Monday, May 25, 2015

THE ARK OF THE COVENANT ACCORDING TO JEWS



—Biblical Data:
The first mention of the Ark in the Bible is in Ex. xxv. 10 et seq., where Moses on Mount Sinai is told to have an Ark of shittim-wood made for the Commandments which are about to be delivered. Minute directions are given for the plan of the Ark. It is to be 2½ cubits in length, 1½ in breadth, and 1½ in height. It is to be overlaid within and without with gold, and a crown or molding of gold is to be put around it. Four rings of gold are to be put into its corners—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. A golden cover (Hebr. http://d3sva65x0i5hnc.cloudfront.net/V02p103004.jpg; A. V., "mercy-seat"), adorned with golden cherubim, is to be placed above the Ark; and from here the Lord says He will speak to Moses (Ex. xxv. 10-22). The Ark is to be placed behind a veil, a full description of which is given (ib. xxvi. 31-33).

Ark of the Covenant.(After Calmet.)
Sanctity and Consecration.
Even Aaron was forbidden to enter this place of the Ark too often; and he was enjoined to perform certain ceremonies when entering there (Lev. xvi. 2 et seq.). Moses was directed to consecrate the Ark, when completed, with the oil of holy ointment (Ex. xxx. 23-26); and he was also directed to have the Ark made by Bezaleel, the son of Uri of the tribe of Judah, and by Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan (ib. xxxi. 2-7). These instructions Moses carried out, calling upon "every wisehearted" one among the people to assist in the work (ib.xxxv. 10-12). Bezaleel made the Ark (ib. xxxvii. 1); and Moses approved the work (ib. xxxix. 43), put the testimony in the Ark, and installed it (ib. xl. 20, 21).

In Deut. x. 1-5 a rather different account of the making of the Ark is given. Moses is made to say that he constructed the Ark before going upon Mount Sinai to receive the second set of tables. The charge of carrying the Ark and the rest of the holy utensils was given to the family of Kohath, of the tribe of Levi; but they were not to touch any of the holy things until after the latter had been covered by Aaron (Num. iv. 2-15).

A Movable Sanctuary.
In the march from Sinai, and at the crossing of the Jordan, the Ark preceded the people and was the signal for their advance (Num. x. 33; Josh. iii. 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. iii. 15-17; iv. 10, 11, 18). As memorials, twelve stones were taken from the Jordan at the place where the priests had stood (ib. iv. 1-9). During the ceremonies preceding the capture of Jericho, the Ark was carried round the city in the daily procession, preceded by the armed men and by seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams' horns (ib. vi. 6-15). After the defeat at Ai, Joshua lamented before the Ark (ib. vii. 6-9). When Joshua read the Law to the people between Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal, they stood on each side of the Ark (ib.viii. 33). The Ark was set up by Joshua at Shiloh (ib. xviii. 1); but when the Israelites fought against Benjamin at Gibeah, they had the Ark with them, and consulted it after their defeat (Judges xx. 27).

Captured by the Philistines.
The Ark is next spoken of as being in the Temple at Shiloh during Samuel's apprenticeship (I Sam. iii. 3). 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 (ib. iv. 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 (ib. iv. 12-22).

The Philistines took the Ark to several places in their country, and at each place misfortune resulted to them (ib. v. 1-6). At Ashdod it was placed in the temple of Dagon. The next morning Dagon was found prostrate before it; and on being restored to his place, he was on the following morning againfound prostrate and broken. The people of Ashdod were smitten with boils (Hebr. http://d3sva65x0i5hnc.cloudfront.net/V02p104001.jpg, A. V. "emrods"—that is, hemorrhoids); and a plague of mice was sent over the land (ib. vi. 5; the Septuagint, v. 6). The affliction of boils was also visited upon the people of Gath and of Ekron, whither the Ark was successively removed (ib. v. 8-12). After the Ark had been among them 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 boils and mice with which they had been afflicted. The Ark was put down in the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite, and the Beth-shemites offered sacrifices and burnt offerings (ib. vi. 1-15). Out of curiosity the men of Beth-shemesh gazed at [A. V. "looked into"] the Ark; and as a punishment over fifty thousand of them were smitten by the Lord (ib. 19). The Bethshemites sent to Kirjath-jearim, or Baal-Judah, to have the Ark removed (ib. 21); and it was taken thither to the house of Abinadab, whose son Eleazar was sanctified to keep it (ib.vii. 1). Kirjath-jearim was the abode of the Ark for twenty years (ib. 2). 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 the battle (ib. xiv. 18, 19). In I Chron. xiii. 3 it is stated that the people were not accustomed to consult the Ark in the days of Saul.

