Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Genesis 6:14 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 14. 14Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
God commands Noah to make an ark from unidentified gopher wood, divide it into compartments, and waterproof it inside and outside with pitch. The construction serves preservation, while several material details remain uncertain.
Read It With
- Genesis 6:9–22
Read verses 14–16 as one building instruction and verses 17–21 for its purpose. Materials, compartments, dimensions, opening, door, and levels matter because the ark must preserve the household, creatures, and food through the flood.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The ark command follows the judgment announcement so that preservation, not destruction alone, directs Noah's response.
Read Genesis 6:13–16 together
Why these verses belong together: God announces the end brought by violence and immediately gives the ark's materials, dimensions, opening, door, and levels.
Verse 13. 13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
Verse 14. 14 Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.
Verse 15. 15 And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.
Verse 16. 16 A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.
Follow the Context
- The generations-of-Noah heading introduces Noah as righteous, blameless among his contemporaries, walking with God, and father of three sons (6:9–10).
- God sees an earth ruined by corruption and filled with violence and tells Noah that the end of all flesh has come before God (6:11–13).
- God commands an ark with compartments, waterproofing, set dimensions, an uncertain upper opening or roof, a side door, and three levels (6:14–16).
- God announces the flood but promises to establish a covenant with Noah and preserve his household, animal pairs, and food in the ark (6:17–21).
- Noah does everything God commands, completing the preparation movement before the entry instructions in chapter 7 (6:22).
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“ark”
In plain language: A large preserving container or chest-like vessel.
Its purpose is to carry life safely through the waters rather than be steered to a destination by Noah.
Why it matters: The vessel is a means of preservation under God's command.
How certain? strong“gopher wood”
In plain language: An unidentified wood or wood product.
Noah is given a material instruction whose precise species is no longer recoverable.
Why it matters: Translations and reconstructions should display uncertainty.
How certain? uncertain“rooms”
In plain language: Compartments, using the Hebrew word for nests.
The interior is ordered for the life the ark will preserve.
Why it matters: It suggests organized spaces without providing a full floor plan.
How certain? probable“pitch it within and without”
In plain language: Coat or caulk the vessel inside and outside with waterproofing pitch.
The instruction makes the vessel ready for water.
Why it matters: The term connects with ancient Mesopotamian flood-vessel language but remains practical here.
How certain? strongWhat This Verse Is Not Saying
The verse does not identify gopher wood with certainty or prove that cypress is the only possible material.
The word pitch does not by itself turn the ark's coating into a hidden doctrine of atonement.
The verse does not authenticate any modern ark replica, archaeological claim, or mountain discovery.
What Remains True
Faithful preparation can require concrete workmanship and careful provision, even when not every detail is available to later readers.
How It Can Shape Life
- Do practical safety work thoroughly instead of substituting vague spiritual language for the material needs of people and creatures in your care.
Teach It Back
Explain Genesis 6:14's contribution to Genesis 6:9–22. Include why the nearby verses are required, what the verse clearly says, and one conclusion it does not justify.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Genesis 6:9–22 — God Warns Noah and Commands the ArkSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
Gopher wood has no secure identification.
A recent ark-tabernacle wordplay proposal is possible but does not establish an atoning function from the coating term alone.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Reader-facing Scripture wording, verse numbering, paragraph data, and supplied-word markup.
Exact location: Pinned eBible/CrossWire standardized 1769 KJV corpus, Genesis 6:9–22
Open source ↗hebrew text morphology and lemma data
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible — Genesis
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project
Open Scriptures, Version 2.2 released 2021; repository inspected 2026
Supports: Toledot, righteous and blameless, walked with God, corruption-destruction wordplay, violence, ark terms, dimensions, flood, covenant, creature categories, preservation, food, and obedience.
Exact location: Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible, wlc/Gen.xml, Genesis 6:9–22
Open source ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible — Genesis with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, Digital edition accessed 2026
Supports: Noah's character terms, corruption and violence, all flesh, end of all flesh, repeated shahat, gopher wood, pitch, dimensions, tsohar construction, flood, covenant, preservation, food, and concluding obedience.
Exact location: NET Bible, Genesis 6:9–22 translator notes 31–66
Open NET Genesis 6 ↗modern scholarly open ancient near eastern study
The Flood Story in Its Ancient Near Eastern Context
Shalom E. Holtz
TheTorah.com, 2014; updated 2026
Supports: Ancient Mesopotamian flood parallels, pitch terminology, shared creation-flood-recreation pattern, and Genesis's distinctive focus on violence rather than overpopulation.
Exact location: The Flood Story in Its Ancient Near Eastern Context, sections 'Noah and Utnapishtim,' 'Noah and Atrahasis,' and 'Why a Flood?'
Open source ↗peer reviewed open final form and intertextual study
Sintflut and Sinai: Genesis 6–8’s allusion to Exodus 24–40
Zara Zhang
Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 50.3, 2026
Supports: Current review of flood source divisions, final-form coherence proposal, the crescendo from Genesis 6:5–8 to 6:9–13, ark and tabernacle construction parallels, and the repeated obedience formula.
Exact location: Journal for the Study of the Old Testament (2026), sections 2.1–2.3, 4.1–4.2, and 5; DOI 10.1177/03090892251367447
Open source ↗