Ark of the Covenant

The Ark of the Covenant was the gold-covered chest made at God's command to hold the tablets of the testimony, with the mercy seat and two cherubim on its lid. It stood in the most holy place as the sign of God's presence among Israel, was brought to Jerusalem by David and was placed by Solomon in the temple.

Made at God's command

• Exodus 25:10-16
  ¹⁰And they shall make an ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof.And they are to construct an ark of acacia wood, two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high. ¹¹And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about.Overlay it with pure gold both inside and out, and make a gold molding around it. ¹²And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in the four corners thereof; and two rings shall be in the one side of it, and two rings in the other side of it.Cast four gold rings for it and fasten them to its four feet, two rings on one side and two on the other. ¹³And thou shalt make staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold.And make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. ¹⁴And thou shalt put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, that the ark may be borne with them.Insert the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, in order to carry it. ¹⁵The staves shall be in the rings of the ark: they shall not be taken from it.The poles are to remain in the rings of the ark; they must not be removed. ¹⁶And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee.And place inside the ark the Testimony, which I will give you.
  Show context · Read Exodus 25 →
• Exodus 25:17-22
  ¹⁷And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof.And you are to construct a mercy seat of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide. ¹⁸And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat.Make two cherubim of hammered gold at the ends of the mercy seat, ¹⁹And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof.one cherub on one end and one on the other, all made from one piece of gold. ²⁰And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be.And the cherubim are to have wings that spread upward, overshadowing the mercy seat. The cherubim are to face each other, looking toward the mercy seat. ²¹And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.Set the mercy seat atop the ark, and put the Testimony that I will give you into the ark. ²²And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.And I will meet with you there above the mercy seat, between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony; I will speak with you about all that I command you regarding the Israelites.
  Show context · Read Exodus 25 →
• Exodus 37:1-9
  ¹And Bezaleel made the ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half was the length of it, and a cubit and a half the breadth of it, and a cubit and a half the height of it:Bezalel went on to construct the ark of acacia wood, two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high. ²And he overlaid it with pure gold within and without, and made a crown of gold to it round about.He overlaid it with pure gold, both inside and out, and made a gold molding around it. ³And he cast for it four rings of gold, to be set by the four corners of it; even two rings upon the one side of it, and two rings upon the other side of it.And he cast four gold rings for its four feet, two rings on one side and two on the other. ⁴And he made staves of shittim wood, and overlaid them with gold.Then he made poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold. ⁵And he put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, to bear the ark.He inserted the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark in order to carry it. ⁶And he made the mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half was the length thereof, and one cubit and a half the breadth thereof.He constructed a mercy seat of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide. ⁷And he made two cherubims of gold, beaten out of one piece made he them, on the two ends of the mercy seat;He made two cherubim of hammered gold at the ends of the mercy seat, ⁸One cherub on the end on this side, and another cherub on the other end on that side: out of the mercy seat made he the cherubims on the two ends thereof.one cherub on one end and one on the other, all made from one piece of gold. ⁹And the cherubims spread out their wings on high, and covered with their wings over the mercy seat, with their faces one to another; even to the mercy seatward were the faces of the cherubims.And the cherubim had wings that spread upward, overshadowing the mercy seat. The cherubim faced each other, looking toward the mercy seat.
  Show context · Read Exodus 37 →

What it held

• Deuteronomy 10:1-5
  ¹At that time the Lord said unto me, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first, and come up unto me into the mount, and make thee an ark of wood.At that time the LORD said to me, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the originals, come up to Me on the mountain, and make an ark of wood. ²And I will write on the tables the words that were in the first tables which thou brakest, and thou shalt put them in the ark.And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke; and you are to place them in the ark.” ³And I made an ark of shittim wood, and hewed two tables of stone like unto the first, and went up into the mount, having the two tables in mine hand.So I made an ark of acacia wood, chiseled out two stone tablets like the originals, and went up the mountain with the two tablets in my hands. ⁴And he wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the ten commandments, which the Lord spake unto you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly: and the Lord gave them unto me.And the LORD wrote on the tablets what had been written previously, the Ten Commandments that He had spoken to you on the mountain out of the fire on the day of the assembly. The LORD gave them to me, ⁵And I turned myself and came down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they be, as the Lord commanded me.and I went back down the mountain and placed the tablets in the ark I had made, as the LORD had commanded me; and there they have remained.
  Show context · Read Deuteronomy 10 →
• 1 Kings 8:9
  There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the LORD had made a covenant with the Israelites after they had come out of the land of Egypt.
  Show context · Read 1 Kings 8 →
• Hebrews 9:4
  Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant;containing the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. Inside the ark were the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant.
  Show context · Read Hebrews 9 →