In the Days of David.
At the very 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 on which 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 (II Sam. vi. 1-11; I Chron. xiii. 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 for which he was despised and rebuked by Saul's daughter Michal (II Sam. vi. 12-16, 20-22; I Chron. xv.). In Zion he put the Ark in the tabernacle he had prepared for it, offered sacrifices, distributed food, and blessed the people and his own household (II Sam. vi. 17-20; I Chron. xvi. 1-3; II Chron. i. 4). Levites were appointed to minister before the Ark (I Chron. xvi. 4). David's plan of building a temple for the Ark was stopped at the advice of God (II Sam. vii. 1-17; I Chron. xvii. 1-15; xxviii. 2, 3). The Ark was with the army during the siege of Rabbah (II Sam. xi. 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 (II Sam. xv. 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 (I Kings ii. 26). Solomon worshiped before the Ark after the dream in which the Lord promised him wisdom (ib. iii. 15). In Solomon's Temple a Holy of Holies (Hebr. http://d3sva65x0i5hnc.cloudfront.net/V02p104002.jpg, A. V., "oracle") was prepared to receive the Ark (ib. vi. 19); and when the Temple was dedicated, the Ark, containing nothing but the two Mosaic tables of stone, was placed therein (ib. viii. 1-9; II Chron. v. 1-10). When the priests came out of the holy place after placing the Ark there, the Temple was filled by a cloud, "for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord" (I Kings viii. 10-11; II Chron. v. 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 (II Chron. viii. 11). King Josiah had the Ark put into the Temple (II Chron. xxxv. 3), from which it appears that it had again been removed by some predecessor.

The only mention of the Ark in the Prophets is the reference to it by Jeremiah, who, speaking in the days of Josiah (Jer. iii. 16), prophesies a time when the Ark will no longer be needed because of the righteousness of the people.
In the Psalms the Ark is twice referred to. In Ps. lxxviii. 61 its capture by the Philistines is spoken of, and the Ark is called "the strength and glory of God"; and in Ps. cxxxii. 8, it is spoken of as "the ark of the strength of the Lord." The Ark is mentioned in only one passage in the Apocrypha (II Macc. ii. 4-10), which contains a legend to the effect 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 Sinai, 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."


—In Rabbinical Literature:
The Ark, by reason of its prominence in the Bible, forms an important subject of discussion by the Rabbis, a great many sayings relating to it being found throughout the Talmud and the Midrashim. They discuss the dimensions, position, material, contents, miraculous powers, final disposition, and various incidents directly or indirectly connected with the Ark. Such discussions at times embody popular legends, and are also of interest as reflecting the poetical spirit which animated many of the rabbis.

Thus it is related (B. B. 99a) that the available space in the Holy of Holies was not in the least diminished by the Ark and the cherubim—that is to say, that through the working of a miracle the Ark and the cherubim transcended the limitations of space. With regard to the position of the Ark in the Holy of Holies, there is the following picturesque saying in TanḦuma, Ḳedoshim, x.:

"Palestine is the center of the world, Jerusalem the center of Palestine, the Temple the center of Jerusalem, the Holy of Holies the center of the Temple, the Ark the center of the Holy of Holies; and in front of the Ark was a stone calledhttp://d3sva65x0i5hnc.cloudfront.net/V02p105018.jpg, the foundation stone of the world."

