Ark of the Covenant

Biblical Account

The Ark of the Covenant first appears in Exodus 25:10–22. At Mount Sinai, God instructed Moses to make the ark. It was a chest of shittim wood (generally understood to be acacia), two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide and high. It was overlaid with gold inside and out, and poles were passed through rings so that it could be carried. At the two ends of its lid, the "mercy seat," stood two golden cherubim (winged heavenly beings) facing each other. The work of making it was carried out by Bezalel (Exodus 37:1–9).

Inside the ark were placed the two stone tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments, called the testimony (Exodus 25:16). Hebrews 9:4 adds a golden pot containing manna and Aaron's rod that budded. By contrast, 1 Kings 8:9 states that in Solomon's day there was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets.

The major events involving the Ark of the Covenant are as follows:

• The Jordan and Jericho: When Israel crossed the Jordan River, the priests carrying the ark went ahead of the people (Joshua 3). During the conquest of Jericho, the ark was carried around the city (Joshua 6).
• Captured by the Philistines: Israel brought the ark from Shiloh to the battlefield, where it was captured by the Philistines. When Eli heard the news, he died (1 Samuel 4). After the image of Dagon fell and plagues broke out in Philistine territory, the Philistines sent the ark back (1 Samuel 5–6).
• Brought to Jerusalem: While David was moving the ark, Uzzah took hold of it and died. The ark remained for three months in the house of Obed-edom before being brought into Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6).
• Placed in the temple: After completing the Temple in Jerusalem, Solomon placed the ark in the Most Holy Place (1 Kings 8).

Background and Terminology

The Hebrew word for ark, aron, means "chest" or "box." Scripture calls it the "ark of the covenant," the "ark of the testimony," the "ark of God," and similar names. In Korean churches the term beopgwe ("Ark of the Law"), referring to the chest that held the law, is also widely used.

The ark was kept in the Most Holy Place, the innermost room of the tabernacle and the temple. Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the high priest entered the Most Holy Place and sprinkled blood upon the mercy seat (Leviticus 16). God said that He would meet with Moses and speak with him from above the mercy seat, between the two cherubim (Exodus 25:22).

Significance Across Scripture

The Ark of the Covenant symbolizes God's presence among His people and the Sinai covenant. Jeremiah 3:16 foretells a day when people will no longer speak of the ark of the covenant or make it again.

The New Testament connects this symbolism with Christ. Hebrews 9 presents the Most Holy Place and its furnishings as a shadow of the heavenly sanctuary, into which Christ entered once for all by His own blood. The Greek word hilastērion, translated "propitiation" in Romans 3:21–26, is the same word the Septuagint uses for the mercy seat. For this reason, some interpreters compare Christ to the mercy seat. Revelation 11:19 records that the ark of the covenant was seen in the heavenly temple.

Interpretation and Debated Questions

• Whereabouts: Scripture does not say when the ark disappeared. Many hold that it was lost when Babylon captured Jerusalem in the early sixth century BC. Other traditions also exist. Second Maccabees 2, in the Apocrypha, tells of Jeremiah hiding the ark in a cave on Mount Nebo, and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church maintains that the ark is kept in Aksum. These accounts are traditions not found in the biblical text. Various claims to have found the ark have likewise not been verified by scholars.
• Typology: Many Protestant traditions read the ark and the mercy seat as a shadow, or type, foreshadowing Christ. Some interpretations assign symbolic meaning to each material, such as the gold or the shittim wood, but these reflect the interpreters' own readings rather than what the text directly states.
• The ark treated as a talisman: In 1 Samuel 4, Israel brought the ark to the battlefield as though it were a talisman guaranteeing victory, and was defeated. This episode is commonly read as teaching that a relationship with God matters more than the object itself.

In the Korean Church

The account of Obed-edom in 2 Samuel 6 is frequently used as a sermon text on the blessings of a household that welcomes God's presence. The Uzzah incident is used as a text on reverent fear of God. Bible studies on the tabernacle also commonly present the structure and meaning of the ark.