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[[File:Ark of the Covenant church in Axum Ethiopia.jpg|thumb|right|The Chapel of the Tablet at the [[Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion]] in [[Axum]] allegedly houses the original Ark of the Covenant.]]
[[File:Ark of the Covenant church in Axum Ethiopia.jpg|thumb|right|The Chapel of the Tablet at the [[Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion]] in [[Axum]] allegedly houses the original Ark of the Covenant.]]


The [[Ethiopian Orthodox Church]] claims to possess the Ark of the Covenant, or ''[[Tabot]]'', in [[Axum, Ethiopia|Axum]], not far from the border with [[Eritrea]]. The object is currently kept under guard in a treasury near the [[Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion]] and alleged replicas of the object are used occasionally in ritual processions.<ref>Paul Raffaele, [http://www.smithsonianmag.com/people-places/ark-covenant-200712.html?c=y&page=1 "Keepers of the Lost Ark?" ''Smithsonian Magazine''], December 2007 (accessed 5 April 2011)</ref> Replicas of the Axum ''tabot'' are kept in every Ethiopian church, each with its own dedication to a particular saint, the most popular of these include Mary, George and Michael.<ref name=munro-hay>Stuart Munro-Hay, 2005, ''The Quest for the Ark of the Covenant'', Tauris (reviewed in ''Times Literary Supplement'' 19 August 2005 p. 36)</ref>
The [[Ethiopian Orthodox Church]] claims to possess the Ark of the Covenant, or ''[[Tabot]]'', in [[Axum, Ethiopia|Axum]], not far from the border with [[Eritrea]]. The object is currently kept under guard in a treasury near the [[Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion]] and is used occasionally in ritual processions.<ref>Paul Raffaele, [http://www.smithsonianmag.com/people-places/ark-covenant-200712.html?c=y&page=1 "Keepers of the Lost Ark?" ''Smithsonian Magazine''], December 2007 (accessed 5 April 2011)</ref> Replicas of the Axum ''tabot'' are kept in every Ethiopian church, each with its own dedication to a particular saint, the most popular of these include Mary, George and Michael.<ref name=munro-hay>Stuart Munro-Hay, 2005, ''The Quest for the Ark of the Covenant'', Tauris (reviewed in ''Times Literary Supplement'' 19 August 2005 p. 36)</ref>


The ''[[Kebra Nagast]]'', composed to legitimise the new dynasty ruling [[Ethiopia]] following its establishment in 1270, narrates how the real Ark of the Covenant was brought to Ethiopia by [[Menelik I]] with divine assistance, while a forgery was left in the Temple in Jerusalem. Although the ''Kebra Nagast'' is the best-known account of this belief, the belief predates the document. [[Abu al-Makarim|Abu Salih the Armenian]], writing in the last quarter of the twelfth century, makes one early reference to this belief that they possessed the Ark. "The Abyssinians possess also the Ark of the Covenant", he wrote, and, after a description of the object, describes how the liturgy is celebrated upon the Ark four times a year, "on the feast of the great nativity, on the feast of the glorious Baptism, on the feast of the holy Resurrection, and on the feast of the illuminating Cross."<ref>B.T.A. Evetts (translator), ''The Churches and Monasteries of Egypt and Some Neighboring Countries attributed to Abu Salih, the Armenian'', with added notes by Alfred J. Butler (Oxford, 1895), pp. 287f</ref>
The ''[[Kebra Nagast]]'', composed to legitimise the new dynasty ruling [[Ethiopia]] following its establishment in 1270, narrates how the real Ark of the Covenant was brought to Ethiopia by [[Menelik I]] with divine assistance, while a forgery was left in the Temple in Jerusalem. Although the ''Kebra Nagast'' is the best-known account of this belief, the belief predates the document. [[Abu al-Makarim|Abu Salih the Armenian]], writing in the last quarter of the twelfth century, makes one early reference to this belief that they possessed the Ark. "The Abyssinians possess also the Ark of the Covenant", he wrote, and, after a description of the object, describes how the liturgy is celebrated upon the Ark four times a year, "on the feast of the great nativity, on the feast of the glorious Baptism, on the feast of the holy Resurrection, and on the feast of the illuminating Cross."<ref>B.T.A. Evetts (translator), ''The Churches and Monasteries of Egypt and Some Neighboring Countries attributed to Abu Salih, the Armenian'', with added notes by Alfred J. Butler (Oxford, 1895), pp. 287f</ref>