In Yoma 72b, and Yer. Sheḳ. vi. 49d, it is recorded that Bezaleel made three arks which he put inside of one another. The outside and inside ones were made of gold, and measured respectively ten cubits and a fraction and eight cubits, while the middle one was of wood and measured nine cubits. Again, according to one opinion (Yer. Sheḳ. vi. 49c), there were two arks travelling with the Israelites in the wilderness. One contained the Law, in addition to the tablets of the Ten Commandments, and the other the tables of stone which Moses had broken. The one that contained the Law was placed in the "tent of meeting"; the other, containing the broken tables, accompanied the Israelites in their various excursions, and sometimes appeared on the battle-field. According to still another view, (l.c.), there was only one Ark, and it contained both the Law and the broken tables (Ber. 8b; B. B. 14b). R. Johanan in the name of Simon ben YoḦai, basing his opinion on the repetition of the word "name" (http://d3sva65x0i5hnc.cloudfront.net/V02p105019.jpg) in II Sam. vi. 2, maintains that the Ark contained the Ineffable Name and all other epithets of God (B. B. l.c.; Num. R. iv. 20). Marching in the vanguard of the Israelites, the Ark leveled the hills before them (Ber. 54bsee Arnon). It carried the priests, who in turn were to carry it in the passage of the Jordan (Soṭah 35a). When King David had the Ark brought from the house of Abinadab and carried upon a new cart, the two sons of the latter, driving the cart, were tossed by an invisible agency into the air and flung to the ground again and again, until Ahitophel explained to David that this was owing to the transgression of the Law, which enjoined upon the sons of Kohath to carry the Ark upon their shoulders (Num. vii. 9; Yer. Sanh. x. 29a). When the Philistines despatched the Ark upon a cart drawn by two milch-kine without a driver, the kine not only took the Ark straightway to Beth-shemesh (I Sam. vi. 8-12), but they also sang a song (taking "wayishsharnah," v. 12, "and they took the straight way," as derived from shirah, "a song"). According to R. Meïr, their song was the verse, "I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously" (Ex. xv. 1); according to R. Johanan, "Give thanks unto the Lord, call upon his name" (Ps. cv. 1); others suggest Ps. xciii., xcvii., xcviii., xcix., or cvi.; but R. Isaac NappaḦa has a tradition, preserved in Tanna debe Eliyahu, xi. (compare 'Ab. Zarah 24b), that they sang the following processional hymn:

—Midr. Sam. xii.; 'Ab. Zarah l.c.; Gen. R. liv.
"Rise, O rise, thou acacia chest! Move along, move along in thy great beauty! Skilfully wrought with thy golden adornments! Highly revered in the sanctuary's recesses! O'ershadowed between the twin Cherubim!"

"When Solomon brought the Ark into the Temple, all the golden trees that were in the Temple were filled with moisture and produced abundant fruit, to the great profit and enjoyment of the priestly gild; until King Manasseh put an image of an idol in the Temple, which resulted in the departure of the Divine Presence and the drying up of the fruit" (Tan., Terumah, xi.; also with slight variations, Yoma 39b).

A Vanguard in the Desert.
The Ark was not merely a receptacle for the Law; it was a protection against the enemies of the Israelites, and cleared the roads in the wilderness for them. Two sparks, tradition relates, came out from between the two cherubim, which killed all serpents and scorpions, and burned the thorns, the smoke of which as it curled upward sent a sweet fragrance throughout the world, and the nations of the earth exclaimed in wonder and admiration (Cant. iii. 6), "What is this that cometh up from the wilderness like pillars of smoke?" (Tan., Wayaḳhel, vii.)

Its Ultimate Fate.
Opinions are divided as to what finally became of the Ark when the Temple was destroyed. Some, basing their views on II Chron. xxxvi. 10, and Isa. xxxix. 6, declare (Yoma 53b) that it was taken toBabylonia, while according to others (ib.) it was not taken into captivity, but was hidden away in the Temple, in the apartment where the wood for fuel was kept; and it is related that a certain priest, while doing his work in that apartment, noticed that some of the stones in the paved floor projected above the others. He no sooner began to tell the story to a fellow-priest than he expired. That was regarded as a sure sign that the Ark had been buried in that place (Yer. Sheḳ. vi. 49c). Another tradition records that it was King Josiah who hid the Ark and other sacred vessels, for fear that if they were taken to Babylonia they would never be brought back (ib.).

"Why was a distance of 2,000 cubits always maintained between the Ark and the people? In order that when the march was stopped upon each Sabbath day, all the people might travel as far as the Ark to offer their prayers" (Num. R. ii. 9). "One son of Obed-edom betokens by his name, 'Peulthai, for God blessed him' (I Chron. xxvi. 5), the blessing brought upon his father's house; he honored the Ark by placing a new candle before it every morning and evening" (Num. R. iv. 20.).

Ark is used figuratively for a teacher of the Law in a farewell address; "If Obed-edom was blessed greatly for keeping the Ark in his house, how much more should he be blessed who shows hospitality to students of the Law?" (Ber. 63b.)


