Genesis 6:14

Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; make rooms in the ark and coat it with pitch inside and out.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — God addresses Noah, declaring imminent judgment on a violent earth and commanding the construction of a protective vessel. This instruction falls precisely between the announcement of destruction and the delivery of the ark’s exact measurements.

The words — The Hebrew תֵּבָה (te.Vah) literally means "ark" or chest, and קִנִּים (ki.Nim) translates to "nests" or compartments. These terms frame the structure as a sealed, divided container rather than a navigable ship.

The thread — The ark’s construction appears in 1 Peter 3:20 as the historical setting for God’s long patience, while its era is cited in Luke 17:27 and Matthew 24:38 to mark the sudden onset of flood judgment. These passages tie the physical object to recurring biblical patterns of warning and obedience.

Why it lands — The text requires immediate, precise action on a specific building command before any visible threat materializes. It asks the reader to execute detailed instructions without demanding prior proof or emotional motivation.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

עֲשֵׂ֤ה'a.Sehmakeלְךָ֙le./Khafor <the>/ yourselfתֵּבַ֣תte.Vatan ark of עֲצֵי־'a.tzei-wood<s> of גֹ֔פֶרGo.fergopher קִנִּ֖יםki.Nimnests תַּֽעֲשֶׂ֣הta.'a.Sehyou will make אֶת־'et-<obj.>הַתֵּבָ֑הha./te.Vahthe/ ark וְכָֽפַרְתָּ֥ve./kha.far.Taand/ you will cover אֹתָ֛הּ'o.Ta/h<obj.>/ it מִבַּ֥יִתmi./Ba.yitfrom/ inside וּמִח֖וּץu./mi./Chutzand/ from/ outside בַּכֹּֽפֶר׃ba./Ko.ferwith <the>/ pitch

King James Version

Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.

Cross-references

1 Peter 3:20 who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In the ark a few people, only eight souls, were saved through water.
Luke 17:27 People were eating and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.
Matthew 24:38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark.
Exodus 2:3 But when she could no longer hide him, she got him a papyrus basket and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in the basket and set it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile.