The
Ark of the Covenant (
Ārōn Hāb’rīt
[modern pron.
Aron Habrit];
Tābūt Al-ʿahd) is a
vessel described in the
Bible as containing
the
Tablets of Stone on which the
Ten Commandments were inscribed,
along with
Aaron's rod and
manna. According to the
Pentateuch, the Ark was built at the command of
God, in accord with
Moses' prophetic vision on
Mount Sinai ( ). God was said
to have communicated with Moses "from between the two
cherubim" on the Ark's cover ( ). The Ark and its
sanctuary were considered "the beauty of Israel" ( ).
Rashi and some
Midrashim
suggest that there were two arks - a temporary one made by Moses
himself, and a later one constructed by
Bezalel.
Biblical account relates that during the Israelites'
exodus from Egypt, the Ark was carried by
the priests some 2,000
cubits (
Numbers 35:5;
Joshua 4:5) in advance of the people and
their army, or
host (Num. 4:5-6;
10:33-36;
Psalms 68:1; 132:8).
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 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
tachash skins (the identity of this animal is
uncertain), and a blue cloth, and was carefully concealed, even
from the eyes of the
Cohanims who carried
it.
Over time, the accounts of the Ark have gathered a number of
references in
popular
culture.
Terminology
The Hebrew word
aron as used in the Bible refers to any
type of ark, chest or coffer (
Book of
Genesis 50:26;
2 Kings 12:9,
10).
The Ark of the Covenant is distinguished from all others by such
titles as:
- Ark of God's Sakina (lit.
'ark in which the tranquility of your Lord is' ),
(Qur'an 2:248)
- Holy Ark
- Ark of God, (1 Samuel 3:3)
- Ark of thy God's strength
- Ark of the Covenant, (Josh.
3:6; Hebrews 9:4)
- Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of all the Earth
- Ark of the Testimony, (Ex. 25:22)
Description
The Bible
describes the Ark as made of wood from the shittah-tree (acacia),
known to the Egyptians
as the Tree of
Life. It is an important plant in traditional medicine
containing in many cases
psychoactive alkaloids. The Ark was 1.5
cubits broad and high, and 2.5 cubits long, conforming
to the
golden ratio. (roughly 130 x 78
x 78 cm or 4.27 x 2.56 x 2.56 ft, using the Egyptian
royal cubit conversion). It was covered all over with the purest
gold. Its upper surface or lid, the
mercy seat ( ), was also surrounded with a rim of
gold.
Along each of the two long sides were two gold rings, wherein
two wooden poles (with a decorative
sheathing of gold) would be placed to allow the Ark to be carried
(Num. 7:9; 10:21; 4:5,19, 20; 1 Kings 8:3, 6). Standing over the
Ark's extremities were two
cherubim with
their faces turned toward one another (
Leviticus 16:2; Num. 7:89). Their outspread wings
over the top of the Ark formed the
throne of
God, while the Ark itself was his footstool (Ex.
25:10-22; 37:1-9). The Ark was placed in the "
Holy of Holies," so that one end of the
carrying poles touched the veil separating the two compartments of
the tabernacle (1 Kings 8:8). The Book of
Deuteronomy, however, describes the Ark as a
simple wooden container with no mention of ornaments or gold.
Similarly, the
Quran makes a reference to the
Ark as a wooden box with holy relics inside it.
Contents
According to the biblical account, the two tablets of
stone constituting the "testimony" or
evidence of God's
covenant with the people
(i.e. The Ten Commandments) were kept within the Ark itself. A
golden jar containing some of the
manna from the Israelites' trek in the wilderness
and the
rod of Aaron were added to the
contents of the Ark (Ex. 16:32-34; Heb. 9:4) but were apparently
removed at some later time prior to the building of Solomon's
temple, as I Kings 8:9 states that there "was nothing in the Ark
save the two tablets of stone." While Heb. 9:4 states these items
were placed "inside" the Ark, Ex. 16:33-34 and Num. 17:10 use the
expression "before" the Ark; some see a contradiction here, as the
correct meaning of these phrases is open to interpretation. A
Rabbinic tradition states that Moses also put the broken fragments
of the first tablets of the Law into the Ark. Some scholars have
argued that the plans to the Tabernacle were also contained in the
Ark.