The LORD's presence

• Numbers 10:33-36
  ³³And they departed from the mount of the Lord three days’ journey: and the ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them in the three days’ journey, to search out a resting place for them.So they set out on a three-day journey from the mountain of the LORD, with the ark of the covenant of the LORD traveling ahead of them for those three days to seek a resting place for them. ³⁴And the cloud of the Lord was upon them by day, when they went out of the camp.And the cloud of the LORD was over them by day when they set out from the camp. ³⁵And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said, Rise up, Lord, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee.Whenever the ark set out, Moses would say, “Rise up, O LORD! May Your enemies be scattered; may those who hate You flee before You.” ³⁶And when it rested, he said, Return, O Lord, unto the many thousands of Israel.And when it came to rest, he would say: “Return, O LORD, to the countless thousands of Israel.”
  Show context · Read Numbers 10 →
• Joshua 3:14-17
  ¹⁴And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people;So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carried the ark of the covenant ahead of them. ¹⁵And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,)Now the Jordan overflows its banks throughout the harvest season. But as soon as the priests carrying the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, ¹⁶That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho.the flowing water stood still. It backed up as far upstream as Adam, a city in the area of Zarethan, while the water flowing toward the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. ¹⁷And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.The priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel crossed over the dry ground, until the entire nation had crossed the Jordan.
  Show context · Read Joshua 3 →
• Leviticus 16:2
  And the Lord said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat.And the LORD said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron not to enter freely into the Most Holy Place behind the veil in front of the mercy seat on the ark, or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.
  Show context · Read Leviticus 16 →
• Revelation 11:19
  And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.Then the temple of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple. And there were flashes of lightning, and rumblings, and peals of thunder, and an earthquake, and a great hailstorm.
  Show context · Read Revelation 11 →

Its holiness

• 1 Samuel 5:1-4
  ¹And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from Eben–ezer unto Ashdod.After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod, ²When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.carried it into the temple of Dagon, and set it beside his statue. ³And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the Lord. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again.When the people of Ashdod got up early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen on his face before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and returned him to his place. ⁴And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him.But when they got up early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen on his face before the ark of the LORD, with his head and his hands broken off and lying on the threshold. Only the torso remained.
  Show context · Read 1 Samuel 5 →
• 1 Samuel 6:19
  And he smote the men of Beth–shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the Lord, even he smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men: and the people lamented, because the Lord had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter.But God struck down some of the people of Beth-shemesh because they looked inside the ark of the LORD. He struck down seventy men, and the people mourned because the LORD had struck them with a great slaughter.
  Show context · Read 1 Samuel 6 →
• 2 Samuel 6:6-7
  ⁶And when they came to Nachon’s threshingfloor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook it.When they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen had stumbled. ⁷And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God.And the anger of the LORD burned against Uzzah, and God struck him down on the spot for his irreverence, and he died there beside the ark of God.
  Show context · Read 2 Samuel 6 →

Brought to Jerusalem and the temple

• 2 Samuel 6:12-15
  ¹²And it was told king David, saying, The Lord hath blessed the house of Obed–edom, and all that pertaineth unto him, because of the ark of God. So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed–edom into the city of David with gladness.Now it was reported to King David, “The LORD has blessed the house of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” So David went and had the ark of God brought up from the house of Obed-edom into the City of David with rejoicing. ¹³And it was so, that when they that bare the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed oxen and fatlings.When those carrying the ark of the LORD had advanced six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened calf. ¹⁴And David danced before the Lord with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod.And David, wearing a linen ephod, danced with all his might before the LORD, ¹⁵So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet.while he and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting and the sounding of the ram’s horn.
  Show context · Read 2 Samuel 6 →
• 1 Kings 8:6
  And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord unto his place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims.Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, beneath the wings of the cherubim.
  Show context · Read 1 Kings 8 →

See also

• Temple
• Moses
• David
• Ten Commandments
• Holiness of God

Notes

1. Verses are quoted in the translation chosen in the Translation menu at the top of the page. See Translations for sources and copyright notices.
2. Each reference links to the full chapter so the verse can be read in context.