, as appears in the mass of ruins which at the Birs Nimroud may have been the very town formed by those ancient rebels. Some of these are sun-dried--others burnt in the kiln and of different colors. slime--bitumen, a mineral pitch, which, when hardened, forms a strong cement, commonly used in Assyria to this day, and forming the mortar found on the burnt brick remains of antiquity.”
- CCEL (Reformed) “Calvin, Commentary on Genesis, Vol. 1 (Gen 1-23), section 10.22: Make thee an ark of gopher wood . Here follows the command to build the ark, in which God wonderfully proved the faith and obedience of his servant. Concerning its structure, there is no reason why we should anxiously inquire, except so far as our own edification is concerned. First, the Jews are not agreed among themselves respecting the kind of wood of which it was made. Some explain the word gopher to be the cedar; others, the fir-tree; others, the pine. They differ also respecting the stories; because many think that the sink”
- Genesis (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Genesis 6:14: Make thee an ark--ark, a hollow chest (Exo 2:3). gopher wood--probably cypress, remarkable for its durability and abounding on the Armenian mountains. rooms--cabins or small cells. pitch it within and without--mineral pitch, asphalt, naphtha, or some bituminous substance, which, when smeared over and become hardened, would make it perfectly watertight.”
- Genesis (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Genesis 6:13: And this is the fashion which thou shall make it of,.... The form and size of it, its length, breadth, and height, as follows: the length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits; which some interpret of geometrical cubits, each of which contained six ordinary cubits; others of sacred cubits, which were larger by an hand's breadth than the common cubit; but the general opinion of learned men now is, that they were common cubits of eighteen inches long; and by the geometrical calculations made by th”