Sanctity and consecration
Moses was directed to have the Ark made by
Bezalel, son of
Uri of
the
tribe of Judah, and by
Aholiab, the son of
Ahisamach of the
tribe of
Dan (Ex. 31:2-7). He was also commanded to
consecrate the Ark, when completed, with the
oil of holy ointment (Ex.
30:23-26). Moses duly carried out the instructions , calling upon
every "wisehearted" one among the people to assist in the work (Ex.
35:10-12). Bezalel the artist made the Ark (Ex. 37:1); and Moses
approved the work, put the testimony in the Ark, and installed
it.
Even
Aaron, brother of Moses and the
High Priest, was forbidden to enter the place of
the Ark, except once a
year on a designated
day,
The Day of Atonement, when he was to
perform certain ceremonies there (Lev. 16).
According to the
Haggadah written
in the
Mishnaic and
Talmudic periods (
circa 200-500 AD), after
installment in the second Temple, the Ark and the operation of the
Temple was supervised by the angel
Metatron. There are numerous possible etymologies
for the name Metatron, one being from two Greek words
after and
throne. There are no references to
Metatron in the Jewish Tanakh (
Old
Testament), the Christian Scriptures (
New Testament) or any Islamic source.
In Deut. 10:1-5, a different account of the making of the Ark is
given. Moses is made to say that he constructed the Ark before
going upon
Mount Horeb to receive the
second set of tablets. The charge of carrying the Ark and the rest
of the holy implements was given to the family of
Kohath (of the
tribe of
Levi). They, though, were not to touch any of the holy things
that were still uncovered by Aaron (Num. 4:2-15).
Other references to the Ark in Scripture
The Ark of the Covenant is mentioned in both the
Bible and the
Qur'an.
In the Bible
The Ark carried into the Temple
The Ark is mentioned in the books Exodus, Deuteronomy, Joshua,
Judges, I Samuel, II Samuel, Jeremiah and Hebrews. It is referenced
by
Jeremiah, who, speaking in the
days of
Josiah (Jer. 3:16), prophesied a
future time when the Ark will no longer be used, neither talked
about, nor be made again. In the
Psalms, the
Ark is twice referred to. In Ps. 78:61 its capture by the
Philistines is spoken of, and the Ark is called "the strength and
glory of God"; and in Ps. 132:8, it is spoken of as "You and the
ark of Your strength." The Ark is also mentioned in several
passages in Exodus and 1 Samuel, including Exodus 25:10-22 and 1
Samuel 4:3-22 and 5:7-8.
The Ark is mentioned in one passage in the
deuterocanonical 2 Maccabees 2:4-10,
which contains a reference to a document saying that the prophet
Jeremiah, "being warned of God," took the Ark, and the tabernacle,
and the altar of incense, and buried them in a cave on Mount Nebo
(Deut. 34:1), 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 together, and receive them unto mercy."
Hebrews 9:4 states that the Ark contained "the golden pot that had
manna, and
Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the
covenant." Finally, in the
Book of
Revelation the Ark is described as being in the 'temple' of God
in heaven (Rev. 11:19). The Ark is last seen in God's 'temple' just
before a woman gives birth to the man Child (Rev. 12:1-2), both
stalked by the Dragon and his angels cast to earth (Rev.
12:3-17).
In the Quran
In chapter 2 (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 and
Harun carried by angels which confirmed peace
and reassurance for them from their Lord. It is mentioned in the
middle of the narrative of the choice of
Saul to be king. The
Qur'an states:
The Islamic scholar
Al Baidawi mentioned
that the
Sakina could be
Tawrat, Books of Moses. 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 . Al-Tha'alibi, in
Qisas
Al-Anbiya , 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.
Muslims believe that it will be found by
Mahdi
near the
end of times from Lake Tiberias
.