Revision as of 01:36, 12 April 2013

The Ark of the Covenant (Template:Lang-he ʾĀrôn Habbərît, modern pron. Aron Habrit), also known as the Ark of the Testimony, is a chest described in the Book of Exodus[1] as containing the Tablets of Stone on which the Ten Commandments were inscribed. According to some traditional interpretations of the Book of Exodus,[2] Book of Numbers,[3] and the Letter to the Hebrews[4] the Ark also contained Aaron's rod, a jar of manna and the first Torah scroll as written by Moses; however, the first of the Books of Kings says that at the time of King Solomon, the Ark contained only the two Tablets of the Law.[5] According to the Book of Exodus, the Ark was built at the command of God, in accordance with the instructions given to Moses on Mount Sinai.[6] God was said to have communicated with Moses "from between the two cherubim" on the Ark's cover.[7]

The covered ark with golden staves carried by the priests, and seven priests with rams' horns, at the siege of Jericho, in an eighteenth-century artist's depiction.

The biblical account relates that during the Israelites' exodus from Egypt, the Ark was carried by the priests some 2,000 cubits in advance of the people and their army, or host.[8] When the Ark was borne by priests into the bed of the Jordan, water in the river separated, opening a pathway for the entire host to pass through (Josh. 3:15-16; 4:7-18). The city of Jericho was taken with no more than a shout after the Ark of the Covenant was paraded for seven days around its wall by seven priests sounding seven trumpets of rams' horns (Josh. 6:4-20). When carried, the Ark was always wrapped in a veil, in skins and a blue cloth, and was carefully concealed, even from the eyes of the priests who carried it. There are no contemporary extra-biblical references to the Ark.[9]

In the Roman Catholic Church, the Ark is sometimes theologically referred to as the Blessed Virgin Mary, having parallels to bearing Jesus Christ in similarity to the original tangible contents of the Ark, often thought to refer to the spiritual Messiah and cited in the Book of Revelations and the Litany of Loreto.[10]

Biblical account

Construction and description

According to the Book of Exodus, Yahweh instructed Moses on Mount Sinai during his 40-day stay upon the mountain within the thick cloud and darkness where God was (Ex. 19:20; 24:18) and he was shown the pattern for the tabernacle and furnishings of the Ark to be made of shittim wood to house the Tablets of Stone. Moses instructed Bezalel and Oholiab to construct the ark (Exodus 31).[11]

The Book of Exodus gives detailed instructions on how the Ark is to be constructed. It is to be 2½ cubits in length, 1½ in breadth, and 1½ in height (approximately Template:Convert/3). Then it is to be plated entirely with gold, and a crown or molding of gold is to be put around it. Four rings of gold are to be attached to its four feet—two on each side—and through these rings staves of shittim-wood overlaid with gold for carrying the Ark are to be inserted; and these are not to be removed.[12] A golden cover, a kapporet (traditionally "Mercy Seat" in Christian translations) adorned with golden cherubim, is to be placed above the Ark. The Ark is finally to be placed behind a veil (Parochet), a full description of which is also given at Exodus 25.

Mobile vanguard

Moses and Joshua bowing before the Ark, painting by James Jacques Joseph Tissot, c. 1900
1728 illustration of the Ark at the erection of the Tabernacle and the sacred vessels, as in Exodus 40:17-19

After its creation by Moses, the Ark was carried by the Israelites during their 40 years of wandering in the desert. Whenever the Israelites camped, the Ark was placed in a special and sacred tent, called the Tabernacle.

When the Israelites, led by Joshua toward the Promised Land, arrived at the banks of the River Jordan, the Ark was carried in the lead preceding the people and was the signal for their advance (Joshua 3:3, 6). During the crossing, the river grew dry as soon as the feet of the priests carrying the Ark touched its waters, and remained so until the priests—with the Ark—left the river after the people had passed over (Josh. 3:15-17; 4:10, 11, 18). As memorials, twelve stones were taken from the Jordan at the place where the priests had stood (Josh. 4:1-9).

In the Battle of Jericho, the Ark was carried round the city once a day for seven days, preceded by the armed men and seven priests sounding seven trumpets of rams' horns (Josh. 6:4-15). On the seventh day, the seven priests sounding the seven trumpets of rams' horns before the Ark compassed the city seven times and, with a great shout, Jericho's wall fell down flat and the people took the city (Josh. 6:16-20). After the defeat at Ai, Joshua lamented before the Ark (Josh. 7:6-9). When Joshua read the Law to the people between Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal, they stood on each side of the Ark. The Ark was again set up by Joshua at Shiloh, but when the Israelites fought against Benjamin at Gibeah, they had the Ark with them and consulted it after their defeat.

Capture by the Philistines

Main article: Philistine captivity of the Ark

The Ark is next spoken of as being in the Tabernacle at Shiloh during Samuel's apprenticeship (1 Sam. 3:3). After the settlement of the Israelites in Canaan, the Ark remained in the Tabernacle at Gilgal for a season before being removed to Shiloh until the time of Eli, between 300 and 400 years (Jeremiah 7:12), when it was carried into the field of battle, so as to secure, as they had hoped, victory to the Hebrews. The Ark was taken by the Philistines (1 Sam. 4:3-11) who subsequently sent it back after retaining it for seven months (1 Sam. 5:7, 8) because of the events said to have transpired.

After their first defeat at Eben-ezer, the Israelites had the Ark brought from Shiloh, and welcomed its coming with great rejoicing. In the second battle, the Israelites were again defeated, and the Philistines captured the Ark (1 Sam. 4:3-5, 10, 11). The news of its capture was at once taken to Shiloh by a messenger "with his clothes rent, and with earth upon his head." The old priest, Eli, fell dead when he heard it; and his daughter-in-law, bearing a son at the time the news of the capture of the Ark was received, named him Ichabod—explained as "The glory has departed Israel." in reference to the loss of the Ark (1 Sam. 4:12-22).

The Philistines took the Ark to several places in their country, and at each place misfortune befell them (1 Sam. 5:1-6). At Ashdod it was placed in the temple of Dagon. The next morning Dagon was found prostrate, bowed down, before it; and on being restored to his place, he was on the following morning again found prostrate and broken. The people of Ashdod were smitten with hemorrhoids; a plague of mice was sent over the land (1 Sam. 6:5). The affliction of boils was also visited upon the people of Gath and of Ekron, whither the Ark was successively removed (1 Sam. 5:8-12).

After the Ark had been among them for seven months, the Philistines, on the advice of their diviners, returned it to the Israelites, accompanying its return with an offering consisting of golden images of the tumors and mice wherewith they had been afflicted. The Ark was set in the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite, and the Beth-shemites offered sacrifices and burnt offerings (1 Sam. 6:1-15). Out of curiosity the men of Beth-shemesh gazed at the Ark; and as a punishment, seventy of them (fifty thousand seventy in some ms.) were smitten by the Lord (1 Sam. 6:19). The Bethshemites sent to Kirjath-jearim, or Baal-Judah, to have the Ark removed (1 Sam. 6:21); and it was taken to the house of Abinadab, whose son Eleazar was sanctified to keep it. Kirjath-jearim remained the abode of the Ark for twenty years. Under Saul, the Ark was with the army before he first met the Philistines, but the king was too impatient to consult it before engaging in battle. In 1 Chronicles 13:3 it is stated that the people were not accustomed to consult the Ark in the days of Saul.

In the days of King David

Illustration from the 13th century Morgan Bible of David bringing the Ark into Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6).

At the beginning of his reign, King David removed the Ark from Kirjath-jearim amid great rejoicing. On the way to Zion, Uzzah, one of the drivers of the cart whereon the Ark was carried, put out his hand to steady the Ark, and was smitten by God for touching it. David, in fear, carried the Ark aside into the house of Obed-edom the Gittite, instead of carrying it on to Zion, and there it stayed three months (2 Samuel 6:1-11; 1 Chronicles 13:1-13).

On hearing that God had blessed Obed-edom because of the presence of the Ark in his house, David had the Ark brought to Zion by the Levites, while he himself, "girded with a linen ephod," "danced before the Lord with all his might" and in the sight of all the public gathered in Jerusalem — a performance that caused him to be scornfully rebuked by his first wife, Saul's daughter Michal (2 Sam. 6:12-16, 20-22; 1 Chron. 15). In Zion, David put the Ark in the tabernacle he had prepared for it, offered sacrifices, distributed food, and blessed the people and his own household (2 Sam. 6:17-20; 1 Chron. 16:1-3; 2 Chron. 1:4).

The Levites were appointed to minister before the Ark (1 Chron. 16:4). David's plan of building a temple for the Ark was stopped at the advice of God (2 Sam. 7:1-17; 1 Chron. 17:1-15; 28:2, 3). The Ark was with the army during the siege of Rabbah (2 Sam. 11:11); and when David fled from Jerusalem at the time of Absalom's conspiracy, the Ark was carried along with him until he ordered Zadok the priest to return it to Jerusalem (2 Sam. 15:24-29).

In Solomon's Temple

The Ark carried into the Temple from the early 15th century Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry

When Abiathar was dismissed from the priesthood by King Solomon for having taken part in Adonijah's conspiracy against David, his life was spared because he had formerly borne the Ark (1 Kings 2:26). Solomon worshipped before the Ark after his dream in which God promised him wisdom (1 Kings 3:15).

During the construction of Solomon's Temple, a special inner room, named Kodesh Hakodashim (Eng. Holy of Holies), was prepared to receive and house the Ark (1 Kings 6:19); and when the Temple was dedicated, the Ark—containing the original tablets of the Ten Commandments—was placed therein (1 Kings 8:6-9). When the priests emerged from the holy place after placing the Ark there, the Temple was filled with a cloud, "for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord" (1 Kings 8:10-11; 2 Chron. 5:13, 14).

When Solomon married Pharaoh's daughter, he caused her to dwell in a house outside Zion, as Zion was consecrated because of its containing the Ark (2 Chron. 8:11). King Josiah also had the Ark put in the Temple (2 Chron. 35:3), whence it appears to have been removed by one of his predecessors (cf. 2 Chron. 33-34 and 2 Kings 21-23).

The Babylonian Conquest and aftermath

In 586 BC, the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and Solomon's Temple. There is no record of what became of the Ark in the Books of Kings and Chronicles. But the Greek 3rd Book of Ezra (1 Esdras) suggests that Babylonians:

"...took all the holy vessels of the Lord, both great and small, and the ark of God, and the king's treasures, and carried them away into Babylon." (1 Esdras 1:54)

In Rabbinic Literature, the final disposition of the Ark is disputed. Some Rabbis hold that it must have been carried off to Babylon, while others hold that it must have been hidden lest it be carried off into Babylon and never brought back.[13]

References to the Ark in Scripture

Jewish Tanakh

The Ark is first mentioned in the Book of Exodus, and then numerous times in Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, I Samuel, II Samuel, I Kings, I Chronicles, II Chronicles, Psalms and Jeremiah.

In the Book of Jeremiah, it is referenced by Jeremiah, who, speaking in the days of Josiah (Jer. 3:16), prophesied a future time, possibly the end of days, when the Ark will no longer be talked about or be made again:

"And it shall be that when you multiply and become fruitful in the land, in those days - the word of the LORD - they will no longer say, 'The Ark of the Covenant of the LORD' and it will not come to mind; they will not mention it, and will not recall it, and it will not be used any more."

Rashi comments on this verse that "The entire people will be so imbued with the spirit of sanctity that God's Presence will rest upon them collectively, as if the congregation itself was the Ark of the Covenant."[14]

Second Book of Maccabees

See also: Books of the Maccabees

In the Jewish Deuterocanonical book Second Maccabees, Chapter 2, "one finds in the records" that Jeremiah, having received an oracle of the Lord, ordered that the tent and the ark and the altar of incense should follow him to the mountain of God where he sealed them up in a cave, and he told those who followed him in order to mark the way (but they could not find it) "The place shall remain unknown until God gathers his people together again and shows his mercy, and then the Lord will disclose these things, and the glory of the Lord and the cloud shall appear, as they were shown in the case of Moses, and as Solomon asked that the place be specially consecrated." 2 Maccabees 2:4-8

Christian New Testament

Carrying the Ark of the Covenant: gilded bas-relief at the Auch Cathedral

In the New Testament, the Ark is mentioned in the Letter to the Hebrews and the Revelation to St. John. Hebrews 9:4 states that the Ark contained "the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant." Revelation 11:19 says the prophet saw God's temple in heaven opened, "and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple."

