Noah's Ark (Hebrew: תיבת נח; Biblical Hebrew: Tevat Noaḥ) is the vessel in the Genesis flood narrative (Genesis chapters 6–9) by which God spares Noah, his family, and a remnant of all the world's animals from a world-engulfing flood. According to Genesis, God gave Noah instructions for building the ark. Seven days before the deluge, God told Noah to enter the ark with his household and the animals. The story goes on to describe the ark being afloat for 150 days and then coming to rest on the Mountains of Ararat and the subsequent receding of the waters. The story is repeated, with variations, in the Quran, where the ark appears as Safina Nūḥ (Arabic: سفينة نوح "Noah's boat"). The Genesis flood narrative is similar to numerous other flood myths from a variety of cultures. The earliest known written flood myth is the Sumerian flood myth found in the Epic of Ziusudra.
Searches for Noah's Ark have been made from at least the time of Eusebius (c. 275–339 CE) to the present day. There is no scientific evidence for a global flood, and despite many expeditions, no evidence of the ark has been found. The challenges associated with housing all living animal types, and even plants, would have made building the ark a practical impossibility.
The Hebrew word for the ark, teba, occurs twice in the Bible, in the flood narrative and in the Book of Exodus, where it refers to the basket in which Jochebed places the infant Moses. (The word for the ark of the covenant is quite different.) In both cases teba has a connection with salvation from waters.