Biblical account
Mobile vanguard
In the march from Sinai, and at the crossing of the Jordan, the Ark
preceded the people, and was the signal for their advance ( Josh.
3:3, 6). During the crossing of the Jordan, 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 capture of Jericho the Ark was carried round the city once a
day for six 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.
Captured by the Philistines
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 "Where is glory?"
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 hemorrhoids 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
At the beginning of his reign,
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 the Lord 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 here it stayed three months (2
Sam. 6:1-11; 1 Chron. 13:1-13).
On hearing that the Lord 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" —
a performance that caused him to be despised and scornfully rebuked
by Saul's daughter
Michal (2 Sam. 6:12-16,
20-22; 1 Chron. 15). This derision of David on her part prompted
God to take away her fertility. 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).
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
When
Abiathar was dismissed from the
priesthood by
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).
It was
afterwards placed by Solomon in the temple
(1 Kings 8:6-9). Solomon worshiped before
the Ark after his dream in which the Lord promised him wisdom (1
Kings 3:15).
In Solomon's Temple
, a Holy of Holies was prepared to receive the Ark
(1 Kings 6:19); and when the Temple was dedicated, the
Ark—containing nothing but the Ten
Commandments—was placed therein. 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 had the Ark put
into the Temple (2 Chron. 35:3), whence it appears to have again
been removed by one of his successors.
The Babylonians and afterwards
Area believed by Muslims to be the
place where the Ark of the Covenant sat before King Solomon's
Temple was destroyed.
A dome was later built by the Arabs who now refer to it as the
Dome of Spirits.
When the
Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem
and plundered the temple, the Ark entered the domain of legend.
Many historians suppose that the ark was probably taken away by
Nebuchadnezzar and
destroyed. The absence of the ark from the
Second Temple was acknowledged. The Ark is
finally re-established to the Temple in vision: "Then God's temple
in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the Ark of his
Covenant" (Rev. 11:19 NIV).
Nevertheless, 2 Maccabees 2:4-10, contains a reference to a
document saying that the prophet Jeremiah, "being warned of God,"
took the Ark, and the tabernacle, and the altar of incense, and
buried them in a cave on Mount Nebo (Deut. 34:1), 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."
Rumoured present locations
Some have claimed to have discovered or have possession of the
Ark.
The Temple Mount of Jerusalem
Modern excavations near the Temple Mount in Jerusalem have
discovered the existence of tunnels. However, digging beneath the
Temple Mount itself is heavily restricted.
One of the most
important Islamic shrines, the Dome of the Rock
, sits in the location where the First Temple of
Solomon is thought to have stood. According to the Hebrew
Traditions, King Solomon, when building the temple, had the Ark of
the Covenant put on a platform which could be lowered down into a
tunnel system if the Temple were ever overrun. In 586 BC, King
Nebuchadnezzar's troops destroyed the temple and carried off the
temple treasures, but no mention of the Ark of the Covenant was
made, possibly because it had been lowered into the cave system
below and secreted away by Levite priests.
Ethiopian Orthodox Church
The
Ethiopian Orthodox Church
claims to possess the Ark of the Covenant or tabot in Axum
.
The
object is now kept under guard in a treasury near the Church of
Our Lady Mary of Zion
, and used occasionally in ritual
processions. But versions of the Axum
tabot are
kept in every Ethiopian church, each with its own dedication to a
particular saint, most popularly Mary, George and Michael. Stuart
Munro-Hay, 2005,
The Quest for the Ark of the Covenant,
Tauris (reviewed in
Times Literary Supplement 19 August
2005 p 36)
The
Kebra Nagast is Ethiopia’s
greatest national document, composed to legitimise the new royal
line established in 1270 by claiming its descent from
Menelik I, the son of
King
Solomon and the
Queen of Sheba,
and contains a reference to the Ark of the Covenant being brought
to Ethiopia by Menelik. However, recent study suggests that
reference is a later interpolation: many important manuscripts
later than the thirteenth century make no reference to it, and it
only became a core element of Ethiopian beliefs in the seventeenth
century.
On 25 June 2009, the patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Ethiopia,
Abuna 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.. 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.