A number of Roman Catholic writers connect this verse with the Woman of the Apocalypse in Revelation 12:1, which immediately follows, and argue that the Blessed Virgin Mary is the "Ark of the New Covenant."[15][16] Carrying the saviour of mankind within her, she herself became the Holy of Holies. This is the interpretation given in the fourth century by Saint Ambrose, Saint Ephraem of Syria and Saint Augustine.[17] Athanasius the bishop of Alexandria wrote about the connections between the Ark and the Virgin Mary: "O noble Virgin, truly you are greater than any other greatness. For who is your equal in greatness, O dwelling place of God the Word? To whom among all creatures shall I compare you, O Virgin? You are greater than them all O (Ark of the) Covenant, clothed with purity instead of gold! You are the Ark in which is found the golden vessel containing the true manna, that is, the flesh in which Divinity resides" (Homily of the Papyrus of Turin).[18]

Quran

In chapter 2 (Sura 2) of the Islamic Quran (Verse 248), the Children of Israel, at the time of Samuel and Saul, were given back the Tabut E Sakina (the casket of Shekhinah) which contained remnants of the household of Musa (Moses) and Harun (Aaron) carried by angels which confirmed peace and reassurance for them from their Lord. The Qur'an states:

And (further) their Prophet said to them: "A Sign of his authority is that there shall come to you the Ark of the Covenant, with (an assurance) therein of security (Sakina) from your Lord, and the relics left by the family of Moses and the family of Aaron, carried by angels. In this is a symbol for you if ye indeed have faith.[19]

The Islamic scholar Al Baidawi mentioned that the sakina could be Tawrat, the Books of Moses.[20] According to Al-Jalalan, the relics in the Ark were the fragments of the two tablets, rods, robes, shoes, mitres of Moses and the vase of manna.[20] Al-Tha'alibi, in Qisas Al-Anbiya (The Stories of the Prophets), has given an earlier and later history of the Ark.

According to most Muslim scholars, the Ark of the Covenant has a religious basis in Islam, and Islam gives it special significance. A Shia sect of Muslims believe that it will be found by Mahdi near the end of times from Lake Tiberias.[21]

Current locations

Since its disappearance from the Biblical narrative, there have been a number of claims of having discovered or of having possession of the Ark, and several possible places have been suggested for its location.

Mount Nebo

2 Maccabees 2:4-10, written around 100 BC, says that the prophet Jeremiah, "being warned by God" before the Babylonian invasion, took the Ark, the Tabernacle, and the Altar of Incense, and buried them in a cave on Mount Nebo (Jordan), informing those of his followers who wished to find the place that it should remain unknown "until the time that God should gather His people again together, and receive them unto mercy."[22]

Ethiopia

The Chapel of the Tablet at the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion in Axum allegedly houses the original Ark of the Covenant.

The Ethiopian Orthodox Church claims to possess the Ark of the Covenant, or Tabot, in Axum, not far from the border with Eritrea. The object is currently kept under guard in a treasury near the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion and is used occasionally in ritual processions.[23] Replicas of the Axum tabot are kept in every Ethiopian church, each with its own dedication to a particular saint, the most popular of these include Mary, George and Michael.[24]

The Kebra Nagast, composed to legitimise the new dynasty ruling Ethiopia following its establishment in 1270, narrates how the real Ark of the Covenant was brought to Ethiopia by Menelik I with divine assistance, while a forgery was left in the Temple in Jerusalem. Although the Kebra Nagast is the best-known account of this belief, the belief predates the document. Abu Salih the Armenian, writing in the last quarter of the twelfth century, makes one early reference to this belief that they possessed the Ark. "The Abyssinians possess also the Ark of the Covenant", he wrote, and, after a description of the object, describes how the liturgy is celebrated upon the Ark four times a year, "on the feast of the great nativity, on the feast of the glorious Baptism, on the feast of the holy Resurrection, and on the feast of the illuminating Cross."[25]