Tabut, Sakinah, and Remnant.
—In Mohammedan Literature:
In the Koran the Ark of the Covenant and Moses' ark of bulrushes are both indicated by the one word "tabut," which term certainly comes from the Hebrew "tebah," through the Jewish-Aramaic "tebuta." The reference in the Koran to the Ark of the Covenant occurs in the middle of the story of the choice of Saul to be king. There the people demand a sign that God has chosen him, and the narrative continues (ii. 249): "and their prophet said unto them, 'Lo, the sign of his kingship will be that the ark [tabut] will come unto you with a "Sakinah" in it from your Lord, and with a remnant of that which the family of Moses and the family of Aaron left—angels bearing it. Lo, in that is verily a sign for you if ye are believers!'" Baidawi (ad loc.) explains "tabut" as derived from the root tub (return), and as thus meaning a chest to which a thing taken from it was sure to return. It was the chest in which the Law (Taurat) was kept, and was about three cubits by two, and made of gilded box-wood. "Sakinah," he says, means "rest," "tranquillity"; and it came to the Israelites in the coming of the Ark to them, or it was the Taurat itself, brought in the Ark and calming them by its presence (see Shekinah). Moses was wont to make it go on before in battle, and it would steady the Israelites and prevent them fleeing.

Composition of "Remnant."
Others said that there was in the Ark a figure of chrysolite or ruby with the head and tail of a shecat and with two wings. It would utter a moaning sound, and the Ark would rush toward the enemy with the Israelites following it. When it stayed, they stood and were at ease, and victory came. By the "remnant" in it is meant the fragments of the broken tables, the staff and clothes of Moses, and the turban of Aaron. After Moses died, God took it up to Himself, and the angels now brought it down again. But others said that it remained with the prophets that succeeded Moses, and that they gained victories by means of it until they acted corruptly and the unbelievers took it from them. So it remained in the country of Goliath until God made Saul king. He then brought calamity upon the Philistines and destroyed five cities. Perceiving that this was through the Ark, they placed it on two bulls, and the angels led it to Saul.

History of the Ark.
Al-Tha'labi, in his "Ḳisas al-Anbiyya" (p. 150 of ed. of Cairo, A. H. 1314), gives details as to the earlier and later history of the Ark. He brings it into connection with the important Moslem doctrine of the Light of Mohammed, the first of all created things, for the sake of which God created the worlds. The Ark was sent down by God from paradise with Adam when he fell. In it, cut out of a ruby, were figures of all the prophets that were to come, especially of Mohammed and his first four califs and immediate followers. At the death of Adam it passed to Seth, and so down to Abraham. From Abraham, Ishmael received it as the eldest of his sons. It passed then to Ishmael's son, Kedar, but was claimed from him by Jacob. Kedar refused to relinquish it, but was divinely commanded to give it up, as it must remain in the line of the prophets of God, which was now that of Israel. On the other hand, the Light of Mohammed, which shone on the forehead of every lineal ancestor of his, remained in the Arab line of Kedar. So the Ark passed down to Moses. How and when it was lost, the Moslem historians do not state. According to Ibn 'Abbas, a cousin of Mohammed and the founder of Koranic exegesis, it, with the rod of Moses, is now lying in the Lake of Tiberias, and will be brought forth at the last day.

Earlier Form of Legend.
The story of the image with the cat's head and tail is traced back to Wahb ibn Munabbih, who was of Jewish birth. It has probably some Midrashic origin. What is apparently an earlier form of this latter legend is given in the "Hhamis" of Al-Diyarbakri (i. 24 et seq.; compare ed. of Cairo, 1302). In it the chest with images of the prophets is not connected with the Ark of the Covenant. The chest, called also tabut, which had been given to Adam as above stated, was in the possession of the emperor Heraclius, and was shown by him to ambassadors from Abu Bakr, the first calif. It had been brought from the extreme West (Maghreb) by Alexander, and so had passed to the Roman emperors.


—Critical View:
A classification of the passages in which the Ark is mentioned (compare Seyring, in Stade's "Zeitschrift," xi. 115), shows that in the older sources (J., E., and Samuel) the Ark is called simply "the ark," "the ark of Yhwh," or "theark of God." In Deuteronomy, and in writers under Deuteronomic influence, it is called "the ark of the covenant of Yhwh"; while the priestly sections call it "the ark of the testimony." In I Sam. iv. the Ark is taken into battle, and both Israelites and Philistines are affected by it as though Yhwh Himself were there.

