Ark of the Covenant

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  Biblical repository for the Ten Commandments (lost after the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem).


The Ark of the Covenant  also known as the Ark of the Testimony, and in a few verses across various translations of the Bible as the Ark of God, is a gold-covered wooden chest with lid cover described in the Book of Exodus as containing the two stone tablets of the Ten Commandments. According to New Testament Book of Hebrews, it also contained Aaron's rod and a pot of manna.


The biblical account relates that, approximately one year after the Israelites exodus from Egypt, the Ark was created according to the pattern given to Moses by God when the Israelites were encamped at the foot of Mount Sinai. Thereafter, the gold-plated acacia chest was carried by its staves by the Levites approximately 2,000 cubits (approximately 800 meters or 2,600 feet) in advance of the people when on the march or before the Israelite army, the host of fighting men. When carried, the Ark was always hidden under a large veil made of skins and blue cloth, always carefully concealed, even from the eyes of the priests and the Levites who carried it. God was said to have spoken with Moses "from between the two cherubim" on the Ark's cover. When at rest, the Tabernacle was set up and the holy Ark placed in it, under the veil of the covering, the staves of it crossing the middle side bars to hold it up off the ground.


According to the Book of Exodus, God instructed Moses on Mount Sinai during his 40-day stay upon the mountain where God was and he was shown the pattern for the tabernacle and furnishings of the Ark to be made of shittim wood to house the Tablets of Stone. Moses instructed Bezalel and Aholiab to construct the Ark.

The Book of Exodus gives detailed instructions on how the Ark is to be constructed. It is to be 2​1⁄2 cubits in length, 1​1⁄2 in breadth, and 1​1⁄2 in height (approximately 131×79×79 cm or 52×31×31 in). Then it is to be gilded entirely with gold, and a crown or molding of gold is to be put around it. Four rings of gold are to be attached to its four 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 lid, the kapporet (translated as "mercy seat" or "cover") which is covered with 2 golden cherubim, is to be placed above the Ark. Missing from the account are instructions concerning the thickness of the mercy seat and details about the cherubim other than that the cover be beaten out the ends of the Ark and that they form the space where God will appear. The Ark is finally to be placed under the veil of the covering.



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