Southern Africa
The
Lemba people of South Africa and Zimbabwe,
who believe they are of Jewish descent, 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.
On 14 April 2008, in a UK
Channel 4
documentary broadcast,
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.
In his
book The Lost Ark of the Covenant (2008), Parfitt also
suggests that the Ark was taken to Arabia following 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 which connects them with the ancient Jewish
priesthood. The Lemba also came to Africa from Yemen.
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
.
Parfitt had this artifact radio-
carbon
dated to about 1350 AD, which coincided with the sudden end of
the Great Zimbabwe civilization. Jewish sources in the
Talmud, as well as the Jewish exegete Rashi (Rashi's
commentary of Deuteronomy), suggest that there were two Arks: one
was the original simple wooden Ark of Moses described in the Book
of Deuteronomy, the other was the later golden Ark made by Bezalel
as described in the Book of Exodus. Rabbinic opinion maintains that
the first of these Arks was the Ark of War and the second was a
ceremonial object which stayed in the Temple. Parfitt suggests that
the Ark he found was the descendant of the Ark of War and that a
wooden chest being used as a weapon was replicated at least once,
and possibly many times. Parfitt offers the suggestion that the
wooden ark may always have been a drum as well as a weapon of some
sort, like the
ngoma. It was often found
in musical processions, David danced in front of it and it was
covered over with a piece of leather. Parfitt, however, offers no
explanation of the original principal contents of the Ark, the
stone tablets.
Other Middle Eastern Sites
Mt. Nebo - Some people believe
that the Ark is hidden somewhere in or around Mt. Nebo on the
Jordan River's east bank. Second Maccabees, chapter 2, verses 1-8,
mentions how the prophet Jeremiah "following a divine revelation,
ordered that the tent (i.e., the tabernacle of meeting) and the ark
[i.e. the ark of the covenant] should accompany him and how he went
off to the mountain which Moses climbed to see God's inheritance
[i.e. Mt. Nebo; see Deuteronomy 31:1-4]. When Jeremiah arrived
there, he found a room in a cave in which he put the tent, the ark,
and the altar of incense; then he blocked up the entrance." (vv.
4-5) Protestant traditions do not accept the book of 2 Maccabees as
authoritative scripture.
Calvary Escarpment - In 1989,
Ron Wyatt claimed to have broken into a chamber
while digging underground beneath the
Calvary Escarpment. He claimed to have
seen and taken photographs of the Ark. All photos came out blurry
(leading to skepticism of the claim). According to Wyatt the
excavations were closed off (because of private property concerns)
and, to the extent of current knowledge, no one has seen the Ark
since. Ron Wyatt was widely seen in the Biblical archaeology
community as an attention seeker, often announcing he had found
Biblically important objects with little or no hard evidence to
back up his claims.
Qumran - Vendyl Jones claimed to have found the entrance
to the chamber in the Cave of the Column near Qumran
.
Here, he stated, is where the Ark was hidden prior to the
destruction of the First Temple. The Israeli media network
Arutz Sheva quoted Jones stating he would reveal
the Ark on
Tisha B'Av (14 August 2005),
the anniversary of the destruction of both the First and Second
Temples; however, this did not occur. On Jones' web site, he states
that he was misquoted and actually said it would be appropriate if
he discovered the Ark on
Tisha B'Av.
Jones is waiting for funding to explore the cave.
Michael Sanders claims to have found the location of the Ark Of the
Covenant's 'stones' in Djaharya near an ancient temple created by
Ramses III (now an old tower in ruins).
Europe
Languedoc, France
Several legends hold that the Ark was carried home to
Languedoc by Templars returning from the
Crusades.
United Kingdom
In 2003, historical author
Graham Phillips traced the route of
the Ark through research using Biblical texts as being taken to
Mount Sinai in the Valley of
Edom by the
Maccabees,
along with other religious treasures.
Phillips claims it
remained there until the 1180s, when Ralph de Sudeley, the leader of the
Templars who apparently found the
Maccabean treasure at Jebel
al-Madhbah, returned home to his estate at Herdewyke in Warwickshire
, UK
, taking the
treasure with him.
