What was the Ark of Covenant?

Answer 1

it was the portable closet that the "preists" carried on their shoulders that contained the tablets of the ten commandments on them

It was the large, portable gold-covered wooden box that the Levites carried on their shoulders, that contained the tablets of the ten commandments (Exodus ch.25).
The Ark was a specially built 'housing' for the Mosaic or Sinai Covenant and a few other things.
It was the original container (about 4 feet long, 2 1/2 feet wide, and 2 1/2 feet deep) for the Ten Commandments; central symbol for God's presence with the people of Israel. Some passages suggest the ark was also regarded as the throne of the invisible deity, or His footstool (Jer. 3:16-17; Ps. 132:7-8). Hebrews 9:1-10 shows the ark was a part of the old order with external regulations, waiting for the new day of Christ to come with a perfect Sacrifice able to cleanse the human conscience. Revelation 11:19 shows the ark of the covenant will be part of the heavenly temple when it is revealed.
The 'Ark of the Covenant' (Joshua 3:6/Hebrews 9:4)(aka: 'Ark of the Testimony' (Exodus 25:22), was a sacred chest (or box), made from acacia wood, at God's very specific direction, and kept, first, in the tabernacle, and later in Solomon's temple(Exodus 25:10+11, 17-22; Exodus 37:6-9). The Ark was treated with great respect as it was often associated with God's presence throughout Jewish history(Exodus 25:22; Leviticus 16:2). The Ark was used to house sacred items such as the two tablets on which the Ten Commandments were inscribed (Exodus 25:16), a golden jar containing manna, and Aaron's almond branch that miraculously budded (Hebrews 9:4; Numbers 17:10; Exodus 16:32-34; 1Kings 8:9; 2Chronicles 5:10). The Book of the Law was placed next to it (Deuteronomy 31:24-26).
The Ark of the Covenant is called the aron habrit in Hebrew, it was a wooden box covered with gold. g-d commanded Moses to make it when he built the tabernacle. On it was a cover called the kapporet upon which stood the two cherubs or kerubim, when the Jews complied with g-d's wishes they would face each other, and when g-d wanted to show the Jews his anger, the cherubs would turn away from each other

Answer 2

I think you are referring to the Ark of the Covenant.

This was a large chest containing the stones on which the 10 commandments of Moses were written, the staff of Moses' brother Aaron, and pieces of manna - the bread-like substance that fed the Israelites when they were in the wilderness. The Ark was kept in the 'holy of holies' - the central chamber of the Jewish temple, until the temple was destroyed.

The Ark then disappeared, but there is a church in Ethiopia that claims to be the guardian of the original Ark until such time - especially when troubles cease in Israel - it can be released safely without threat of damage or destruction.

Answer

There has also been many fraudulent claims by people such as Ron Whytt who calim to have found the Ark. Many believe theses claims despite lack of evidence and copies of "prophesies" made thousands of years used as "words spoken from God" when they recovered the Ark.

The Ark was held in King Solomon's Temple when it was under seige from invaders, before disappearing from all texts. Evidence shows tunnels were dug under the Temple, possibly where the Ark may have been taken to avoid it being captured by the invaders. I would take a guess from the majority of texts and information I have read (i am very interested in the Ark) that it was either destroyed to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands, or was destroyed by the invaders. Otherwise i would say it is still in hiding, not hidden in a military bunker or under the spot where jesus was crucified (lets remember the Ark was a Jewish relic, Jesus is the Christian God ). I would put the location of the Ark somewhere still in modern day Israel, but due to the restrictions and refusal's of the Israeli government to allow intense searches for the Ark it may be many centuries before the Ark is found, if ever.

