Ark Angles

Ark of the Covenant
The Ark of the Covenant

(Hebrew: אָרוֹן הָבְּרִית‎ Ārōn Hāb’rīt [modern pron. Aron Habrit]; Arabic: تابوت العهد‎ Tābūt Al-ʿahd)

is a vessel described in the Bible as containing the Tablets of Stone on which the Ten Commandments were inscribed, along with Aaron's rod and manna.

According to the Pentateuch, the Ark was built at the command of God, in accord with

Moses' prophetic vision on Mount Sinai (Exodus 25:10-16).

God was said to have communicated with Moses

"from between the two cherubim"

on the Ark's cover (Exodus 25:22).

The Ark and its sanctuary were considered

"the beauty of Israel"

(Lamentations 2:1).

Rashi and some Midrashim suggest that there were two arks -

a temporary one made by

Moses himself,

and a

later one constructed by Bezalel.
Biblical account relates that during the Israelites' exodus from Egypt,

the Ark was carried by the priests some 2,000 cubits, or 1,000 m; 3,400 ft (Numbers 35:5; Joshua 4:5) in advance of the people and their army, or host (Num. 4:5-6; 10:33-36; Psalms 68:1; 132:8).

When the Ark was borne by priests into the bed of the Jordan, water in the river separated, opening a pathway for the entire host to pass through (Josh. 3:15-16; 4:7-18).

The city of Jericho was taken with no more than a shout after the Ark of Covenant was paraded for seven days around its wall by seven priests sounding seven trumpets of rams' horns (Josh. 6:4-20).

When carried, the Ark was always wrapped in a veil, in tachash skins

(the identity of this animal is uncertain),

and a

blue cloth, and was carefully concealed, even from the eyes of the Cohanim who carried it.
Over time, the accounts of the Ark have gathered a number of references in popular culture.

The Hebrew word aron as used in the Bible refers to any type of ark, chest or coffer (Book of Genesis 50:26; 2 Kings 12:9, 10).
The Ark of the Covenant is distinguished from all others by such titles as:
* Holy Ark, (2 Chronical 35:3)
* Ark of God, (1 Samuel 3:3)
* Ark of thy God's strength, (2 Chronical 6:41)
* Ark of the Covenant, (Josh. 3:6; Hebrews 9:4)
* Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of all the Earth, (Joshua 3:11)
* Ark of the Testimony, (Exodus 25:22)
According to the Book of Exodus, God instructed Moses on Mount Sinai during his 40 day stay within the cloud

(heaven on earth)

was shown the pattern for the tabernacle and furnishings, the Ark to be made of shittim-wood made to house the Tablets of Stone.

Detailed instructions are given by God for the plan of the Ark: it is to be 2½ cubits in length, 1½ in breadth, and 1½ in height

(as 2+1⁄2×1+1⁄2×1+1⁄2 royal cubits or 1.31×0.79×0.79 m).

Then it is to be plated entirely with gold, and a crown or molding of gold is to be put around it.

Four rings of gold are to be put into its four feet—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 cover, adorned with golden cherubim, is to be placed above the Ark.

The Ark is finally to be placed behind a veil (Parochet), a full description of which is also given.
The Ark is first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament/Torah in the Book of Exodus, and then numerous times in:

Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, I Samuel, II Samuel, I Kings, I Chronicles, II Chronicles, Psalms and Jeremiah.
In the Book of Jeremiah, it is referenced by Jeremiah, who, speaking in the days of Josiah (Jer. 3:16), prophesied a future time when the Ark will no longer be talked about or be made again.
In II Maccabees,
chapter 2,
"one finds in the records"
that Jeremiah, having received an oracle of the Lord, ordered that the tent and the ark and the altar of incense should follow him to the mountain of God where he sealed them up in a cave, and he told those who had followed in order to mark the way, but could not find it,

"The place shall be unknown until God gathers his people together again and shows his mercy, and then the Lord will disclose these things, and the glory of the Lord and the cloud will appear, as they were shown in the case of Moses, and as Solomon asked that the place should be specially consecrated."
In the New Testament, the Ark is mentioned in the Book of Hebrews and the Book of Revelation.
Hebrews 9:4 states that the Ark contained

"the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant."
Revelation 11:19 says the prophet saw God's temple in heaven opened, "and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple."
In the Quran
In chapter 2 (Verse 248),
the Children of Israel, at the time of Samuel and Saul, were given back the

'Tabut E Sakina' (the casket of Shekhinah) which contained remnants of the household of Musa and Harun (Moses and Aaron) carried by angels which confirmed peace and reassurance for them from their Lord.

It is mentioned in the middle of the narrative of the choice of Saul to be king.

The Qur'an states:
And (further) their Prophet said to them:

"A Sign of his authority is that there shall come to you the Ark of the covenant, with (an assurance) therein of security (Sakina) from your Lord, and the relics left by the family of Moses and the family of Aaron, carried by angels.

In this is a symbol for you if ye indeed have faith. (Qur'an 2:248)
The Islamic scholar Al Baidawi mentioned that the Sakina could be Tawrat, Books of Moses.
According to Al-Jalalan, the relics in the Ark were the fragments of the two tablets, rods, robes, shoes, mitres of Moses and the vase of Manna.

Al-Tha'alibi, in Qisas Al-Anbiya (The Stories of the Prophets), has given an earlier and later history of the Ark.
According to most Muslim scholars, the Ark of the Covenant has a religious basis in Islam, and Islam gives it special significance.

Shia sect of Muslims believe that it will be found by Mahdi near the end of times from Lake Tiberias