ARK OF THE COVENANT. A sacred object that represented the presence of God in ancient Israelite religion.
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A. Ark Designations
1. Ark of God / YHWH
2. Ark of the Covenant
3. Ark of the “Testimony”
4. Allusions to the Ark
B. Parallels
1. Shrine Tent
2. Throne footrest
C. History
1. Pre-monarchy period
2. Early monarchical period
3. Disappearance
D. Theology
1. The Ark Narrative
2. Transfer of the Ark
3. The ark in Deuteronomy
4. The Ark in P
5. The ark in Chronicles
E. NT References
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A. Designations
There are two Hebrew words translated as -arca- (Lat. ark -box, chest-) in English: (1) Aron, ancient Israel’s most sacred cult object which was probably originally a box of some kind, and (2) ) tēbāh, the ship that Noah built. In addition to the sacred ark, ˒ărôn also refers to a collection box in the temple (2 Kings 12:10, 11- Eng 12: 9, 10; 2 Chron.24: 8, 10, 11) and the sarcophagus of Joseph (Gen 50:26). References to the ark appear in different formulations 195 times. Only 53 instances (just over a quarter of the total number) refer to the ark without qualification, and very few of these occur without an antecedent referent with a more complete name for the ark. Therefore, it seems that qualifications are important in understanding the meaning of the ark in the various traditions (Maier 1965: 82-83).
1. Ark of God / YHWH. The ark is most often (82 times) associated with some divine name: “ark of God”, “ark of YHWH”, “ark of the God of Israel”, “ark of the lord of all the earth”, or the like. . Most of these occur in the Deuteronomistic Story; the rest are in Chronicles. In the ark narrative of 1 Samuel 4-6, we learn that the ark was associated with the divine name—YHWH of hosts, who sits upon the cherubim—(1 Sam 4:4; cf. 2 Sam 6:2; 1 Chr. 13:6). It is usually considered the oldest and most complete liturgical name of the ark. Some scholars have defended the priority of “ark of God” designations (von Rad, FOE, 115-16), suggesting that it was only at Shiloh that the name of the ark was changed from “ark of God” to the more specific “ark of YHWH”. But this is extremely difficult to prove, as is the claim that the two sets of names represent two different strata in the ark stories. Indeed, the occasional juxtaposition of the two divine names (eg, Deut 10:8; 31:9; Josh. 3:3; 1 Kings 2:26) and sometimes the translation of the names in the versions (eg, LXX 1 Sam. 4:3, 22; 5:2) suggest that the designations -ark of God- and -ark of YHWH- are probably to be treated for the most part as interchangeable names. Variations are often stylistic rather than ideological. An exception is the name “ark of the god of Israel”, the 7 appearances of which were put into the mouths of the Philistines in connection with the stay of the ark in Philistine territory (1 Sam 5: 7, 8, 10, 11; 6 : 3). In the same literary context, the narrator usually calls the ark -ark of YHWH- (1 Sam. 5: 3, 4; 6: 1, 2, 11, 15, 18, 19; 7: 1). If any meaning is to be attached to the specific designations in the ark dwelling narrative, it is surely that the ark represents the power of the God of Israel, the -hand- of YHWH (see D.1 below).
2. Ark of the Covenant. This designation appears 40 times, 30 times with various forms of the divine name. Thus, one finds -ark of the covenant of YHWH-, -ark of the covenant of God-, -ark of the covenant of the lord of all the earth-, and so on. In all cases, the term “covenant” seems to define the ark. The association of the ark with the covenant is typical of the Deuteronomists; it is his special designation of the ark. The statistic that stands out in this category, however, is not so much where the name appears, but where it doesn’t. It does not occur at all in P’s work (Seow 1985: 186-87). Instead of “ark of the covenant”, P uses a substitute name for the ark, even though the covenant is a key theological concept for P.
3. Ark of the “Testimony”. This designation occurs, with one possible exception (Josh. 4:16, which is generally considered a priestly gloss), only in the priestly material of the Tetrateuch. It is P’s distinctive term for the ark; no one else uses it. The word that is usually translated as -testimony- ( ˓ēdût ) is actually a synonym for -covenant- (Seow 1985: 192-93). We know this from cognates in Egyptian, Akkadian, and Old Aramaic. In Hebrew poetry, ˓ēdût is paralleled by bĕrı̂t, the normal word for covenant in the Hebrew Bible (eg Ps 25:10; 132:12). In certain contexts, the priestly writer uses ˓ēdût where another writer would have used bĕrı̂t. Thus, while Deuteronomy calls the tables given at Sinai -tables of the bĕrı̂t- (Deut 9:9, 15), P calls them -tables of the ˓ēdût- (Exodus 27:8; 31:18). It follows, then, that the “ark of the ˓ēdût” is P’s equivalent of the Deuteronomist “ark of the bĕrı̂t”. Since P knows the word bĕrı̂t, the difference between the designations of the Deuteronomists and P must be explored (see D.3 below).