On 25 June 2009, the patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Ethiopia, Abune Paulos, said he would announce to the world the next day the unveiling of the Ark of the Covenant, which he said had been kept safe and secure in a church in Axum, Ethiopia.[26] The following day, on 26 June 2009, the patriarch announced that he would not unveil the Ark after all, but that instead he could attest to its current status.[27]

Southern Africa

The Lemba people of South Africa and Zimbabwe have claimed that their ancestors carried the Ark south, calling it the ngoma lungundu or "voice of God", eventually hiding it in a deep cave in the Dumghe mountains, their spiritual home.[28][29]

On 14 April 2008, in a UK Channel 4 documentary, Tudor Parfitt, taking a literalist approach to the Biblical story, described his research into this claim. He says that the object described by the Lemba has attributes similar to the Ark. It was of similar size, was carried on poles by priests, was not allowed to touch the ground, was revered as a voice of their God, and was used as a weapon of great power, sweeping enemies aside.[30]

In his book The Lost Ark of the Covenant (2008), Parfitt also suggests that the Ark was taken to Arabia following the events depicted in the Second Book of Maccabees, and cites Arabic sources which maintain it was brought in distant times to Yemen. One Lemba clan, the Buba, which was supposed to have brought the Ark to Africa, have a genetic signature called the Cohen Modal Haplotype. This suggests a male Semitic link to the Levant. Lemba tradition maintains that the Ark spent some time in Sena in Yemen. Later, it was taken across the sea to East Africa and may have been taken inland at the time of the Great Zimbabwe civilization. According to their oral traditions, some time after the arrival of the Lemba with the Ark, it self-destructed. Using a core from the original, the Lemba priests constructed a new one. This replica was discovered in a cave by a Swedish German missionary named Harald von Sicard in the 1940s and eventually found its way to the Museum of Human Science in Harare.[29]

Parfitt had this artifact radio-carbon dated to about 1350, which coincided with the sudden end of the Great Zimbabwe civilization.[31]

Europe

Chartres Cathedral, France

French author Louis Charpentier claimed that the Ark was taken to Chartres Cathedral by the Knights Templar.[32][33]

Rennes-le-Château, then to America

Several recent authors have theorised that the Ark was taken from Jerusalem to the village of Rennes-le-Château in Southern France. Karen Ralls has cited Freemason Patrick Byrne, who believes the Ark was moved from Rennes-le-Château at the outbreak of World War I to America.[34]

Rome

The Ark of the Covenant was said to be have been kept in the Basilica of St. John Lateran, surviving the pillages of Rome by Genseric and Alaric I but lost when the basilica burned.[35][36]

United Kingdom

In 2003, author Graham Phillips hypothetically concluded that the Ark was taken to Mount Sinai in the Valley of Edom by the Maccabees. Phillips claims it remained there until the 1180s, when Ralph de Sudeley, the leader of the Templars found the Maccabean treasure at Jebel al-Madhbah, returned home to his estate at Herdewyke in Warwickshire, England taking the treasure with him.[37]

Ireland

During the turn of the 20th century British Israelites carried out some excavations of the Hill of Tara in Ireland looking for the Ark of the Covenant – the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland campaigned successfully to have them stopped before they destroyed the hill.[38]

Egypt

Tutankhamun's tomb

Main article: Exhibitions of artifacts from the tomb of Tutankhamun
1922 photograph of the tomb of Tutankhamun. Photograph by Harry Burton (1879-1940)

In 1922 in the Egyptian Valley of the Kings the tomb of Tutankhamun (KV62) was opened by Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon. Among the artifacts was a processional ark, listed as Shrine 261, the Anubis Shrine. Almost immediately after publication of the photographs[39] of this sensational archaeological find some claimed that the Anubis Shrine could be the Ark of the Covenant. John M. Lundquist, author of The Temple of Jerusalem: past, present, and future (2008), discounts this idea. The Anubis Shrine measures 95 centimetres (37 in) long, 37 centimetres (15 in) wide, 54.3 centimetres (21.4 in) high, in the shape of a pylon. The Biblical Ark of the Covenant is approximately 133 centimetres (52 in) long, 80 centimetres (31 in) wide, and 80 centimetres (31 in) high in the shape of a rectangular chest.