As the Egyptians, Babylonians, and other nations had similar structures for carrying their idols about (compare Wilkinson, "Ancient Egyptians," iii. 289; Delitzsch, "Handwörterbuch," under "elippu"; and "Isaiah," in "S. B. O. T." p. 78), critical scholars hold that the Ark was in the earliest time a kind of movable sanctuary (see Wellhausen, "Prolegomena," 5th ed., p. 46, note; Stade, "Gesch." i. 457; Nowack, "Archäologie," ii. 3; Benzinger, "Archäologie," 367; Winckler, "Gesch. Israels," i. 70; Couard, in Stade's "Zeitschrift," xii. 53; and Guthe, "Geschichte des Volkes Israel," p. 31). As the corresponding shrines of other nations contained idols, so late tradition has it that the Ark contained the tables of the Decalogue (I Kings viii. 9, 21). As the two versions of the Decalogue, that of E. in Ex. xx., and that of J. in Ex. xxxiv., differ so radically, critics hold also that there could have been no authoritative version of the Commandments deposited in the Ark, but believe that it contained an aerolite or sacred stone—similar to the sacred stone of the Kaaba at Mecca—which was regarded as a fetish. The fact that in J. (the Judean source) the Ark is not prominent, Yhwh being consistently represented as dwelling at Sinai while his angel goes before Israel (Ex. xxxiii. 2), and that in E. (the Ephraimitic source) the Ark plays a conspicuous part, led Wellhausen and Stade to believe that it was originally the movable sanctuary of the Joseph tribes, from whom, after the union of the tribes, it was adopted by the nation. This view has been generally adopted by other critics (see references above).

In the historical books the Ark plays no part after the time of Solomon, when it was placed in the Temple. Couard believes that it was carried from Jerusalem in the days of Rehoboam by the Egyptian king Shishak (Stade's "Zeitschrift," xii. 84). That would adequately explain its disappearance from history. While the Ark figures in Deuteronomy and in the priestly legislation, there is, as Couard points out, no evidence that it was actually in existence as an object in the cult at the time that those codes were combined; it appears to represent merely an ideal in the minds of the compilers.






THE ARK OF THE COVENANT IN ETHIOPIA



The Problematic Legend
There has been a legend for many years that the Ark of the Covenant is in the Saint Mary of Zion Church in Axum, Ethiopia. In recent years this legend has been popularized in the writings of Grant Jeffrey, a Canadian Bible prophecy writer who often specializes in the sensational.

This legend is based on a bizarre story that the Ark was smuggled out of Jerusalem by Menelik I, the supposed son of a union between the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon. Supposedly, a replica of the Ark was left in the Holy of Holies in the Temple in Jerusalem. The motivation for moving the Ark was to protect it from King Manasseh, one of the most ungodly kings in the history of Judah.

There are all kinds of problems with this legend. For one thing, it is doubtful that the Queen of Sheba ruled over Ethiopia. It is more likely that her realm was modern day Yemen.
Regarding Menelik I, he ruled over Ethiopia around 950 B.C., according to tradition. Manasseh did not become king of Judah until 253 years later.

Harry Atkins, an Ethiopian historian, contends that there is no record of this legend in Ethiopian history until the end of the 13th Century. At that time there was a dispute over who should be king, and one of the contenders claimed to be a descendant of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. Atkins says it was at that point that the legend of the Ark entered into Ethiopian history.

The insurmountable problem with the Ethiopian legend is that 2 Chronicles 35:3 states that the Ark was still in the Temple during the time of King Josiah who reigned from 640 to 609 B.C.

Rabbi Shlomo Goren, former Chief Rabbi of Israel (now deceased), spent his life studying the Temple Mount, the Temple, and the Ark of the Covenant. He always argued vehemently that it would have been impossible for anyone, including the priests of the Temple, to have unguarded access to the Ark. He dismissed the whole story as a "foolish suggestion" and a "joke." Modern day rabbis in Israel also consider the story to be ridiculous. Their consensus of opinion is that the Ark is hidden in a secret compartment beneath the Temple Mount.

The Ark's Disappearance
No one knows for sure what happened to the Ark. The last time it is mentioned in Scripture is in 2 Chronicles 35:3. That passage makes it clear that the Ark was still in existence at the time of the spiritual revival led by the boy king, Josiah. Within 22 years after Josiah died, Judah fell to the Babylonians (586 B.C.), and the Ark disappeared.

No one knows for sure what happened to the Ark. Some scholars believe it was simply destroyed when the Temple was burned. Others believe it was captured as a prize of war, taken to Babylon, and probably melted down for its gold. This latter theory seems to be substantiated by the Scriptures. For example, in 2 Chronicles 36:18 it states that when the Babylonians destroyed the Temple, they took "all the articles of the house of God, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem and burned all its fortified buildings with fire, and destroyed all its valuable articles."

