Where Is the Ark of Covenant ?

 Nadene Goldfoot                                       

      Carrying the Ark during the Exodus and passing through the Sea of Reeds--Among the many lessons to be found in the Bible, " When an Israelite named Uzzah laid hands upon the Ark of The Covenant, he was struck down by God. But, in 1933, an engineering professor theorized that the real cause of death was 10,000 volts of static electricity.  Frederick Rogers, the Dean of the Department of Engineering at the Lewis Institute of Technology, conducted a careful study of the construction of the Ark as described in the Bible, and concluded that its design matched a perfectly constructed simple electric condenser:  The scientific interest in the construction pointed out by Prof. Rogers was that the acacia wood box—about 40 inches long and slightly less than 30 inches in width and in depth—not only was lined with gold teal on the inside but overlaid with the some metal without.  I found it was gold in both cases.  

Moses had two sons who disobeyed his directions when being close to the ark, and they were killed by its powers, so Moses left no descendants because of this event.  The chest was made of acacia wood, both inlaid and covered with gold; being 2.5 cubits long, 1.5 in breadth and 1.5 in height.  A cover of gold was placed over it and had 2 golden cherubim with outstretched wings screening the ark cover.  People that understand how to make batteries seem to think there is some connection to its power using the gold.  

People keep reporting that the Ark of the Covenant is in their state.  Usually some piece of what is thought as evidence, like a possible rune stone, tells about it as reported in the interesting TV program by Scott Wolter  in Minnesota, carried there by the Vikings.  Now, why would the Ark wind up in the USA?  A lot of facts would be against it ever coming to the USA, like time, distance and reason.

It was Moses who ordered the Ark to be built and he was born in about 1948 BCE, dying 120 years later, which is a span of time a good 3,971 years ago. It was the chest that held the Tablets of the Law  and stood for the Covenant between G-d and His people.  This chest was most sacred.  Even the high priest could only see it once a year and even then, only under "a cloud of incense"{ as told in Lev. 16:1-6).  According to the Book of Exodus, God instructed Moses to build the Ark during his 40-day stay upon Mount Sinai. He was shown the pattern for the tabernacle and furnishings of the Ark, and told that it would be made of shittim wood (also known as acacia wood) to house the Tablets of Stone.                                              

               Moses and Joshua bowing before the Ark1900) by James Tissot

From the time of Moses until the construction of Solomon's Temple, and Solomon reigned from 961 to 920 BCE, so from 1828 to 961 was 867 years;  for 867 years the Ark was known to be in the Israelite hands and placed in the Temple where it belonged.  During that 867 years, it was kept in the Holy of Holies and was never removed.  The high priest would enter the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur.                                     

Then, the worst happened.  The Temple was completely destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BCE, and was rebuilt which took awhile from 538 to 515 BCE;  23 years !  That's when the exiles were allowed to return from Babylon after a hiatus of 70 years, and just some decided to do that.  If the 3 men who led them back, a prince, a governor to be and a rabbi:  Zerubbabel, Nehemiah and Ezra hadn't done so, Judaism would have ended.

For those who think the Vikings of Norway could have taken the Ark and buried it in the USA, I believe they'd have to have found it in Babylon first, then  they would have had to sail from the

 Mediterranean Sea out into the Atlantic ocean.  Or maybe they could sail around the horn of Africa and go north into the Atlantic Ocean from the Mediterranean Sea.  Its width varies considerably from north to South: about 4,830 kilometres (3,000 mi) between North America and northern Africa to 2,848 kilometres (1,770 mi) between Brazil and Liberia. The Viking ships reached as far away as Greenland and the American continent to the west, and the Caliphate in Baghdad and Constantinople in the east. In the second half of the 9th century it became increasingly common for the Vikings to settle in the countries that they had previously ravaged.

And what happened to the Ark of the Covenant?  We hope that the Cohens had saved it and brought it with them to Babylonia, or hid it, and if they did, found it again for the 2nd Temple. 

