# Aaron's staff **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [November 28, 2000, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aarons-staff/43099 "2000-11-28T22:54:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Craig\_H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7cd45c/32.png) [@Craig\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Craig_H)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2000, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aarons-staff/43099/1 "2000-11-28T22:54:40Z")
Just when you thought the dead horse had been beaten to dust… In [http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mark4.html](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mark4.html), SDStaff Dex wrote: > [@](#): > > The Ark of the Covenant measured “two and a half cubits long, one and a half cubits wide, and one and a half cubits high.” (Ex 25:10 and 37:1). A cubit is about the length of a forearm from elbow to tip of middle finger, so say 18 inches. Thus the Ark was less than 4 feet long, and just over two feet wide, two feet high (give or take a few inches.) Sorry, that’s too small for Aaron’s staff to fit comfortably… unless you want to tell me that Aaron’s staff was hinged (or perhaps telescoped, this could explain how it turned into a serpent.) Or perhaps Aaron was height-impaired, and used a four foot staff. Well, maybe not. The main diagonal of a 2.5 cu x 1.5 cu x 1.5 cu (45"x27"x27") rectangular prism would be 59.02", or just shy of 5 feet. Now, I realize that that doesn’t include the diameter of the staff which requires a little bit more math than I feel like doing right now. However, we can easily look at the 2-dimensional case, i.e. placing the staff on the floor of the Ark. In this case, the diagonal is 52.48". If we assume a 2" wide staff, the longest staff that would fit in this rectangle would be 50.72" long. I would be surprised if the maximum length in the 3-d case were less than 55" or at least a 4½ foot staff for Aaron. Notwithstanding that we’ve already decided that the Ark didn’t contain these items… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2000, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aarons-staff/43099/2 "2000-11-28T23:38:45Z")
Sigh. Yes, I considered the fact that it could be squeezed in, from upper right corner to lower left corner. I concluded that would be inelegant; these would be holy relics, after all, they wouldn’t just be forced into a cumbersome position. However, that’s all gratuitous; the text from the book of Kings is quite clear. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aarons-staff/43099/3 "2000-11-30T10:32:07Z")
Also, placing a rigid object along the long diagonal of a box will seriously restrict your ability to place anything else in same box, such as, say, a set of stone tablets. ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aarons-staff/43099/4 "2000-11-30T16:33:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Chronos \* > \*\*Also, placing a rigid object along the long diagonal of a box will seriously restrict your ability to place anything else in same box, such as, say, a set of stone tablets. \*\* Not really. If the staff was on the bottom, the other stuff could be placed on top of it. The ark was 1.5 cubits high. True, the tablets may not balance well, but they’d probably fit. Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aarons-staff/43099/5 "2000-11-30T17:48:38Z")
My argument was that the arrangement would be possible but inelegant, and therefore not likely. Holy objects tend to be arranged neatly, not just crammed in because they could fit. However, all that was an aside. The basics were that the Hebrew text of the Bible is quite clear that NOTHING was in the Ark other than the stone tablets. The staff and jar of manna were BESIDE the Ark. The other arguments (about the manna rotting and the staff not fitting) were just me trying to argue logic in an area that is inherently not logical. I accept chastisement for speculation and won’t do it again. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aarons-staff/43099/6 "2000-11-30T18:12:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CKDextHavn \* > Holy objects tend to be arranged neatly, not just crammed in because they could fit. I suddenly have visions of Mel Brooks trying to fit in the stone tablets in the Ark of the covenant. “Damn! this second table just won’t fit, so we’ll have to break off the end of it. Ten commandments is a nice round number anyway.” ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aarons-staff/43099/7 "2000-11-30T23:54:22Z")
Yes, as Father Guido Sarducci used to explain, there were originally more than ten commandments. As I recall, the next two were: 1. Never feed a chicken bone to a dog 2. Never go in the water within an hour after eating Unfortunately, I never heard the good father mention what the others were.