He points out that Shrine 261 is not strictly analogous to the Ark of the Covenant: it can only be said that the Anubis Shrine is "ark-like", constructed of wood, gilded and gessoed, stored within a sacred tomb, "guarding" the treasury of the tomb (and not the primary focus of that environment), that it contains compartments within it that store and hold sacred objects, that it has a figure of Anubis on its lid, and that it was carried by two staves permanently inserted into rings at its base and borne by eight priests in the funerary procession to Tutankhamun's tomb. Its value is the insight it provides to the ancient culture of Egypt.[40] The figure of Anubis itself contradicts any claim that Shrine 261 could be the Ark of the Covenant.

The Ark of the Covenant is the main focus of Steven Spielberg's 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark, and the same prop also appears in a cameo in a later sequel in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

See also

References

  1. ^ Exodus 25:10–22
  2. ^ Exodus 16:33–34
  3. ^ Numbers 17:25–26 (or Numbers 17:10-11 in some translations)
  4. ^ Hebrews 9:4
  5. ^ 1 Kings 8:9
  6. ^ Exodus 25:10–16
  7. ^ Exodus 25:22
  8. ^ Numbers 4:5–6
  9. ^ Cline, Eric H. (2007). From Eden to Exile: Unraveling Mysteries of the Bible. National Geographic. p. 130. ISBN 978-1-4262-0084-7.
  10. ^ "Mary, the Ark of the New Covenant | Catholic Answers". Catholic.com. Retrieved 2013-03-25.
  11. ^ Joseph Ponessa, Laurie Watson Manhardt, Moses and The Torah: Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, pages 85-86 (Emmaus Road Publishing, 2007). ISBN 978-1-931018-45-6
  12. ^ ""four feet" see Exodus 25:12 majority of translations. "four corners" KJV". Biblestudytools.com. Retrieved 2012-08-17.
  13. ^ "Ark of the Covenant". Jewish Encyclopedia. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  14. ^ Jeremiah 3:16, Tanach. Brooklyn, New York: ArtScroll. p. 1078.
  15. ^ Ray, Steve (2005). "Mary, the Ark of the New Covenant". This Rock. 16 (8). Retrieved 2 February 2011. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  16. ^ David Michael Lindsey, The Woman and The Dragon: Apparitions of Mary, page 21 (Pelican Publishing Company, Inc., 2000) ISBN 1-56554-731-4
  17. ^ Dwight Longenecker, David Gustafson, Mary: A Catholic Evangelical Debate, page 32 (Gracewing, 2003). ISBN 0-85244-582-2
  18. ^ "The Ark of the New Covenant". Maryimmaculate.tripod.com. 1998-11-24. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
  19. ^ Quran 2:248
  20. ^ a b Hughes, Thomas Patrick (1995-12-01). A Dictionary of Islam By Patrick Hughes, Thomas Patrick Hughes, pg 624. Books.google.com. ISBN 978-81-206-0672-2. Retrieved 2010-03-07.
  21. ^ Iqd al-Durar fi Akbar al-Imam al-Muntadhar, by Shaikh Jamaluddin Yusuf al Damishqi, p. 51-a
  22. ^ Cf. Deuteronomy 34:1-3 and 2 Maccabees 2:4-8.
  23. ^ Paul Raffaele, "Keepers of the Lost Ark?" Smithsonian Magazine, December 2007 (accessed 5 April 2011)
  24. ^ Stuart Munro-Hay, 2005, The Quest for the Ark of the Covenant, Tauris (reviewed in Times Literary Supplement 19 August 2005 p. 36)
  25. ^ B.T.A. Evetts (translator), The Churches and Monasteries of Egypt and Some Neighboring Countries attributed to Abu Salih, the Armenian, with added notes by Alfred J. Butler (Oxford, 1895), pp. 287f
  26. ^ Fendel, Hillel (2009-06-25). Holy Ark Announcement Due on Friday", Aruta Sheva (Israel International News). Retrieved on 2009-06-25
  27. ^ IGN (2009-06-19). Ho visto l'Arca dell'Alleanza ed è in buone condizioni. Retrieved on 2009-06-26
  28. ^ The Lost Ark of the Covenant by Tudor Parfitt, published by HarperCollins 2008.
  29. ^ a b A Lead on the Ark of the Covenant, By David Van Biema Thursday, Time.com, Feb. 21, 2008.
  30. ^ "Debates & Controversies - Quest for the Lost Ark". Channel4.com. 2008-04-14. Archived from the original on May 13, 2008. Retrieved 2010-03-07.
  31. ^ [1][dead link]
  32. ^ Brian Haughton, Haunted Spaces, Sacred Places: A Field Guide to Stone Circles, Crop Circles, Ancient Tombs, and Supernatural Landscapes, page 142 (Career Press, Inc., 2008). ISBN 978-1-60163-000-1
  33. ^ Louis Charpentier, Les Mystères de la Cathédrale de Chartres (Paris: Robert Laffont, 1966), translated as The Mysteries of Chartres Cathedral (London: Research Into Lost Knowledge Organisation, 1972).
  34. ^ Karen Ralls, The Templars and The Grail: Knights of The Quest, page 99, pages 163-164 (Quest Books, Theosophical Publishing House, 2003). ISBN 0-8356-0807-7. Citing Patrick Byrne, Templar Gold: Discovering the Ark of the Covenant (Blue Dolphin Publishing, Inc., 2001). ISBN 1-57733-099-4
  35. ^ J. Salmon, A Description of The Works of Art of Ancient and Modern Rome, Particularly In Architecture, Sculpture & Painting, Volume One, page 108 (London: J. Sammells, 1798).
  36. ^ Debra J. Birch, Pilgrimage To Rome In The Middle Ages: Continuity and Change, page 111 (The Boydell Press, 1998). ISBN 0-85115-771-8
  37. ^ Legend Hunters - Ark of the Covenant (FactualTV - Knights Templar Documentary)
  38. ^ Ivan McAvinchey. "News 2006 (March 9)". Rsai.ie. Retrieved 2010-03-07.
  39. ^ Photographs by Harry Burton, The Griffith Institute, Tutankhamun: Anatomy of an Excavation: The Howard Carter Archives.
  40. ^ Lundquist, John M. The Temple of Jerusalem: past, present, and future, Chapter 2 "The World of the First Temple", pp.66-67, © 2008 by John M. Lundquist, first published 2008, Praeger Publishers, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881 ISBN 978-0-275-98339-0 www.praeger.com.