The strongest tradition is that the Ark was taken out of the Temple by Jeremiah and hidden. Some are convinced he hid it in the ground on the Temple Mount. But most who hold to the Jeremiah rescue theory believe he either hid the Ark in a great cavern beneath the Temple Mount (known today as Solomon's Quarry) or that he hid it somewhere near Mt. Nebo in the modern day nation of Jordan.

The latter theory finds support in the apocryphal book of 2 Maccabees. The narrative in that book says, "the prophet, warned by an oracle, gave orders for the tabernacle and the ark to go with him when he set out for the mountain which Moses had climbed to survey God's heritage. On his arrival, Jeremiah found a cave dwelling, into which he brought the tabernacle, the ark, and the altar of incense, afterwards blocking up the entrance" (2 Maccabees 2:4-5).

Another theory regarding the fate of the Ark is that it was translated or raptured, being taken up to Heaven to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Chaldeans. This theory is based upon a reference to the Ark in Revelation 11:15. This passage is a flash forward to the end of the Tribulation when Heaven opens and Jesus returns in wrath. The writer states that when Heaven opened "the ark of His covenant appeared in His Temple." Those who reject this theory argue that the Ark seen in Heaven in this passage is the heavenly reality of which the Ark of the Covenant was only an earthly shadow or copy (Hebrews 8:5).

The Ark in Bible Prophecy
Regardless of what happened to the Ark, the Scriptures suggest that it will never be found again. This comes as quite a shock to some Christians who have assumed that the Ark must be found before the Tribulation Temple can be built and animal sacrifice reinstituted. Others have simply assumed that the Ark would be replaced in the Holy of Holies when the Lord's Millennial Temple is built.

But Jeremiah says point blank that "the ark of the covenant of the Lord... shall not come to mind, nor shall they remember it, nor shall they miss it, nor shall it be made again" (Jeremiah 3:16). The context of this passage is the Millennial reign of Jesus, so it does not rule out the possibility of a discovery prior to that time. Conceivably, the Ark could be discovered, and Satan could use its discovery to incite the rebuilding of a Temple where an apostate sacrificial system would be reinstituted. We know that such a Temple will be built, but I doubt if its construction will be motivated by the discovery of the Ark.
The important point to keep in mind here is that the rediscovery of the Ark is not essential to the rebuilding of the Temple. After all, the Temple was rebuilt by Zerubbabel following the Babylonian captivity, and the Ark had already been lost by that time. There was no Ark in the Holy of Holies during the time when Jesus worshiped in the Temple.

Nor is the Ark needed for the Millennial Temple. Ezekiel describes the Temple in great detail (chapters 40-42), and he never mentions the Ark. There is a Holy of Holies (Ezekiel 41:4), but it is empty, and it is not separated from the Holy Place by a veil.

The Ethiopians may have an object they venerate and consider to be the Ark. But I personally believe there is no possibility that it is the original Ark of the Covenant.






Sunday, May 24, 2015

THE ARK OF THE COVENANT ACCORDING TO JEWISH HISTORY




As a general rule, Judaism rejects physical manifestations of spirituality, preferring instead to focus on actions and beliefs. Indeed, the story of Judaism begins with Abraham who, according to ancient sources, shattered the idols that were the conventional method of religious observance at the time. Worship of graven images is harshly condemned throughout the Torah, and perhaps the greatest sin the Israelites collectively committed was the construction of the Golden Calf (in Ex. 32), intended to serve as a physical intermediary between them and God. Today, Jews do not venerate any holy relics or man-made symbols.

But in the history of the Jewish people, there was one exception to this rule. One man-made object was considered intrinsically holy - the Ark of the Covenant.

Constructed during the Israelites' wanderings in the desert and used until the destruction of the First Temple, the Ark was the most important symbol of the Jewish faith, and served as the only physical manifestation of God on earth. The legends associated with this object - and the harsh penalties ascribed for anyone who misuses it - confirm the Ark's centrality to the Jewish faith of that period; the fact that Jews and non-Jews alike continue to study and imitate it confirms its centrality even today.