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 ruined the hill.
See also
- Ethiopia
- Hebrews
- Middle Eastern
- "Manna"
- People
- Other
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
0954385527
- Cline, Eric H. (2007), From
Eden to Exile: Unravelling Mysteries of the Bible, National
Geographic Society, ISBN 978-1426200847
- 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.
- Leeman, Bernard, Queen of Sheba and Biblical
Scholarship. Queensland Academic Press, 2005. ISBN
0-9758022-0-8
- Ritmeyer, L., The Ark of the Covenant: Where it Stood in
Solomon's Temple. Biblical Archaeology Review 22/1: 46-55,
70-73, 1996.
References
- Hertz 1936
- Shuker, Karl P.N. The Unexplained. "In Search Of The
Lost Ark-From Indiana Jones To Vendyl Jones". Dubai, Carlton Books,
1996. ISBN 1 85868 186 3
- Schniedewind, William M. "How the Bible Became A Book"
(Cambridge: Cambridge Press, 2004) p.128-34." ISBN 0521829461
- A Dictionary of Islam By Patrick Hughes, Thomas
Patrick Hughes, pg 624
- Iqd al-Durar fi Akbar al-Imam al-Muntadhar, by Shaikh
Jamaluddin Yusuf al Damishqi, p. 51-a
- Masechet Yoma of the Talmud, 52b
- Smithsonian magazine investigates the Ark; >
Smithsonian Magazine | People & Places |
Keepers of the Lost Ark?
- Fendel, Hillel (2009-06-25). Holy Ark Announcement Due on
Friday. Aruta Sheva (Israel International News). Retrieved on
2009-06-25 from
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/132067.
- Bartholomew, Richard (2009-06-26). Ethiopian Ark of the
Covenant Not To Be Revealed After All. Retrieved on 2009-06-26 from
http://barthsnotes.wordpress.com/2009/06/26/ethiopian-ark-of-the-covenant-not-to-be-revealed-after-all/.
- IGN (2009-06-19). Ho visto l'Arca dell'Alleanza ed è in
buone condizioni. Retrieved on 2009-06-26 from
http://www.adnkronos.com/IGN/News/Cronaca/?id=3.0.3445266776.
- The real Indiana Jones: Intrepid British don Tudor Parfitt's
mission to find the Lord Ark By ZOE BRENNAN , Daily Mail, 22nd
February 2008 [1]
- THE LOST ARK OF THE COVENANT by Tudor Parfitt, published by
HarperCollins 2008.
- A Lead on the Ark of the Covenant Time.com
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1715337,00.html
-
http://www.channel4.com/culture/microsites/C/can_you_believe_it/debates/lostark.html
Debates & Controversies - Quest for the Lost Ark
- http://www.soas.ac.uk/news/newsitem4308
- Robins, Gerard, " Vendyl Jones and the Ark of the Covenant".
[Original: Jewish Herald Voice Newspaper, Houston, TX. May 2000.] (
mirror site). Archived
2009-10-25.
- Raiders of the faux ark - The Boston Globe
- Opening the Ark of the Covenant: The Secret Power of the
Ancients, by Frank Joseph, 2007, p. 226
- http://www.rsai.ie/index.cfm?action=obj.display&obj_id=153
News 2006 (March 9)
External links
- Classic Texts
- Descriptions
- " Ark of the Covenant". The Catholic
Encyclopedia, Volume I.
- Pendleton, Philip Y., " A Brief Sketch of the Jewish Tabernacle".
1901. (International Sunday-school Lessons for 1902. Standard
Eclectic Commentary comprising original and selected notes,
explanatory, illustrative, practical. Embellished with maps,
diagrams, chronological charts, tables, etc.)
- Barrow, Martyn, " The Ark
of the Covenant (Exodus 25:10-22)". 1995.
- Kaulins, Andis, " Ark
of the Covenant".
- Shyovitz, David, " The Lost Ark of the Covenant". Jewish
Virtual Library.
- Location
- General
- Original article text
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