Ark of the Covenant

The Ark of the Covenant or Covenant Chest (Hebrew אֲרוֹן הַבְּרִית ʔarōn habrīt, Modern Hebrew: Aron habrit, also Hebrew אֲרוֹן הָעֵדוּת ʔarōn hāʿedut, German 'Ark of Testimony', Hebrew אֲרוֹן הַאֱלֹהִים ʔarōn haʔelohîm, German 'Gotteslade' or simply Hebrew הָאָרוֹן hāʔārōn, German 'the ark') was a sacred cult object of the Israelites, designed and made according to divine instruction, according to the Torah. According to the biblical account, it contained, among other things, the two stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments, which Moses received from God. After the Exodus from Egypt and during Israel's wanderings in the desert and the so-called "taking of the land", the Ark of the Covenant was regarded as a guarantee of God's presence in the midst of the people. To this day it is the symbol of God's covenant with the people of Israel (hence the name "Ark of the Covenant"). There is no archaeological evidence of its existence.

According to the biblical description (Ex 25:10-22 EU) it was a chest of acacia wood covered with gold inside and outside. It was provided with two carrying rods that were stuck in golden rings. According to biblical data, its dimensions were approximately 130 × 80 × 80 cm (L × W × H). The lid, the so-called lid of reconciliation (Hebrew: kapporet), could be removed. Two cherubim were enthroned on it, spreading their wings protectively against and over each other. Between the cherubim the glory of God (Shechina) appeared. The chest could only be touched by the most worthy and high priests. Any unauthorized touch constituted sacrilege and, according to tradition, had led to the immediate death of the sacrilegious.

In synagogues today, the Torah shrine in which the Torah scrolls are kept is called the "Holy Shrine" (Hebrew אָרוֹן הקׄדֶשׁ ʔārōn haqodeš, Modern Hebrew: Aron hakodeš). The Torah shrine is located on the front wall of the synagogue, which always faces Jerusalem.

Biblical tradition

First time and storage

According to the Torah tradition, the stone tablets with the Ten Commandments were first carried around in the Ark of the Covenant and kept with it in a tent temple that could be dismantled, the Tabernacle. This was also carried along on the wanderings, and later it had its location in Shiloh about the middle of the land of Israel, thus giving the Ark of the Covenant a permanent place. The ark narrative in 1 Sam 4:1b EU to 1 Sam 7:2a EU reports that after a military defeat of the Israelites the ark fell into the hands of the Philistines, who were terribly punished by YHWH for it. Thereupon it was returned to the Israelites, who kept it for twenty years in Kirjat-Jearim in the house of Abinadab.

The transfer of the Ark of the Covenant to Mount Zion was carried out by King David and to the Temple in Jerusalem by Solomon on the Moriah Plateau, the Temple Mount. Correlation of still existing geodetic reference points such as the remains of the temple walls with modern temple reconstructions as well as the survey of the rock surrounded by the Dome of the Rock by the British Montagu Brownlow Parker, 5th Earl of Morley (1878-1962), in 1911 suggest that this rock is identical with the location of the Ark of the Covenant. After the consolidation of King David's political power, he brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem to make the city now also the religious center (2 Sam 6 EU). Michal had moved to Jerusalem with David, who soon brought the Ark of the Covenant to the new capital. The Ark of the Covenant then stood in the Holy of Holies of the Jerusalem Temple, which the high priest was only allowed to enter once a year during the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) to pronounce the name of God there and to ask for atonement for the people of Israel.

Loss, Return and Whereabouts of the Ark of the Covenant

Around 1050 BC the Ark of the Covenant was captured by the Philistines at the Battle of Aphek (1 Sam 4 EU). The Israelites camped at Eben-Ezer. Abinadab was a simple farmer from the tribe of Levi who kept the Ark of the Covenant in his house during the years when the Philistines attacked the Israelites (1 Samuel). According to the biblical account (1 Sam 5 EU), the Philistines brought the Ark of the Covenant, which they had captured in a battle with the Israelites, to Ashdod via Ashkelon and placed it in the temple of their god Dagon. After causing inexplicable misfortune and disease there, it was sent back to the Israelites via Gath and Ekron on an unmanned cart drawn by lactating cows (1 Sam 6 EU). She came first to Beth Shemesh and then for many years to Kiryat Jearim to the house of Abinadab on the hill. Then before she came to Jerusalem, she stood in the house of Obed-edom for three months after the incident with Uzzah (2 Sam 7).

Nebuchadnezzar II conquered Jerusalem in 587/586 B.C. and deported part of the inhabitants to the Babylonian exile. This was accompanied by the sacking of the Jerusalem Temple. Since then, assuming their prior presence, large parts of the temple treasury, including the Ark of the Covenant, have been considered lost. It can be assumed that the Ark was destroyed in this context.

According to the second book of the Maccabees (2 Macc 2:5 EU), the prophet Jeremiah, before Nebuchadnezzar's sack, buried the ark of the covenant, together with the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar of incense, in a cave on Mount Nebo. This statement is based on older writings that have been handed down:

Relief in the synagogue in Kafarnaum in Israel


The Battle for Jericho


The transfer of the Ark of the Covenant by David singing and dancing (2 Sam 6 EU ) - 16th century, anonymous


The Conquest of Jericho (Jean Fouquet, ca. 1452-1460)

Descriptions

Appearance and size

In the Bible there is a description of the ark of the covenant in Ex 25:10-20 EU:

The exact length of the "Elle" of that time is not known; the dimensions of the Ark are estimated to be about 130 × 80 × 80 cm. The aspect ratio of 2.5:1.5 (=1 ^2⁄3 ≈ 1.667) is barely 3 percent higher than the golden ratio (≈ 1.618).

Content

According to the text of Ex 25,21 EU the ark of the covenant was supposed to record the "testimony" that God gave to Moses. According to 1 Kings 8:9 EU and Jewish tradition this means the two stone tablets with the Ten Commandments as a sign of the covenant between him and the people of Israel. According to Ex 16,33 EU a Gomer manna as well as according to Num 17,23 EU Aaron's green staff was kept in front of the ark of the covenant in the holy of holies.

In the New Testament the letter to the Hebrews (Heb 9,4 EU) claims that with the jar of manna, the green staff of Aaron and the tablets of the covenant all three items were in the "ark of the covenant that was completely covered with gold". This could be explained by the fact that the jar of manna as well as the green staff of Aaron were placed in the ark of the covenant for safekeeping after a certain period of time. Franz Delitzsch supports this interpretation in his commentary on the Letter to the Hebrews as follows: "... from the perceptive remark that at the time of the Solom. Temple only (רק) the tablets of the commandments were in the ark, it would rather be concluded that there were other things in it as well."

In connection with considerations on the material design of the cult of YHWH in the First Temple of Jerusalem, the theologian Hugo Gressmann assumes that the ark contains an image of a bull, as it is attested as a cult symbol of YHWH in Bethel. Othmar Keel suggests one or two sacred stones as possible contents, which were later reinterpreted as the two stone tablets of the law, and Matthias Köckert interprets the ark as a transport pedestal for the actual cult image.

Moses and Aaron in front of the Covenant Chest , painting by James Tissot (1900)