Genesis 6:14 · Bible study
Genesis 6:14 Commentary: The Ark of Gopher Wood
Hebrew · 9 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Explore the significance of the ark’s materials, gopher wood, rooms, pitch, and how God’s command weaves divine sovereignty with human obedience in
Research Summary
- Meaning: God commands Noah to build a waterproof box (ark) to survive the coming flood, specifying materials and compartments.
- Key words: tebah (ark/box), gopher (unknown resinous wood), qinnim (rooms, lit. “nests”), kopher (pitch/bitumen).
- Main debate: What species of tree is “gopher wood”? No consensus; guesses include cypress, cedar, pine, or fir. The word appears only here.
- Theological theme: Salvation by divine provision through human obedience; the ark as a type of Christ and the Church.
- Best use: Teaching faith in God’s word, the partnership of grace and works in preservation, and the purposeful details of biblical narrative.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; make rooms in the ark and coat it with pitch inside and out.
WEB World English Bible 2000
Make a ship of gopher wood. You shall make rooms in the ship, and shall seal it inside and outside with pitch.
KJV King James Version 1769
Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
`Make for thyself an ark of gopher-wood; rooms dost thou make with the ark, and thou hast covered it within and without with cypress;
Darby Darby Bible 1890
Make thyself an ark of gopher wood: [with] cells shalt thou make the ark; and pitch it inside and outside with pitch.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
Make thee an ark of timber planks: thou shalt make little rooms in the ark, and thou shalt pitch it within and without.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Hazte un arca de madera de Gopher: harás aposentos en el arca, y la embetunarás con brea por dentro y por fuera.
Faze-te uma arca de madeira de gôfer: farás aposentos na arca e a selarás com betume por dentro e por fora.
Fais-toi une arche de bois de gopher; tu disposeras cette arche en cellules, et tu l’ enduiras de poix en dedans et en dehors.
Mache dir einen Kasten von Tannenholz und mache Kammern darin und verpiche ihn mit Pech inwendig und auswendig.
Maak u een ark van goferhout; met kameren zult gij deze ark maken; en gij zult die bepekken van binnen en van buiten met pek.
Fatti un’arca di legno di gofer; falla a stanze, e spalmala di pece, di dentro e di fuori.
Uczyń sobie korab z drzewa Gofer; przegrody poczynisz w korabiu, i oblejesz go wewnątrz i zewnątrz smołą.
Сделай себе ковчег из дерева гофер; отделения сделай в ковчеге и осмоли его смолою внутри и снаружи.
你 要用歌斐 木 造 一隻方舟，分一間一間 地造，裡 外 抹上 松香。
Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood with rooms in it, and make it safe from the water inside and out.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Genesis 6:14
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators largely agree that Genesis 6:14 records God’s practical instruction to Noah for a vessel of survival. The word tebah appears only here and for Moses’ basket (Exodus 2:3), a box-like container meant to float, not sail. The Hebrew term for “rooms” is qinnim, literally “nests,” suggesting small cubicles for animals and stores (Cambridge Bible). “Gopher wood” is debated but most scholars identify it as a resinous conifer, likely cypress, prized for durability (Bochart, cited by Gill; Calvin). The double command to pitch (kopher) the ark inside and out echoes Babylonian flood accounts where bitumen (kupru) seals the vessel (Cambridge Bible). Yet the key point is not the material’s identity but the obedience it requires: God gives a precise, humanly achievable task that becomes the instrument of salvation.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: God commanded Noah to build a particular kind of vessel using specific materials, and Noah’s obedience was central to his salvation and that of his family.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning of 'gopher wood' | It is a durable, resinous timber suitable for shipbuilding. | Some argue for cypress (Bochart, adopted by many Protestants); others for cedar (Jewish Targums) or pine (some Arab sources); Calvin notes the Jews themselves disagreed. |
| Shape and function of the ark | The vessel was a rectangular box (not a ship) designed to float, not sail. | Ancient skeptics claimed it was impossible to house so many animals; later interpreters argued the dimensions were generous (about 1.5 million cubic feet). Some still debate the number of decks and arrangement of rooms. |
| Rooms or cells | The interior had many small compartments to separate kinds of creatures. | Jewish tradition (Targum of Jonathan) numbers them at 150 cells; others see fewer but subdivided nests. The precise arrangement is unknown. |
Historical & Cultural Context
The ancient Near East knew flood stories. The Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh features a hero warned by a god to build a boat and coat it with bitumen. Genesis shares this linguistic and cultural backdrop, the Hebrew kopher (pitch) resembles the Akkadian kupru. But the biblical account reframes the narrative: it is one sovereign God, not a squabbling pantheon, who judges and saves.
“Gopher wood” remains mysterious. The word occurs only here, so even ancient translators guessed. The Septuagint rendered it “squared beams”; the Vulgate “planed timber.” Jewish tradition held it to be cedar; Bochart argued for cypress, common in Assyria where the ark may have been built (Clarke). The uncertainty reminds us that the text’s authority does not hinge on our ability to identify the tree.
The instructions themselves demonstrate that God works through human hands. Noah must build an enormous rectangular barge, 300 cubits long (about 450 feet), with three decks and a roof. The pitch, a natural petroleum product, waterproofs the vessel against a flood that had never before occurred. God did not simply shelter Noah by miracle; He engaged his faith in a decade-long construction project. This interplay of divine command and human labor is central to the passage.
Textual Notes
The supplied sources note no significant textual variants for Genesis 6:14. The Hebrew is stable across manuscripts. The only ambiguity is lexical (gopher, kopher) rather than textual.
