# What happened to the Ark of the Covenant? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [December 8, 2010, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-ark-of-the-covenant/563450 "2010-12-08T18:47:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![wwjd38](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9fc348/32.png) [@wwjd38](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wwjd38)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-ark-of-the-covenant/563450/1 "2010-12-08T18:47:27Z")
A question was posted, asking, “What happened to the Ark of the Covenant?” When giving the answer, you began by stating the following: First, what exactly is the Ark of the Covenant? It was a wooden chest, the design of which is described in Exodus 25:10-22 and the construction in Exodus 37:1-9, built by the Children of Israel after the Exodus from Egypt, after Moses received the Ten Commandments on Mt. Sinai (around 1280 BC, give or take a bit). Then later, stated the following: So, finally, we get to your question: where is it now? The most likely answer is that the Babylonians melted it down for the gold when they destroyed the Temple in 587 BC. They weren’t what you might call “sensitive” to historic items of the realms they conquered, and gold was more valuable than a pretty box. I was wondering which of your statements were correct, that the Ark was a wooden chest or a gold one? ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-ark-of-the-covenant/563450/2 "2010-12-08T18:52:12Z")
From the Exodus 25:10-11 (referred to in the column): > [@](#): > > Have them make an ark of acacia wood—two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high. Overlay it with pure gold, both inside and out, and make a gold molding around it. It was a gold-plated wooden box. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-ark-of-the-covenant/563450/3 "2010-12-08T18:56:43Z")
**wwjd38,** since not all of us can instantly go to the thread you wish to discuss without help, it’s always a good idea to post a link right away, [like this](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1401/what-happened-to-the-ark-of-the-covenant) (if that’s the right one). Welcome to SDMB! Never mind the goat. 🙂 > [@wwjd38](#): > > I was wondering which of your statements were correct, that the Ark was a wooden chest or a gold one? Why not a gold statue enclosed or mounted in a wooden box for safekeeping or transport? ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-ark-of-the-covenant/563450/4 "2010-12-08T20:50:05Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > Why not a gold statue enclosed or mounted in a wooden box for safekeeping or transport? Because it is expressly described as a gilt wooden box, and is specifically described as having certain contents, _viz.,_ the Stone Tablets of the Law. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-ark-of-the-covenant/563450/5 "2010-12-09T01:25:01Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > Why not a gold statue enclosed or mounted in a wooden box for safekeeping or transport? > [@John\_W.Kennedy](#): > > Because it is expressly described as a gilt wooden box, and is specifically described as having certain contents, _viz.,_ the Stone Tablets of the Law. And the transport was very symbolic. You had to carry it like it was a royal item, or risk death. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-ark-of-the-covenant/563450/6 "2010-12-09T01:57:27Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > And the transport was very symbolic. You had to carry it like it was a royal item, or risk death. Which one poor schlub got for his troubles. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-ark-of-the-covenant/563450/7 "2010-12-09T03:42:36Z")
[This is a picture](http://www.grahamphillips.net/Ark/Ark_5_files/ark_reconstruction.jpg)of an elaborate chest commorative of Hathor; I don’t believe the real one exists but an image was painted on some Egyptian funerary art. The original was probably in the tomb but stolen along with the rest of its treasures. Tomb robbers were something like the elite of the Egyptian criminals and they were probably way more terrified of being caught than any of the curses on the wall, so anything they got had to be smelted down to make it unrecognizable. The ark above, also probably gold plated wood, is very close to the Ark of the Covenant as described in the OT- just add carrying poles. If the ark actually existed it was almost certainly scraped for the gold which was routine after sacking a city. [The Arch of Titus](http://adfontes.files.wordpress.com/2007/05/arch-of-titus-spoils-jerusalem.jpg)commemorates the theft of temple treasures from Jerusalem centuries after the ark would have been taken; it wasn’t sacred to the victors but simply stolen gold. In the 16th century Pizarro was so impressed with the Incan treasures that he saved some of the most beautiful and ornate pieces from the ransom he was melting down into bars and sent them intact to the Emperor Charles V. The Emperor basically said “Yeah he’s right, that is fine workmanship… melt it down and put it with the rest”. Most conquerors aren’t really that moved by any religious or aesthetic significance when they want is the metal. ---
**Author:** ![brocks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7feea3/32.png) [@brocks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brocks)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2011, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-ark-of-the-covenant/563450/8 "2011-01-09T23:41:11Z")
> [@wwjd38](#): > > The most likely answer is that the Babylonians melted it down for the gold when they destroyed the Temple in 587 BC. They weren’t what you might call “sensitive” to historic items of the realms they conquered, and gold was more valuable than a pretty box. Sorry I don’t know whom you are quoting, but IMO that answer is wrong. The looting of the Temple by Nebuchadnezzar is described in 2 Kings: **"24:11** And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city, and his servants did besiege it. **24:12** And Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his officers: and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign. **24:13** And he carried out thence all the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king’s house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD, as the LORD had said." So either the Ark was not in the Temple then, or the authors of 2 Kings did not think it was important enough to merit special mention. This would be approximately like a police report of a burglary of the US National Archives saying that various documents were stolen, and not bothering to mention that the original Declaration of Independence and Constitution were among them. According to the book of Ezra, after conquering Babylon about 60 years after the event described above, Cyrus allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple. **"6:5** And also let the golden and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took forth out of the temple which is at Jerusalem, and brought unto Babylon, be restored, and brought again unto the temple which is at Jerusalem, every one to his place, and place them in the house of God." So that verse indicates that at least some of the treasures of the Temple were not cut up or melted down, but were preserved intact. As the most holy object of the Jews, the Ark would likely have been one of them. And again, there is no mention of the Ark, not even a lament over its loss. The obvious conclusion is that the Ark was not in the Temple when it was sacked by Nebuchadnezzar, and nobody knows when or why it disappeared. As it was allegedly kept in the Holy of Holies, where nobody was allowed to see it but the King or the chief priests, it could have been gone for decades before the destruction of the Temple, with only a few people knowing it was missing. Or more likely, it never existed. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-ark-of-the-covenant/563450/9 "2011-01-10T00:53:46Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > Welcome to SDMB! Never mind the goat. 🙂 I like the goat! It adds tone. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-ark-of-the-covenant/563450/10 "2011-01-10T11:46:01Z")
II Maccabees 2- Jeremiah, knowing that the fall of the Temple & Jerusalem were at hand, removed the Ark to a cave in Mt. Nebo in the Jordan. Closest thing we have to a Biblical answer (especially if one if Catholic or Orthodox). ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2011, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-ark-of-the-covenant/563450/11 "2011-01-11T17:08:18Z")
Here it is: [http://stephensonstrategies.com/images/2007/11/04/Government\_Data.jpg](http://stephensonstrategies.com/images/2007/11/04/Government_Data.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2011, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-ark-of-the-covenant/563450/12 "2011-01-11T17:25:10Z")
We have top men working on it. Top men. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2011, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-ark-of-the-covenant/563450/13 "2011-01-11T17:27:34Z")
It never existed. Since there was never really an Exodus, a Moses, a Sinai event or a giving of stone tablets as described in the Bible, no Ark of that literal origin would have ever existed in the first place. If there was ever any kind of reliquary in the Holy of Holies, it wouldn’t have really been THE Ark, but some kind of ceremonial replica, but there was no real need even for a fake Ark since no one was allowed to see it anyway. It’s also possible the whole book of Exodus, and the story of a glorious Ark, is post-exilic invention. In any case, there was never any Ark brought in from the Sinai with the Ten Commandments in it. A reliquary may have been built after the fact, or a reliquary with more mundane (i.e. local human) origins may have simply had a more fantastic history attributed to it retroactively, but there was never an Ark associated with a real Exodus or Sinai event. And if there was really anything in the Holy of Holies when the Babylonians came, they almost certainly melted it down. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2011, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-ark-of-the-covenant/563450/14 "2011-01-11T17:36:29Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > We have top men working on it. Top men. _WHO?_ ---
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2011, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-ark-of-the-covenant/563450/15 "2011-01-11T18:00:43Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > We have top men working on it. Top men. > [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > _WHO?_ Never mind who. Let’s go get a drink. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2011, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-ark-of-the-covenant/563450/16 "2011-01-11T18:38:24Z")
If you look like this, you’re on: [http://static.reelmovienews.com/images/gallery/marion-ravenwood\_173x191.jpg](http://static.reelmovienews.com/images/gallery/marion-ravenwood_173x191.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2011, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-ark-of-the-covenant/563450/17 "2011-01-11T20:19:41Z")
The Ethiopian Orthodox Church claims to have it. > **[Ark of the Covenant](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ark_of_the_Covenant#Ethiopian_Orthodox_Church)** > > The Ark of the Covenant,\[a\] also known as the Ark of the Testimony\[b\] or the Ark of God,\[c\] is an artifact believed to be the most sacred relic of the Israelites, which is described as a wooden chest, covered in pure gold, with an elaborately designed lid called the mercy seat. According to the Book of Exodus, the Ark contained the two stone tablets of the Ten Commandments. According to the New Testament Book of Hebrews, it also contained Aaron's rod and a pot of manna. > The biblical account re... I watched a show where someone tried to demonstrate it could have been smuggled out of the Temple of Jerusalem through a cave passageway. That would have required disassembling the Ark, though, as some of the passages are too narrow for the box as a whole, and parts of the cave are filled with water. I found it less than convincing. ---
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2011, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-ark-of-the-covenant/563450/18 "2011-01-11T20:19:42Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > If you look like this, you’re on: [http://static.reelmovienews.com/images/gallery/marion-ravenwood\_173x191.jpg](http://static.reelmovienews.com/images/gallery/marion-ravenwood_173x191.jpg) After I’ve had enough drinks, it won’t matter whom I resemble (or don’t). Anyhow, welcome to the Dope, **wwjd38** – the place where reasonable questions degenerate into: [ol] [li]Movie quotes[/li][li]Flirt fests[/li][li]Pun wars[/li][li]kittehpix[/li][li]TOIJs[/li][/ol] ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2011, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-ark-of-the-covenant/563450/19 "2011-01-11T20:25:22Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > The Ethiopian Orthodox Church claims to have it. > > [Ark of the Covenant - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ark_of_the_Covenant#Ethiopian_Orthodox_Church) > > I watched a show where someone tried to demonstrate it could have been smuggled out of the Temple of Jerusalem through a cave passageway. That would have required disassembling the Ark, though, as some of the passages are too narrow for the box as a whole, and parts of the cave are filled with water. > > I found it less than convincing. Yeah, that Ethiopian church is a gas. Only a single priest is ever allowed to see it, and he talks about how much “power” it has, but he can’t show it to us. Pretty good scam they’ve got going there. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2011, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-ark-of-the-covenant/563450/20 "2011-01-11T20:50:22Z")
Actually, it’s my basement, and it’s awesome. But it’s too Holy to show anyone so you’ll have to take my word for it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-ark-of-the-covenant/563450.md?page=2)