The Ark of the Covenant was a vessel used to transport the Ten Commandments. It was covered in gold and topped with cherubs, enshrined in the Holy of Holies, and carried into battle. Its fate is unknown after the Babylonians destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem in 587 BCE.
The Ark of the Covenant is a vessel mentioned in the Old Testament which was used to transport the tablets containing the Ten Commandments. According to the Bible, the Ark was made by Moses at God’s command after the Ten Commandments were revealed to him on Mount Sinai. Some biblical scholars believe that there were two such vessels, a temporary one built by Moses, followed by one made by Bezalel, who also built the Tabernacle that housed the Ark. The vase disappeared after the Babylonians destroyed the city of Jerusalem, including the Temple, in 587 BC, and speculation about its fate has persisted to the present day.
According to records, the Ark of the Covenant was a very imposing structure, covered in gold and topped with elaborate cherubs that flanked the mercy seat, which was sprinkled with the blood of a sacrificial bull once a year on Yom Kippur. It was also steeped in ritual. It was enshrined in the Holy of Holies, an area of the Temple that only the High Priest could enter, and only on Yom Kippur. The Ark had gold rings on each side through which a rod was passed when it was to be carried.
The ancient Hebrews carried the vessel with them into battle and consulted it, much like an oracle. The Bible describes the Ark as immensely powerful, such as clearing obstacles in the way of traveling Jews, burning thorns away from the road and drying up rivers. The Book of Samuel describes a period of seven months during which the Philistines, who had defeated the Israelites in battle, were in possession of the Ark of the Covenant. During this time, the Philistines suffered from plagues including boils and rats, which ceased when they returned to the Ark.
After the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed and looted in 587 BCE, the whereabouts of the Ark of the Covenant is no longer mentioned in the Bible. Many historians speculate that it was destroyed, but some traditions hold that it was removed or hidden before the invasion of the Babylonians, either by the Jews; by the Ethiopian emperor Menelik I, alleged son of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba; or by divine intervention. While various entities have claimed to know the location of the Ark or have had it in their possession over the centuries, none of these accounts have been definitive. His fate will likely remain a mystery for the foreseeable future.
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