Answer 3

I am not sure what scholars are being spoken of here, but in the Biblical scholarly community the Ark is said to be an actual artifact of the pre-exilic Israelites. In 587 B.C. king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon (Iraq) destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem, and carried off all the vessels inside it. To this day the whereabouts of the Ark are uncertain, but for an item of immense value monetarily, historically, and with such religious importance, its destruction seems highly unlikely. Perhaps it will be discovered in some Persian or Babylonian castle some day. Or maybe it was indeed destroyed in spite of the Jewish people.
No one knows exactly where it is. It could have been destroyed but it could still be somewhere hidden.
Nobody really knows. Some think it wound up in Ethiopia. Some think that when Rome finally looted Jerusalem and the Temple around +-70 CE (AD) they took the ark like so much other loot back to Rome where it was melted down for its gold (even though in Rome the triumphal arch commemorating the sacking of Jerusalem does not appear to depict the ark even though other important artifacts appear like the great candleabra -- Menorah). Others think it was secretly taken out before the Romans could get to it and now its resting place is lost and which could explain why it is NOT on the arch. The movie "Raiders of the Lost Ark" fictionalizes that it wound up in Egyptian control and ultimately is buried in some US warehouse "waiting to be found".

My fanciful thoughts do include the possibility of its still being someplace although it was most likely looted and destroyed by the Romans on site as a cruel act to finally crush the remaining Jewish faith as though destroying the physical artifact would have that result (remember at the time the Romans were "pagans" and physically destroying a "god" was just another means of conquering your enemy). Alternatively it was stolen from the Temple by the Romans, but because of its "legendary powers" even they did not want to depict it openly in any triumphal arch -- they had their own superstitions, and if anything bad came about might be traced to bringing it to Rome (not unlike people today think that they've been cursed because they brought home a pice of Hawaiian lava from a vacation) and that it may yet be somewhere in or near Rome, possibly incorporated into some other edifice for safekeeping, or was given a "proper burial". And then again as so many places were later looted it may have been lost and taken for its gold. I think it is possible that as the most important "artifact" of the Exodus, that those in charge of the Temple did in fact secret it out before the Romans could get to it, and notwithstanding the supposed divisions between the "Pharisees" and the "Sadducees" as the New Testament describes, I can imagine there were still some connections (when you think about it in the end it was all Jews regardless of "sect" against the Romans) and it is possible that it wound up in a place like Massada, again buried and never discovered, possibly because those who resisted the Roman siege ultimately committed suicide, taking any information about its whereabouts with them, not unlike the Dead Sea scrolls. Finally, I think it is possible that at the time relations between Judea and a nation like Egypt did exist notwithstaning the prior history there could have been an arrangement to secret it out there (remember the Hebrews left with Egyptian gold that was first incorprated into the "golden calf" and later incorporated into the ark and other Jewish religious objects, and it seems to me to be natural that a good place to hide it would be its place of origin, where its significance, both historically and from a religious standpoint, would most likely be respected....). And while there are people in Ethiopia who trace their roots to the Hebrews who fled Egypt in the Exodus, and a small Christian sect there claims to have it, believe me, no matter how religious I was, if I had it I'd want the whole world to know it still exists.
It has not officially ever been found.

Answer 4

AnswerThe Ark of the Covenant is described in Exodus chapters 25-27, where the Lord instructed Moses to build an elaborate ark of shittim wood, fine linen and cloth, leather, gold and gems. The ark was said to have two purposes: first, it supported a 'mercy seat' of pure gold for God to ride on as the people travelled; second it contained the tablets on which were carved the ten commandments.

Answer 5

The Ark of the Covenant was a box made from shittim(acacia) wood. It was about three feet nine inches long, two feet three inches wide and two feet three inches high(1.145m x 0.685m x 0.685) and was overlaid, inside and out with pure gold. Around its top, outer perimeter was a fabricated design that resembled a crown which was made of gold. To each corner were fitted gold rings large enough to hold two poles, one each side, also made from shittim wood. The poles were used to carry the Ark so it would not need to be touched except by he who had authority to do so. The consequences of touching the Ark without proper authority were severe(2 Samuel 6:6-7). The poles were not to be removed from the Ark. A solid gold lid was made which was called the Mercy Seat. It is interesting to know the Hebrew word for Mercy Seat is Kapporeth, which means, Seat of Atonement. Upon the gold lid were fitted two solid gold, human-like figures with wings called Cherubim. The Cherubim were the guardians of the Ark, and it is believed by most researchers of religious artifacts that they represented, "Redeemed and Glorified Manhood" (Wilson, Old Testament Word Studies, s.v. "Cherubim", page 75). Each Cherub were placed on the ends of the lid facing each other, their faces or eyes looking toward the Mercy Seat. Their four wings stretched forth to cover the lid. The wings represented the power to move and to act, symbolically, as guardians of the Ark. God explained to Moses that He would meet and communicate with him from above the Mercy Seat between the two cherubim (Exodus 25:22). Inside the Ark of the Covenant were placed the two stone tablets written there-on with the law Moses received on Mount Sinai. Also at a later time, a gold pot containing Manna, and Aaron's staff or rod which maliciously budded, were placed into the Ark (Heb 9:4). The Ark was placed inside the inner room of the Tabernacle(portable temple) which was called the Holy of Holies. Reference: Exodus 25:10-22; 37:1-9. There are many interesting facts about the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD in The Bible. A story of the power of the Ark, or more to the point, the power of God can be found in, 1 Samuel 4:6 - 7:2.>

