# "Raiders of the Lost Ark". What was happening when it opened? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 13, 2012, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748 "2012-05-13T02:32:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/1 "2012-05-13T02:32:59Z")
When Belloq opens the Ark it is filled of sand. I guess I’ve always assumed that the stone was weathered but that makes no sense so why was there sand in it? We also know the Ark hates Nazis (it burns the swaztika on the crate) so would Indy and Marion have been harmed too if they looked at the Ark and the spirits? And what were the spirits? Seraphim? Angels of Death? God’s Wrath? * * * MODERATOR NOTES: This thread was started in May 2012; it was then resurrected in Post #77 in April 2013, and now most recently in Post #122 in Aug 2014. This is OK, we don’t mind resurrected (aka “zombie”) threads in this forum, but I just want folks to be aware and not start (unknowingly) to compose a response to something someone said a year or two ago. – CKDH ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/2 "2012-05-13T03:08:52Z")
My take was: 1. the sand was the tablets, reduced to dust after a few thousand years. 2. Yes, they would have perished. They were hardly saintly, after all. 3. Manifestation of God’s wrath ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/3 "2012-05-13T03:28:31Z")
Biblically speaking, the ark kills anyone who touches or looks into it, aside from the annointed priesthood, regardless of their personal morality. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/4 "2012-05-13T03:39:17Z")
And it really, really didn’t want to be used by the Nazis. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/5 "2012-05-13T03:41:32Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > 1. the sand was the tablets, reduced to dust after a few thousand years. I always thought the mere act of an “unauthorized” person opening the Ark caused the tablets to crumble. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/6 "2012-05-13T05:32:48Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > I always thought the mere act of an “unauthorized” person opening the Ark caused the tablets to crumble. Yep, stone would not crumble to sand that quickly especially if protected from the elements. ---
**Author:** ![Reepicheep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@Reepicheep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reepicheep)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/7 "2012-05-13T05:46:15Z")
I had also thought, as had **silenus** the sand was the tablets crumbled with age. The spirits were, I assumed, the sins of each commandment - they look lovely at first (sin is enticing) but in reality are horrid. Since neither Marion nor Indy are commanded to be there – ie have had God or an angel appear and tell them to go to the island – they do not have any more protection than anyone else about looking into holy things. So no they cannot look, or they also would be killed. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/8 "2012-05-13T06:01:36Z")
I was under the impression that the “charring” scene represented the contents of the Ark being cremated so they could not be used for evil purposes. At the same time the Ark was “cocked” for the unauthorized schlump who opened it next (and I like **Reepicheep** ’s concept that the spirits were the released sins of the tablets). As for Indy and Marion, I agree that since they were neither anointed nor commanded to be there, looking would have swept them up in the maelstrom. While they were not in the same class as Belloq or the Nazis, it would not have been good for their health. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/9 "2012-05-13T06:22:26Z")
I always assumed the “Don’t look at it!” was a direct reference to Exodus, the second book in both the Bible and the Torah, and the one in which God gives the Israelites the Ten Commandments. Specifically, Exodus 33:19 and 20 > [@God](#): > > 19 And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.” So… Don’t look! ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/10 "2012-05-13T06:28:17Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > When Belloq opens the Ark it is filled of sand. I guess I’ve always assumed that the stone was weathered but that makes no sense so why was there sand in it? Because it was a big ol’ “fuck you!” to the Nazis. Didn’t seem to be based on anything but the Rule of Cool. Oh, wanna open the magic box that you’ve been questing after and achieve ultimate power? Hah hah, Nazi motherfucker, all you get is sand. Then we melt your face. > [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > so would Indy and Marion have been harmed too if they looked at the Ark and the spirits? Absolutely. There’s a reason one averts their eyes when the Most High is off on a rampage 🆒 > [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > And what were the spirits? Seraphim? Angels of Death? God’s Wrath? Something that looked cool on film. You can believe pretty much whatever you want, as it’s not exactly based in theology and the film had no real explanation. Angels, ghosts, God’s wrath? Sure. The important part was that they were beasties that were gonna fuck up some Nazis. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/11 "2012-05-13T06:41:50Z")
