The Bible describes the story of Noah and the ark in the book of Genesis. This account takes place in a time when the earth was filled with wickedness. Below is a detailed yet simple summary of what the Bible specifically says about the ark, based on Genesis chapters 6 through 9. I will stick strictly to the biblical text, without adding opinions or interpretations.

The Condition of the Earth and God’s Decision

At that time, the number of people on earth increased, and the sons of God married the daughters of men. God saw that the people were wicked and that their thoughts were continually evil. He regretted creating mankind and decided to destroy all living things on earth with a great flood. Only Noah found favor with God because he was a righteous man who walked with God. Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 14

The Command to Build the Ark

God spoke to Noah and instructed him to build an ark. The ark was to be made of cypress wood (or gopher wood), with various compartments, and coated with pitch inside and out. Its dimensions were to be three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high. It needed a window, left open one cubit at the top, and a door in the side. The ark was to have three decks: a lower, middle, and upper deck. God said He would bring a flood to destroy everything with the breath of life, but He would establish a covenant with Noah. Noah, his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives were to enter the ark. Two of every animal—one male and one female—were to come into the ark to stay alive. This included birds, livestock, and every creature that moves along the ground. Noah was also to gather food for everyone. Noah did everything exactly as God commanded him. 14

The Animals and People Enter the Ark

God told Noah to go into the ark with his family because he was the only righteous one. He was to take seven pairs of every clean animal (male and female) and two of every unclean animal (a male and a female). Also, seven pairs of every kind of bird. In seven days, God would make it rain for forty days and nights to wipe out everything. Noah was six hundred years old when this happened. He entered the ark with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives. The animals came in pairs: clean and unclean, birds and creeping things, male and female. After seven days, the flood began. On the seventeenth day of the second month, the fountains of the deep burst open, and the floodgates of heaven were opened. It rained for forty days and nights. God shut the door of the ark behind Noah. 17

The Flood

The flood lasted forty days, and the water rose so high that the ark floated above the earth. The water covered even the highest mountains by fifteen cubits. Everything living on earth perished: birds, livestock, wild animals, creeping things, and people. Only Noah and those with him in the ark survived. The waters covered the earth for one hundred fifty days. 17

The Waters Recede

God remembered Noah and sent a wind to blow, causing the waters to subside. The fountains and floodgates closed, and after one hundred fifty days, the water began to decrease. On the seventeenth day of the seventh month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. On the first day of the tenth month, the tops of the mountains became visible. After forty days, Noah released a raven, which flew back and forth. Then he sent out a dove, but it returned because there was no dry land. After seven days, he sent the dove out again, and it returned with an olive leaf. Seven days later, he sent the dove out again, and it did not return. In Noah’s six hundred first year, on the first day of the first month, the waters were gone. On the twenty-seventh day of the second month, the earth was dry. 15

Leaving the Ark

God told Noah to leave the ark with his family and all the animals so they could multiply and fill the earth. Noah went out with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives. All the animals, birds, and creeping things left the ark, kind by kind. Noah built an altar and offered burnt offerings of clean animals and birds. The aroma pleased God, and He promised never again to curse the ground because of man or destroy everything with a flood. As long as the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will not cease. 15

God’s Covenant After the Flood

God blessed Noah and his sons, telling them to be fruitful and fill the earth. Animals would fear them and serve as food, but they were not to eat meat with its lifeblood still in it. God would require a reckoning for shed blood. He established a covenant with Noah, his descendants, and every living creature: never again would a flood destroy everything. The sign of this covenant is the rainbow in the clouds. When God sees the rainbow, He will remember the covenant. This is an everlasting covenant with all living things on earth. 16

This is what the Bible factually states about Noah’s ark, without additional commentary. The account highlights God’s judgment on wickedness but also His grace and promise of preservation.