Answer 6

The Talmud mentions a couple of opinions on this question (Yoma 52b, 53b). Some say it was carried away at the time of the Destruction and is now in Rome. Of that opinion, some say further that the Vandals took it from Rome when they sacked Rome. Others say it is still secreted under the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The Ethiopian Church of the Our Lady Mary of Zion in Aksum claims it is there, although no one unauthorized is allowed to even see it.

Answer 7

The covenant is last spoken of as residing in Solomon's Temple, the main temple of Jerusalem until the Babylonians destroyed the temple in 586 BC. The ark was then either hidden so the Babylonians couldn't take it or taken to Babylon. If you are asking what books of the bible the ark is mentioned in, it is spoken of in Exodus, Deuteronomy, Chronicles 1, Chronicles 2, Samuel 1, Joshua, Kings 1, Judges, Hebrew, Numbers and Jeremiah.

Answer 8

No one knows for sure, despite questionable claims to the contrary. Even 1800 years ago, the Talmud-sages discussed this question (Yoma 53b). The Talmud (ibid.) states two opinions in this matter. According to one opinion, the Ark of the Covenant was carried off by the Babylonians when they destroyed the First Temple.
According to the second opinion, around 35 years before the First Destruction, King Josiah (Yoshiah) hid the Ark in a secret chamber constructed for this purpose, since it was already apparent that the Temple wouldn't last much longer. The Prophets had been foretelling the destruction of the Temple for some time.
Tradition states that when he built the Temple, King Solomon prepared a hidden shaft and room deep underneath the Temple Mount for just such an eventuality (Maimonides, in the Hilchot Beit HaBechirah 4:1).
The second opinion is the accepted one (Maimonides, ibid, 4:1-2). However, it is possible to account for both opinions, since all of the Temple vessels had duplicates which were made in order to be used in case the original vessel got lost or defiled (Talmud, Hagigah 26b). In addition, there was a second ark which had been used before the Tabernacle was built (see Rashi commentary on Deuteronomy 10:1, based on midrash Tanchuma). We may therefore postulate that the Babylonians carried into captivity an empty duplicate Ark which had been placed in the Holy of Holies after King Josiah concealed the original.

See also the Related Links.

Link: What is the Ark

Link: More about the Destruction

Link: Jewish history timeline

Answer 9

Although the Ark of the Covenant was said to have been built at enormous expense, to support the mercy seat on which God sat while he travelled with the Israelites and to keep the sacred tablets of the ten commandments, Psalm 132 says this most sacred artefact of the Hebrews was found abandoned in a field.
2 Samuel chapter 6 describes how David recovered the Ark and moved it to its place in the tabernacle. The author had no doubt that God was still seated 'between the cherubim', with frequent references such as David dancing 'before the Lord', and God blessing a household for hosting the ark. So, the Ark had been lost once, but found and recovered. It would have been lost yet again, but there is no record of such an event. If the ark ever existed, we do not know where it is now, but scholars do not seriously believe it ever did exist.

Answer 10

It was the large, portable gold-covered wooden box that the Levites carried on their shoulders, that contained the tablets of the ten commandments (Exodus ch.25). See also the Related Link

Where is the Ark