The Ark I

 

Last Monday, during my bible study class, we discussed the Ark of the Covenant, introduced to the study in Revelation 11:19 (which immediately segues into the famous Woman clothed with sun in Revelation 12, which Catholic teaching regards as the Blessed Virgin Mary, the new Ark of the Covenant).

 

As a little extracurricular work, I decided to research the Ark itself. I am ashamed to admit most of what I know of it comes from Raiders of the Lost Ark, for the last time I read the Bible books that address the Ark it was sometime during the Wu Flu in 2020.

 

Anyway, I’m going to break up my simple research into three parts. This part will address what the Ark is. Part II will be what happened to the Ark in the Old Testament, and Part III will cover the speculative fate of the Ark.

 

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The Hebrew word, aron, used to describe the Ark, refers to something like a small wooden chest as opposed to a large construction, such as Noah’s Ark. Moses received instructions on how to build the Ark of the Covenant during his communion with God atop Mount Sinai during the Exodus. It was fashioned about a year after the Hebrews left Egypt by two highly skilled craftsmen, Bezalel and Oholiab.

 

Translating cubits to the English measuring system, the Ark was about 4 feet 4 inches long, 2 feet 7 inches wide, and 2 feet 7 inches deep. It was made with acacia wood, a durable and dense wood known for its strength and water resistance, having a rich coloration ranging from light brown to deep red. Over this was laid sheets of purest gold. A lid, called the Seat of Mercy or the Propitiatory, was laid atop it, and was likewise golden gilded. Two cherubin with outspread wings and facing each other were fastened onto the Seat of Mercy. When Moses communed with God before the Ark, the LORD would appear in a cloud between and above the cherubim. (This cloud is sometimes referred to as the shekinah.)

 

At each corner of the Ark a ring of gold was attached, into which staves of acacia overlaid with gold were to be inserted (and continually kept in place there) to carry the Ark. The length of the staves are not specified in the Bible. When the Hebrews were on the move, the Ark was carried about 3,000 feet in advance of the people when they marched. And when they camped, the Ark resided in the Tent of Meeting, inside the Tabernacle.

 

The Ark housed the tablets of the Ten Commandments, given to Moses atop Mount Sinai. Aaron’s rod, the staff which blossomed and budded, was also placed within it, along with a pot of manna, the bread-like substance supplied daily by God to the Hebrews in the desert during the 40-year wandering period. (Think of the Ark of the Covenant holding a pot of manna and compare that to the Blessed Virgin Mary with Christ in her womb…)

 

Some early commentators state that the books of the Law written by Moses were also placed within the Ark, but scripture does not explicitly state this.

 

The Ark of the Covenant is the name most familiar to Christians, but throughout the Bible it had other names:

 

   - The Ark of the Testimony (Exodus 25 and 26)

   - The Ark of the Testament (Exodus 30)

   - The Ark of the Covenant of the Lord (Numbers 10, Deuteronomy 10)

   - The Ark of God (1 Samuel 3)

   - The Ark of the LORD (1 Samuel 4)

 

The next post will be a summary of the Ark’s role in the Biblical story.