Almost three and a half thousand years ago gifted artisans and craftsmen were given
specific instructions on how to construct a golden box. This box was to house the stone
tablets and other articles that were significant to the migrating Israelite tribes. The Ark was to
be placed within the most sacred section of the Tabernacle and its lid, the mercy seat,
would serve as the earthly throne of the Almighty Creator. All aspects of the Ark and surrounding
items made for the tabernacle were designed based on the vision and pattern shown to Moses.
For over 800 years the ark was in the possession and safekeeping of the Levitical Priesthood;
aside from its brief and disastrous capture by the neighbouring Philistines. For almost half
of this time it remained in Solomon's temple, in Jerusalem. However, in the fifth century BC, the
city; it's inhabitants and the surrounding region, were taken captive and led away by the Babylonian
king Nebuchadnezzar. Yet! There is no record found in the Bible of the ultimate fate of Ark of the Covenant.
Was it taken to Ethiopia, Babylon, or even Ireland? Let's examine the evidence for
some of the main theories to see if there is any trail to find the Ark of the Covenant.
Ethiopian Christians have, for centuries, claimed to hold the Ark in a small church in the northern
town of Aksum. As the legend goes, the Queen of Sheba visited Jerusalem during Solomon's reign
and Menelik I was the illegitimate result of a short-lived affair.
The Ethiopian Chronicles, Kebra Nagast (Glory of the Kings) describe the sons of nobles in Israel,
along with some of the priesthood, carrying the Ark in secrecy back to Ethiopia with
Menelik I. This would mean that for almost the entire time that Solomon's temple stood,
a counterfeit Ark would have been in place. The account purports that when he realized the Ark had
been stolen, Solomon said: "Let us set up these boards, which are lying here nailed together,
and let us cover them over with gold, and let us decorate them after the manner of our Lady Zion,
and let us lay the Book of the Law inside it." This 14th century AD account is filled with
veneration of the virgin mother, even taking this as far as to refer to the Ark as 'Our Lady Zion'.
The recent age of the text, it's written style and bold claims make for a very unrealistic theory.
When the Babylonians captured Jerusalem,
they removed the articles from the temple and carried them back to Babylon.
In the book of Daniel, King Belshazzar "...gave the command to bring the gold and silver vessels which
his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple which had been in Jerusalem".
The Babylonians had kept many of the articles but made no mention of the Ark of the Covenant,
the most prized possession of the temple! The Babylonians were eventually conquered by
the Persians and the book of Ezra provides an inventory of the items taken from the Temple that
was presented to Cyrus the Great. This inventory, which is found in the book of Ezra, does not
mention the Ark of the Covenant. The lack of any written account mentioning the Ark makes
it highly unlikely that the Babylonians found the Ark when they took Jerusalem in 586 BC.
In the Jewish books of the Maccabees an earlier record is referenced concerning the Ark.
It states that "Jeremiah came and found a cave-dwelling, and he brought there the
tent and the ark and the altar of incense; then he sealed up the entrance. . . . and declared: "The
place shall remain unknown until God gathers his people together again and shows his mercy.""
Other historians, such as that of F. R. A Glover, have alluded to the possibility of the stone tablets,
contained in the Ark, being taken to Ireland by Jeremiah (who is often linked with an Irish king
named Ollam Fodhla) and used to establish the line of David upon the Hill of Tara, or 'torah'
from which he claims the word originates. Glover, himself, admits to this uncertainty when he wrote
"Whether or not, there was deposited, in that wonderful tomb, any sacred relic of the Law, in
Two Tables, called by the Hebrews, Torah, and from which the Mount of the Covenant might have gotten
its name, is more than one can say." These are just a few of the numerous theories surrounding
the disappearance of the Ark of the Covenant. Many historians and archaeologists have either claimed
to have located or know of the Ark's whereabouts and yet to this day there has been no convincing
evidence brought forward. Others suggest that the Ark was destroyed. If you believe there is a more
credible theory or source that would help us learn of the Ark's fate then please comment below.