Reception History
Early Christian interpreters, following 1 Peter 3:20-21, saw the ark as a type of baptism and the Church, the wooden vessel that saves through water. St. Augustine allegorized the dimensions as symbolizing the body of Christ. The Venerable Bede connected the gopher wood to Christ’s humanity, incorruptible and enduring. Jewish exegesis focused on Noah’s righteousness and the practical details: the Mishnah discusses the ark’s dimensions for halakhic purposes. Medieval artists depicted the ark as a house-shaped boat. The Reformation returned attention to Noah’s faith (Hebrews 11:7) and the visible patience of God while the ark was building (Luther, Calvin). Modern scholarship emphasizes the passage’s connections to ancient Near Eastern parallels, affirming its historical roots while focusing on its theological message of judgment and rescue.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- Detailed instruction tests faith. God gives Noah a building plan with wood, rooms, and pitch, practical steps that require trust in an unseen flood.
- The ark as a type of Christ. As the ark provided salvation from judgment, Christ is the only shelter from God’s wrath (1 Peter 3:20-21). The precise materials point to the sufficiency of God’s provision.
- Obedience saves a household. Noah’s “yes” to God’s command preserved his family and all living creatures. Faith manifests in action.
Five-point outline
- The word “ark”, a safe container for the faithful
- Gopher wood, a durable, unknown material symbolizing resilience
- “Nests” (rooms), ordered care for every creature
- Pitch within and without, total sealing against judgment
- The result: salvation through obedient work
Illustration hooks
- A family building a storm shelter in a region with no history of tornadoes, neighbors think they are foolish, but the builder trusts the warning.
- Preserving heirlooms in a waterproof safe: the pitch represents the thoroughness of God’s protective measures.
Questions your congregation is asking
- “Why did God give Noah such specific instructions, why not just miraculously preserve him?”
- “How could Noah believe that a flood was coming when it had never rained like that before?”
- “What does this verse teach me about following God’s directions even when I don’t fully understand them?”
Leading a Discussion
Genesis 6:14 is the first of several verses detailing God’s rescue plan for Noah. As you read it, notice the careful attention to materials and method. God does not leave the plan vague, He specifies wood, rooms, and pitch. This precision calls Noah (and us) to trust that God’s way is the way of salvation.
Discussion questions
- What do the specific materials (gopher wood, pitch) tell you about Noah’s situation and God’s character?
- Why does God involve Noah in building the ark instead of saving him by a direct miracle?
- What does the word “rooms” (literally “nests”) suggest about how God values order and care for creation?
- How does the command to seal the ark “inside and outside” picture the thoroughness of God’s protection?
- In what ways might Noah have felt pressure from his culture to abandon this project? How does Hebrews 11:7 describe his faith?
- Where in your life might God be asking you to do something that seems impractical or strange, but that He has clearly commanded?
- How can the church today function like an “ark”, a place of safety and preservation amid societal judgment?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Exodus 2:3 | When she could no longer hide him, she took a papyrus basket for him, and coated it with tar and with pitch. She put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river’s bank. |
| Matthew 24:38 | For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ship, |
| Luke 17:27 | They ate, they drank, they married, and they were given in marriage until the day that Noah entered into the ship, and the flood came and destroyed them all. |
| I Peter 3:20 | who before were disobedient when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ship was being built. In it, few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
9 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke highlights that the words for both "ark" and "gopher wood" appear only here and in Moses' infancy story, leaving their exact meaning uncertain. After weighing ancient translations and wood properties, he concludes that no one knows what kind of wood gopher was, and the term may simply mean a container or vessel.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin cautions against anxious curiosity about the ark's exact construction, since the Jews themselves disagree on the kind of wood, the number of windows, and the arrangement of floors. What matters, he argues, is the way God tested Noah's faith and obedience through the command. Calvin offers his own plausible view of a single window and three stories, but insists these details are not essential for edification.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentator notes that the Hebrew words for ark and pitch appear only here in the Bible, with ark possibly of Egyptian or Assyrian origin. The word for pitch closely matches the Assyrian term for bitumen used in Babylonian flood accounts, suggesting a connection between the stories and a Euphrates Valley setting.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Notes highlight the particular materials and building instructions God gave Noah. The ark was to be made of pine wood, fitted with cabins or rooms, and completely sealed inside and out with pitch for waterproofing. This emphasizes the precise, practical care God took in preparing for the flood.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill argues that the ark was a flat-bottomed chest designed to float rather than sail, likely built from durable cypress wood near Noah’s home. He emphasizes that the command to make rooms for creatures and pitch both sides served practical needs: keeping water out externally and managing odors internally to preserve life during the flood.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB identifies the ark as a hollow chest made of cypress, a durable wood common on Armenian mountains, with internal cabins and a coating of mineral pitch inside and out to make it perfectly watertight.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange identifies gopher-wood as cypress, a resinous wood that is both light and firm. He notes the Hebrew word occurs only here in Scripture but is etymologically related to the Greek word for cypress, emphasizing the practical qualities suited for a vessel meant to survive the flood.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry highlights that God's favor toward Noah shows first in how the Holy Spirit repeats his name five times in five lines, taking delight in his memory. The greater grace appears in the detailed instructions and covenant promises God personally gives him, making Noah a partner in the plan of salvation.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley sees the ark not merely as a vessel for survival but as a deliberate test of Noah's faith and obedience. God could have saved him without effort, but chose to involve Noah in his own preservation to teach that salvation requires human cooperation with divine grace.