Building the Ark

The construction of the Ark is commanded by God to Moses while the Jews were still camped at Sinai (Ex. 25:10-22; 37:1-9). The Ark was a box with the dimensions of two-and-a-half cubits in length, by one-and-a-half cubits in heights, by one-and-a-half cubits in width (a cubit is about 18 inches). It was constructed of acacia wood, and was plated with pure gold, inside and out. On the bottom of the box, four gold rings were attached, through which two poles, also made of acacia and coated in gold, were put. The family of Kehath, of the tribe of Levi, would carry the ark on their shoulders using these poles.

Covering the box was the kapporet, a pure gold covering that was two-and-a-half by one-and-a-half cubits. Attached to the kapporetwere two sculpted Cherubs, also made of pure gold. The two Cherubs faced one another, and their wings, which wrapped around their bodies, touched between them.

The contents of the Ark has been debated through the centuries. The general consensus is that the first tablets containing the Ten Commandments, which were broken by Moses, and the second tablets, which remained intact, were contained in the Ark (Bava Batra14b). According to one opinion in the Talmud, both Tablets were together in the Ark; according to another, there were two Arks, and each contained one set of Tablets (Berakhot 8b).

The Ark was built by Bezalel, son of Uri, son of Hur, who constructed the entire Tabernacle – the portable Temple used in the desert and during the conquest of the land of Israel. The Tabernacle was the resting place for the Ark, and also contained other vessels that were used in the physical worship of God. The Biblical commentators argue over why God commanded Moses to build a Tabernacle in the first place: According to Rashi (Ex. 31:18), God realized after the sin of the Golden Calf that the Israelites needed an outlet for physical worship, and commanded that they build the Tabernacle as a way of expressing their own need for physical representation of God. According to Nachmanides (Ex. 25:1), however, the Jews were commanded to build the Tabernacle even before the sin of the Golden Calf; rather than filling a human need, the Tabernacle was God's method of achieving continuous revelation in the Israelites' camp. These two opinions as to whether the Tabernacles, and the Temples that followed them, were an a priori necessity or a necessary evil demonstrate the controversial role of physical worship in Judaism as a whole.



The Role of the Ark

The Ark was used in the desert and in Israel proper for a number of spiritual and pragmatic purposes. Practically, God used the Ark as an indicator of when he wanted the nation to travel, and when to stop. In the traveling formation in the desert, the Ark was carried 2000 cubits ahead of the nation (Num. R. 2:9). According to one midrash, it would clear the path for the nation by burning snakes, scorpions, and thorns with two jets of flame that shot from its underside (T. VaYakhel, 7); another midrash says that rather than being carried by its bearers, the Ark in fact carried its bearers inches above the ground (Sotah 35a). When the Israelites went to war in the desert and during the conquering of Canaan, the Ark accompanied them; whether its presence was symbolic, to provide motivation for the Jews, or whether it actually aided them in fighting, is debated by commentators.

Spiritually, the Ark was the manifestation of God's physical presence on earth (the shekhina). When God spoke with Moses in the Tent of Meeting in the desert, he did so from between the two Cherubs (Num. 7:89). Once the Ark was moved into the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle, and later in the Temple, it was accessible only once a year, and then, only by one person. On Yom Kippur, the High Priest (Kohen Gadol) could enter the Holy of Holies to ask forgiveness for himself and for all the nation of Israel (Lev. 16:2).

The relationship between the Ark and the shekhina is reinforced by the recurring motif of clouds. God's presence is frequently seen in the guise of a cloud in the Bible (Ex. 24:16), and the Ark is constantly accompanied by clouds: When God spoke from between the Cherubs, there was a glowing cloud visible there (Ex. 40:35); when the Jews traveled, they were led by the Ark and a pillar of clouds (Num. 10:34); at night, the pillar of clouds was replaced by a pillar of fire, another common descriptor of God's appearance (Ex. 24:17); and when the High Priest entered presence of the Ark on Yom Kippur, he did so only under the cover of a cloud of incense, perhaps intended to mask the sight of the shekhina in all its glory (Lev. 16:13).

The holiness of the Ark also made it dangerous to those who came in contact with it. When Nadav and Avihu, the sons of Aaron, brought a foreign flame to offer a sacrifice in the Tabernacle, they were devoured by a fire that emanated "from the Lord" (Lev. 10:2). During the saga of the capture of the Ark by the Philistines, numerous people, including some who merely looked at the Ark, were killed by its power. Similarly, the Priests who served in the Tabernacle and Temple were told that viewing the Ark at an improper time would result in immediate death (Num. 4:20).