 Brenda Martin reminds us that The king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, was conquering one nation after another. The first time he conquered Jerusalem, he captured King Jehoiachin (598-597 BCE) , the princes, the warriors, and the craftsmen, and he took them all to Babylon. He also took all the treasures from G-d's s temple. Then Nebuchadnezzar made Zedekiah king of Judah (597-586 BCE the last king of Judah). After ruling for eight years, Zedekiah decided to rebel against Babylon. He asked the Egyptian army to help him. Then Nebuchadnezzar sent his army to attack Jerusalem, and they camped around the city. A year and a half later, the Babylonian army broke through the walls of Jerusalem and set the city on fire. They burned down the temple, killed many people, and took thousands as prisoners. Zedekiah escaped from Jerusalem, but the Babylonians chased after him. They captured him near Jericho and brought him to Nebuchadnezzar. The king of Babylon made Zedekiah watch as his own sons were executed. Then Nebuchadnezzar blinded Zedekiah and put him in prison, where he later died.  Did Zedekiah ever have know where the Ark of the Covenant was?  Could he had hid it?                              

     The Court of Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon 

The “ prisoners” were captive in Babylon for 70 years as prophesied.  The Ark may still be in Babylon with Nebuchadnezzar's riches.  One wonders why the ark didn't kill him as it did with Moses' 2 sons.  

 Nehemiah, governor, led the rebuilding of the Temple.   

Solomon's Temple, built by Solomon, was itself the shrine for the Ark, other sacred vessels and offerings, with a court for worshipers.  It consisted essentially of a hall, shrine and inner sanctum which was the ("holy of holies") that other religions simply do not have in their temples although tri- ( 3) partite Canaanite temples have been discovered at Lachish, Bet-Shean, etc.  A close replica is the temple found in Syria near a royal palace of the 9th to 8th century BCE..Perhaps they copied Moses.    

There is no mention of the Ark among the vessels carried away and later returned from Babylon.  Talmudic tradition held that it had been hidden "in its place" by Josiah (637-608 BCE) .  Why Josiah?  He was king of Judah and became king when 8 years old after his father, Amon, was murdered.  When an adult, he started religious reform and removed foreign cults which had taken hold in Judah and he re-established the pure monotheistic religion.  His actions were motivated by the decline of Assyrian influence over the country at the time, and received the support of the contemporary prophets that included Nahum, Zephaniah, and Jeremiah. 

                                                      

The Tabernacle, made of curtains, fabric and one of animal hide,  was a cover that unified everything that was inside the Tabernacle;  meaning that the Ark, Table, Menorah, and golden Altar were not unrelated vessels, each performing its own designated task but parts of a united whole.  and later the Temple in Jerusalem, was intended to be the central rallying point of the nation, ringed by the tribes, topped by the cloud of G-d's Presence, and the place to which every Jew would bring his offerings.  Throughout the long and bitter exile--which alternates between grinding oppression and spirituality debilitating affluence---the centrality of G-d's Presence is represented by the miniature sanctuaries of synagogues and study halls for it is in them and through them that Jews hark back to the sounds of Sinai and the radiance of the Temple.   

In the course of repairing the Temple, the high priest Hilkiah announced the discovery of a Book of the Law which so influenced Josiah that he convened an assembly  of the entire people during

Passover  in 621 BCE at which a solemn covenant was made with G-d.  Many scholars have identified this book with Deuteronomy.  

Josiah removed the high places and centralized worship at the Temple in Jerusalem, now called the 2nd Temple.  His reign was one of cultural, religious, and political prosperity.  His religious reforms were of far-reaching importance for the development of Judaism and formed a basis for the work of Ezra and Nehemiah.  

The incidents connected with it inspired many poetical utterances in the Talmud and in Midrash.  

And what happened to Nebuchadnezzar's Palace?  Under Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi government excavated Babylonian ruins and attempted to reconstruct certain features of the ancient city, including one of Nebuchadnezzar's palaces. After the 2003 invasion of Iraq, United States forces built a military base on the ruins of Babylon.

Even if Zerubbabel returned to Jerusalem with the ark, where would it be today?  Or would events since then have happened?  Our Temple is under a Mosque today on the Temple Mount, so many believe.  

Resource: 

Tanakh, Stone Edition, Exodus 25: 10- continued to 29)

https://gizmodo.com/the-engineer-who-said-the-ark-of-the-covenant-was-a-gia-1598583115

The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia

https://jewishbubba.blogspot.com/2022/06/following-path-of-ark.html

https://amazingbibletimeline.com/blog/jacob/

https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-middle-east/babylon

https://en.natmus.dk/historical-knowledge/denmark/prehistoric-period-until-1050-ad/the-viking-age/expeditions-and-raids/how-did-the-vikings-travel-around-in-the-world/#:~:text=The%20Viking%20ships%20reached%20as,that%20they%20h

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ark_of_the_Covenant#:~:text=Biblical%20account-,Construction%20and%20description,house%20the%20Tablets%20of%20Stone.