The sand in the Ark was from when Moses “smashed the tablets” ‘cause he came down from Mount Sinai, and caught everyone a-worshippin’ a cow idol. Marcus Brody even mentioned it when the Army Intelligence guys were talking to Indy and Marcus in the auditorium. Apparently, Moses was so pissed off that the camp was barbecuing while he was carving stone tablets, that he went all MOSES SMASH! on the tablets. Tripler I have that movie memorized six ways from Sunday. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/12 "2012-05-13T06:57:26Z")
I don’t think the tablets crumbled instantly, if for no other reason than it would be much cooler for them to crumble on-screen. Dramatically, the arc is full of sand because it sets up a series of quick reversals that ratchet up the tension by keeping the audience off balance - first the arc is full of sand: the whole thing is a fake! Then, pretty lights: it really is magical! Suddenly, face melting: it’s magical, and magic is horrifying! Realistically, the tablets were probably pounded to sand by being shaken around in that big metal box. Maybe over the course of centuries (Egypt is seismically active), maybe just during that truck ride. Nobody seems to be taking care to treat that incredibly priceless relic very carefully. Thematically, the sand represents the folly of the Nazis efforts. They viewed the ark as a tool they could use to bend god to their will. They expected the box to be filled with riches, but wealth, like all things mortal, is transitory. Only faith is eternal. The Nazis put their faith in the things of this world, and in the end, all they had was dust. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/13 "2012-05-13T07:00:12Z")
> [@Tripler](#): > > The sand in the Ark was from when Moses “smashed the tablets” ‘cause he came down from Mount Sinai, and caught everyone a-worshippin’ a cow idol. Marcus Brody even mentioned it when the Army Intelligence guys were talking to Indy and Marcus in the auditorium. > > Apparently, Moses was so pissed off that the camp was barbecuing while he was carving stone tablets, that he went all MOSES SMASH! on the tablets. > > Tripler > I have that movie memorized six ways from Sunday. Moses smashed the first set of tablets. After the isrealites repented, Moses went back up the mountain and came back with a new set. It was the second set that went in the ark. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/14 "2012-05-13T11:16:01Z")
> [@Tripler](#): > > cow idol. Now _that’s_ a reality show talent competition I would watch! ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/15 "2012-05-13T11:30:47Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > My take was: > > 1. the sand was the tablets, reduced to dust after a few thousand years. > 2. Yes, they would have perished. They were hardly saintly, after all. > 3. Manifestation of God’s wrath Pretty much my interpretation too, although I will again point out that as much as I love the Indiana Jones series, the best thing he and Marian could have done was let the Flying Wing head to Berlin with the Ark on it. Why? Because Hitler (and/or other Senior Nazi Bigwigs) would have been at the Ark’s opening and copped a faceful of Smiting instead of some random underlings. Which might have had implications for the previously scheduled WWII… ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Alex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atomic_alex/32/175_2.png) [@Atomic\_Alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Alex)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/16 "2012-05-13T11:51:14Z")
If Marian and Indy missed God’s wrath by averting their eyes and not any particular merit on their part would one of the random Nazi underlings also have been spared if he closed his eyes after the opening of the Ark? ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/17 "2012-05-13T11:56:53Z")
> [@Disposable Hero](#): > > If Marian and Indy missed God’s wrath by averting their eyes and not any particular merit on their part would one of the random Nazi underlings also have been spared if he closed his eyes after the opening of the Ark? Assuredly yes. Jehovah was always much more into “Do As I Say And You Will Not Be Smited” than any of our new-fangled ideas about personal worth or purity of soul. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/18 "2012-05-13T12:06:38Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > Pretty much my interpretation too, although I will again point out that as much as I love the Indiana Jones series, the best thing he and Marian could have done was let the Flying Wing head to Berlin with the Ark on it. > > Why? > > Because Hitler (and/or other Senior Nazi Bigwigs) would have been at the Ark’s opening and copped a faceful of Smiting instead of some random underlings. Which might have had implications for the previously scheduled WWII… The home-base Nazis might have been more capable than the Ark-theft Nazis. If the bad guys poison themselves stealing plutonium, you don’t regret that they didn’t make it back the bad-guy Manhattan Project. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/19 "2012-05-13T12:38:00Z")
The sand was symbolic. They gained _nothing_–all their effort yielded no worth, because of their beliefs. ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/20 "2012-05-13T13:02:47Z")
What I want to know is, where were the golden hemorrhoids and golden mice? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748.md?page=2)