History of the Ark

The Ark accompanied the Jews throughout their time in the desert, traveling with them and accompanying them to their wars with Emor and Midian. When the Jews crossed into the land of Canaan, the waters of the Jordan River miraculously split and the Ark led them through (Josh. 3). Throughout their conquest of the land, the Jews were accompanied by the Ark. The most dramatic demonstration of its power comes when the Jews breached the walls of Jericho merely by circling them, blowing horns and carrying the Ark (Josh. 6).

After the conquest was completed, the Ark, and the entire Tabernacle, were set up in Shiloh (Josh. 18) . There they remained until the battles of the Jews with the Philistines during the Priesthood of Eli. The Jews, after suffering a defeat at the Philistines' hands, took the Ark from Shiloh to Even-Ezer in hopes of winning the next battle. But the Jews were routed, and the Ark was captured by the Philistines. Back in Shiloh, Eli, the High Priest, immediately died upon hearing the news (I Sam. 4).

The Philistines took the Ark back to Ashdod, their capital city in the south of Canaan, where they placed it in the temple of their god Dagon. The next day, however, they found the idol fallen on its face. After replacing the statue, they found it the next day decapitated, with only its trunk remaining, and soon afterward, the entire city of Ashdod was struck with a plague. The Philistines moved the Ark to the city of Gath, and from there to Ekron, but whatever city the Ark was in, the inhabitants were struck with plague. After seven months, the Philistines decided to send the Ark back to the Israelites, and accompanied it with expensive gifts. The Ark was taken back to Beit Shemesh, and, according to midrash, the oxen pulling the Ark burst into song as soon as it was once again in Israel's possession (A.Z. 22b). The actual text of the story, however, tells a much grimmer tale: The men of Beit Shemesh were punished for staring disrespectfully at the Ark, and many were killed with a plague.

From Beit Shemesh, the Ark was transported to Kiryat Yearim, where it remained for twenty years. From there, King Davidtransported it to Jerusalem. En route, however, the oxen pulling it stumbled, and when Uzzah reached out to steady the Ark, he died immediately. As a result of this tragedy, David decided to leave the Ark at the home of Obed-edom the Gittite. Three months later, he moved it to Jerusalem, the seat of his kingdom, where it remained until the construction of the First Temple by David's son Solomon (I Sam. 5-6). When the Ark was finally placed in the Temple, the midrash reports that the golden tree decorations that adorned the walls blossomed with fruit that grew continuously until the Temple's destruction (Yoma 39b).



The Ark's Whereabouts

The Ark remained in the Temple until its destruction at the hand of the Babylonian empire, led by Nebuchadnezzar. What happened to it afterward is unknown, and has been debated and pondered for centuries. It is unlikely that the Babylonians took it, as they did the other vessels of the Temple, because the detailed lists of what they took make no mention of the Ark. According to some sources, Josiah, one of the final kings to reign in the First Temple period, learned of the impending invasion of the Babylonians and hid the Ark. Where he hid it is also questionable – according to one midrash, he dug a hole under the wood storehouse on the Temple Mount and buried it there (Yoma 53b). Another account says that Solomon foresaw the eventual destruction of the Temple, and set aside a cave near the Dead Sea, in which Josiah eventually hid the Ark (Maimonides, Laws of the Temple, 4:1).

One of the most fascinating possibilities is advanced by Ethiopian Christians who claim that they have the Ark today. In Axum, Ethiopia, it is widely believed that the Ark is currently being held in the Church of Saint Mary of Zion, guarded by a monk known as the "Keeper of the Ark," who claims to have it in his possesion. According to the Axum Christian community, they acquired the Ark during the reign of Solomon, when his son Menelik, whose mother was the Queen of Sheba, stole the Ark after a visit to Jerusalem. While in the not-so-distant past the "Ark" has been brought out for Christian holidays, its keeper has not done so for several years due to the tumultuous political situation in the country. The claim has thus been impossible to verify, for no one but the monk is allowed into the tent.

A more plausible claim is that of archaeologist Leen Ritmeyer, who has conducted research on the Temple Mount and inside the Dome of the Rock. He claims to have found the spot on the Mount where the Holy of Holies was located during the First Temple period. In the precise center of that spot is a section of bedrock cut out in dimensions that may match those of the Ark as reported in Exodus. This section of the mount, incidentally, is the one from which the creation of the world began, according to midrash (T. Kedoshim, 10). Based on his findings, Ritmeyer has postulated that the Ark may be buried deep inside the Temple Mount. However, it is unlikely that any excavation will ever be allowed on the Mount by the Muslim or Israeli authorities.