4. Allusions to the Ark. Outside of the Pentateuch and historical writings, the ark is mentioned by name only once in the Psalter (Psalm 132:8) and once in the Prophets (Jer 3:16). This has led some to conclude that the ark no longer existed during most of the monarchical period (Harán 1963: 46-58). It should be noted, however, that in poetic texts and cultic contexts, the ark, which represented the actual presence of the deity, may be known simply by the divine name or some theological term. Similarly, the divine images of Mesopotamia were not always called statues, but were instead regularly referred to as “gods”. Alternatively, the name of the god or goddess may be mentioned when referring to the image of the deity. Therefore, the reference to YHWH dwelling in a tent (2 Sam 7:6) is clearly to be equated with the ark being in the tent (2 Sam 7:2). So too, the expression “before YHWH” or “before God” can frequently be synonymous with “before the ark” (eg, Leviticus 16:1-2; 2 Sam 6:4-5, 14, 16, 17 , 21; 1 Sam 10: 25; 2 Kings 16:14; 1 Kings 8:59, 62-65; 9:25; Joshua 6: 8; 1 Chronicles 1: 6; 13:10; Judges 20: 26-27 ). Related to this, the mention of YHWH’s presence (pānı̂m) may also be an allusion to the ark (eg, Num. 10:35; Ps. 105:4).
It is likely that Ps 47:6 refers to a procession of the ark, although the ark is not mentioned by name (cf. the vocabulary of 2 Sam 6:15). The opening verse of Psalm 68 is similar to the incipit of the ancient Song of the Ark at Num 10:35 and is, perhaps, part of a liturgical text used in connection with the procession of the ark in the early monarchy. In Ps 78:61, there is an allusion to the capture of the ark by the Philistines (1 Sam 4:10-11), but the ark is not mentioned by name. Rather, the ark is simply called “his power” and “his glory.” This verse echoes the designation “the ark of your power” in Ps 132:8. Some scholars therefore argue that the exhortation to “seek YHWH and the strength of him” (Ps 105:4) contains a allusion to the ark In fact, this very portion of the Psalm is cited by the Chronicler (1 Chronicles 16:11) as part of a liturgy used with the ark procession, although he places the procession at the time of the inauguration of Solomon’s temple. In the same liturgy, the Chronicler cites Psalm 96, which declares that the -power and glory- of YHWH (the same pair of words as in Ps 78:61) are in the temple (Ps 96:6; cf.1 Chronicles 16:27). It should be noted that “glory” (kābôd) denotes the ark in 1 Sam 4:21-22, where the capture of the ark is lamented as the departure of the glory of Israel.
Psalm 24 is commonly recognized as containing an “entrance liturgy” used during the procession of the ark. The psalm celebrates the return of the cult of YHWH as mighty warrior and glorious king (Cross, CMHE, 91-99). This return of YHWH was undoubtedly represented by the procession of the ark. The psalm was perhaps sung antiphonally, with those leading the procession and the “porters of the ark” (cf. 1 Chr. 15:23-24) singing different portions of the liturgical text. Just outside the city gates, or the temple gates, the celebrants announced the arrival of the ark:
Lift up your heads, O gates;
Arise, oh ancient gates
For the King of Glory to enter!
Who is this “King of Glory”?
YHWH strong and mighty,
YHWH the mighty warrior.
Lift up your heads, O gates;
Arise, ancient gates
For the King of Glory to enter.
Who is the “king of glory”?
YHWH of hosts, he is the King of glory!
(Ps 24:7-10)
B. Parallels
To shed light on the ark’s antiquity and its function, scholars in this century have tried to relate the ark to various cult objects in the ANE. Consequently, the ark has been compared to the Egyptian processional boats in which the statues of the gods were placed (Gressman 1926), the sarcophagus of Osiris, or the Tammuz chest of the Babylonians (Hartmann 1917-18:209- 14), the sanctuary step of Petra, which was also known among the Hittites (Reimpell 1916: 326-331), and miniature pottery temples at Megiddo (May 1935-36), among others. Two parallels deserve attention here.
1. Sanctuary Tent. Early in its history, the ark was closely associated with the divine presence. In fact, it was so closely associated with YHWH’s presence that it was thought to be an extension of YHWH’s personality. YHWH was thought to be present whenever the ark was present. The ark led the people on their wanderings -to find them a resting place- (Num. 10:33). Whenever the ark proceeded, YHWH would be addressed directly:
Arise, O YHWH,
Let your enemies scatter
Let your enemies flee from your presence.
(Numbers 10:35)
Likewise, the ark’s march home was initiated by the call for YHWH to return (Num. 10:36). The martial language in these fragments of an ancient liturgy recalls the use of the ark as a palladium of war (Num. 14:44; 1 Sam. 4:2-9). The ark was the place where the leaders of the tribes of Israel sought oracles for holy war (Judges 20:26-27; 2 Sam. 5:19, 23).
Such depictions of the ark in relatively early sources have led to comparisons of the ark with the qubbāh, a pre-Islamic tent shrine of the Arab Bedouin (Morgenstern 1945; Cross 1961). The qubbāh (cf. Nm 25:8) was carried from one place to another by nomads; it carried tribes in their search for water and places to camp, was used for divination, and functioned as a palladium of war. It was made of red leather (cf. Exodus 26:14) and contained two sacred stones (betyls). A bas-relief from a temple of Bel at Palmyra (circa 1st century BC) shows a camel in procession, carrying…