The mysterious disappearance of the Ark of the Covenant: Where is it?

The Ark of the Covenant was one of the most sacred objects in the Bible. In the first books of the Old Testament, there is an explanation of how the Israelites built it during Moses’ time. 

The Ark was built according to exact directions given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai in Exodus 25, listing measurements and materials for its construction and was made by the Israelites around 1440 BC during their journey in the wilderness after the Exodus from Egypt. 

According to these accounts, the Ark was a chest of acacia wood covered with gold inside and out. 

It measured 2.5 cubits long, 1.5 cubits wide and 1.5 cubits high (about 3.75 feet by 2.25 feet by 2.25 feet) with two cherubim figures on top of the cover, which was called the mercy seat. 

The two golden cherubim had wings that stretched out to cover the top of the artifact. 

Inside the Ark were the tablets of the Ten Commandments given to Moses by God on Mount Sinai. 

In addition, the Ark held other sacred items: Aaron’s rod and a pot of manna. 

These two items reminded the Israelites of God’s presence and care. 

Once made, the Ark was used in key parts of worship and rituals for the Israelites and was sometimes carried into battle. 

When not in use, it was kept in the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle, which was a portable tent, before Solomon built the Temple in Jerusalem. 

Only the high priest could enter that space. Each year on the Day of Atonement, he entered the Holy of Holies and sprinkled animal blood on the mercy seat of the Ark to show the people’s sins were covered. 

The main reason the Israelites valued the Ark was that they believed it held God’s real presence. 

Because of this, they said it performed miracles when they carried it during their travels in the desert. 

For example, it helped the Israelites win battles.

The Ark of the Covenant appears in several famous Bible events. 

Here are a few examples: 

The book of Joshua tells how the Israelites used the Ark to cross the Jordan River, as the river’s waters parted when the priests with the Ark stepped in, which let the people walk on dry ground. 

Next, they used it to bring down the walls of Jericho. The Israelites, who carried the Ark, marched around the city. On the seventh day, the walls fell and they could capture the city. 

In 1 Samuel, the Philistines captured the Ark after the Israelites lost at the Battle of Aphek around 1050 BC. 

When the Philistines brought it into their temple, they suffered terrible plagues and other misfortunes. 

Realizing the Ark caused these problems, they quickly returned it to the Israelites and it stayed in the house of Abinadab in Kiriath-Jearim. 

Around 1000 BC, King David brought the Ark to Jerusalem and placed it in a tent. 

Later, his son Solomon built the Temple in Jerusalem around 957 BC to house the Ark permanently.

The last mention of the Ark of the Covenant in the Hebrew Bible appears in 2 Chronicles 35:3. In that passage, it explains King Josiah's work to restore the Temple in Jerusalem. 

Specifically, Josiah told the Levites to bring the Ark back to the Temple and place it in the Holy of Holies. 

The passage shows that the Ark still existed during Josiah's rule in the late 7th century BC. 

The Ark also appears in 2 Maccabees 2:4-8, which is a deuterocanonical book in the Catholic Bible. These verses describe the prophet Jeremiah taking the Ark to Mount Nebo before the Babylonian invasion. There he hid it in a cave and sealed the entrance. 

Jeremiah was a prophet during Josiah's rule, but 2 Maccabees was written much later around the 2nd century BC. 

The fact that the Ark vanishes from both literary and archaeological records without any trace is very suspicious. 

Many scholars believe that this silence was deliberate. One common theory is that they did this to protect this valuable object from being stolen during an attack. 

As a result, it is thought that the Israelites hid it away during the destruction of the First Temple by the Babylonian army under King Nebuchadnezzar II in 586 BC. 

Therefore, the Ark may still lie hidden somewhere in Israel. There have been several reports of underground tunnels and chambers possibly used to hide the Ark. 

Some people even give specific locations. They claim that it may be buried under the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. 

Others believe that the Ark remains hidden on Mount Nebo, in modern-day Jordan, based on the account in 2 Maccabees. 

However, despite many digs and searches, no clear evidence of the Ark's location has ever been found in either place.

Another theory holds that the Ark was destroyed during the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem in 586 BC. 

In this version, the Babylonians attacked the city and destroyed the Temple and took many treasures, including the Ark. 

Some scholars therefore think that it is more likely the Babylonians melted down the precious metals of the Ark, a common practice of that time.

However, there is another idea. The Ark might have been taken to Egypt by Pharaoh Shishak in 925 BC. 

He is mentioned in the Bible as the pharaoh who raided the Temple in Jerusalem and carried off many treasures. 

Alternatively, some believe that the Ark was later moved to Ethiopia, where it stays to this day. 

According to this theory, Jeremiah hid the Ark in a cave before he fled to Egypt. 

The Ark was later discovered by the Queen of Sheba’s son Menelik I and taken to Ethiopia. 

Today, the genuine Ark is said to be kept in the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion in Aksum, guarded by a single monk. 

Unfortunately, there is little solid evidence for this claim, and it depends on a lot of guesswork.

Finally, some conspiracy theorists say that the Knights Templar took the Ark during the Crusades. 

In this theory, the Templars found the Ark in Jerusalem and smuggled it out of the city and moved it to a secret site in Europe. 

However, there is no firm evidence for this theory either. Also, since there is a 1500-year gap between the last mention of the Ark and the Crusades, it seems very unlikely.