Further reading

  • Carew, Mairead, Tara and the Ark of the Covenant: A Search for the Ark of the Covenant by British Israelites on the Hill of Tara, 1899-1902. Royal Irish Academy, 2003. ISBN 0-9543855-2-7
  • Cline, Eric H. (2007), From Eden to Exile: Unravelling Mysteries of the Bible, National Geographic Society, ISBN 978-1-4262-0084-7
  • Fisher, Milton C., The Ark of the Covenant: Alive and Well in Ethiopia?. Bible and Spade 8/3, pp. 65–72, 1995.
  • Grierson, Roderick & Munro-Hay, Stuart, The Ark of the Covenant. Orion Books Ltd, 2000. ISBN 0-7538-1010-7
  • Hancock, Graham, The Sign and the Seal: The Quest for the Lost Ark of the Covenant. Touchstone Books, 1993. ISBN 0-671-86541-2
  • Hertz, J.H., The Pentateuch and Haftoras. Deuteronomy. Oxford University Press, 1936.
  • Hubbard, David (1956) The Literary Sources of the Kebra Nagast Ph.D. dissertation., St. Andrews University, Scotland
  • Munro-Hay, Stuart., The Quest For The Ark of The Covenant: The True History of The Tablets of Moses. L. B. Tauris & Co Ltd., 2006. ISBN 1-84511-248-2
  • Ritmeyer, L., The Ark of the Covenant: Where it Stood in Solomon's Temple. Biblical Archaeology Review 22/1: 46-55, 70-73, 1996.
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