Seder 73: 2 Chronicles 33-36---What Happened to the Ark of the Covenant?

 Egyptologist David Falk, in his book on the Egyptian context of the ark of the covenant, says that one of the things he is asked about most often is the fate of Israel's ark of the covenant.  The last time the ark is mentioned in the biblical account of the history of Israel is in 2 Chronicles 35:3, where King Josiah of Judah gave these instructions:

"And he said to the Levites who taught all Israel and who were holy to the LORD, 'Put the holy ark in the house that Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, built.  You need not carry it on your shoulders.  Now serve the LORD and his people Israel."

Here it seems that the ark was being restored to its rightful place after having been removed for a time.  We are not told why, or for how long, it had been removed.  Perhaps the ark had been removed from the Holy of Holies during the reign of a previous idolatrous king of Judah--e.g., Manasseh or Amon (2 Chron 33).  Or perhaps it had been removed briefly during the renovations authorized by Josiah (2 Chron 34).  

Josiah died in 609 BC, and the Temple was destroyed a generation later by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon in 586 BC.  We read in 2 Chronicles 36:18 that the Babylonians took "all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the LORD."  A verse in the Apocrypha, 2 Esdras 10:22, has Ezra saying, "The ark of our covenant is plundered."

Noting that the Babylonians paid their soldiers in gold, Falk writes that they probably took the ark, burned the wood, and melted down the gold for that purpose.  Perhaps they used one of their "fiery furnaces" like the one in which they had thrown Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Dan 3).  The Babylonians' interest in looting precious metals from the Temple is also indicated in 2 Kings 25:13-17

Remember that God's presence had already departed from the Temple several years earlier, in about 592 BC (Eze 8:1; 10). so by the time the Babylonians ransacked the Temple, nothing was stopping them from grabbing everything that remained there.

But was the ark still around by the time the Babylonians arrived?  There are some legends that the ark had been hidden away by that point.  

For example, in 2 Maccabees, written in the second century BC, there is a story that Jeremiah the prophet "ordered the tabernacle and the ark to accompany them, an oracle being received by him, and that he went out to the mountain from which Moses, upon ascending, beheld the inheritance of God.  And when he arrived, Jeremiah found a cave-like house, and he brought in there the tabernacle and the ark and the altar of incense, and he blocked up the door" (2 Macc 2:4-5). The ark was to remain hidden until God wanted to use it again (verses 6-8).  

Other possibilities are discussed in rabbinic literature.  According to one scenario, when Josiah learned about the contents of the book of Deuteronomy, including the curses of Deuteronomy 28, he understood that Judah would soon be defeated by a foreign enemy and decided to have the ark hidden in a secret place under the temple.  In this scenario, he told the Levites in 2 Chronicles 35:3 to hide the ark in that secret place rather than in the Holy of Holies (b Yoma 52b).

Wherever the ark ended up, there is a biblical indication that it had an expiration date.  In Jeremiah 3:14-18, God states that the ark "shall not come to mind or be mentioned or missed; it shall not be made again" (verse 16).  In a renewed covenant, the Torah that had been written on tables of stone would be written on people's hearts (Jer 31:31-34).  

Postscript:  I've learned recently that an excellent film on the ark, Legends of the Lost Ark, is coming out soon.  Archaeologist Chris McKinny discusses this subject and the film in an episode of the Onscript podcast.  

Post-postscript:  This movie played at US theaters on April 12, 14, 15, 2026.  I think it's an excellent film.  It covers three ancient legends about where the ark ended up:  

1. The Legend of the Rock, given in the Lives of the Prophets, a Jewish work from around the first century AD.  Chapter 2 of this book has Jeremiah hiding the ark in a rock somewhere between Mt Hor, where Aaron died, and Mt Nebo, where Moses died.  
2. The Legend of the Tomb, the legend mentioned in 2 Maccabees 2, where Jeremiah hides the ark in Moses' tomb.
3. The Legend of the Mount, the story that the ark was hidden somewhere under the Temple Mount before the Babylonians looted and destroyed the Temple.  

The book that Chris McKinny is writing to accompany the movie should be worth checking out.  

Seder 63: Exodus 25---Instructions for the Tabernacle

 When Moses met with God atop Mt Sinai, God gave him instructions on the tabernacle, a portable worship structure that the Israelites were to build.  God explained the purpose of the structure in Exodus 25:8:

"And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst."

The tabernacle would be made of fine materials---precious metals, fine fabrics, precious gems, animal skins, spices, and oil.  Remember that the Egyptians had provided the Israelites with these things when they left Egypt (Exod 12:35-36).  

The precious metals included gold, silver, and bronze.  There is a tradition that iron was not used because of its association with weapons of war.

Why make such a detailed listing of materials?  Dennis Prager suggests that this made for a transparent construction process without kickbacks or other corruption.  

The materials would be collected in a voluntary offering.  By contributing something to it, each Israelite could feel a personal connection with the tabernacle.  The whole process of building the tabernacle seems to have been devoid of strife or complaining, with people gladly contributing materials and labor.  

The most important object for the tabernacle was the ark of the covenant, a gold-plated wooden box that would contain the tablets of the Ten Commandments.  The ark had pleasing dimensions----2.5 cubits by 1.5 cubits by 1.5 cubits.  Note that 2.5/1.5 = 5/3, which is just a bit bigger than the "golden ratio."

Atop the ark would be images of two cherubim.  Cherubim were guardians of thrones or sacred space, like the cherubim that guarded the entrance to the Garden of Eden (Gen 3:24).  Images of cherubim (e.g., sphinxes) in royal courts of the ancient near East often had bodies of lions, human heads, and wings. In Ezekiel's vision in Ezekiel 10, the cherubim supporting God's throne had four faces, hands, and wings. 

Dennis Prager notes that the wings of the cherubim would shield the cover of the ark, which would shield the ark, which would shield the tablets, which would shield and safeguard civilization.  

God's presence would appear atop the ark, between the cherubim, and from there God would provide the Israelites with continuing revelation (Exod 25:22).  The tabernacle has been likened to a "portable Mt Sinai."  

There would always be food on the table in God's house, with twelve loaves placed on top of a special gold-plated table (vv 23-30).  And the lights would always be on there, with light provided by the seven-branched menorah, a beautiful lampstand that would have features of an olive tree and an almond tree (vv 31-40).  

Rob Wilson gave a sermon on Seder 63 at Church of the Messiah on July 10, 2021.  He explained that God had no need for anyone to build a house for him, and that the tabernacle reflected God's desire to dwell among his people.  The fact that God gave careful instructions for the construction of the tabernacle reflects the importance of worshiping God on his terms.  

Rob showed that the ark and the altar would be situated at the centers of their areas of the ark.  God should be at the center of our lives.  

The ark would be covered with gold on the inside and outside.  In Jewish tradition, this detail is said to signify that the lives of those who strive to obey God's commandments should exhibit a consistency between outward behavior and inner character.  

Today there is no tabernacle, and God's people collectively constitute the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 3:16; 6:19).