'Ark' in the Bible

Make for yourself an ark of cypress wood; you must make the ark [with] rooms, then you must cover it with pitch, inside and outside.

And this [is] how you must make it: the length of the ark, three hundred cubits; its width fifty cubits; its height, thirty cubits.

You must make a roof for the ark, and {finish it to a cubit above}. And [as for] the door of the ark, you must put [it] in its side. You must make it [with] a lower, second, and a third [deck].

And I will establish my covenant with you, and you must go into the ark--you, and your sons, and your wife, and the wives of your sons with you.

And of every living thing, from all flesh, you must bring two from every [kind] into the ark to keep [them] alive with you; they shall be male and female.

Then Yahweh said to Noah, "Go--you and all your household--into the ark, for I have seen you [are] righteous before me in this generation.

And Noah and his sons and his wife, and the wives of his sons with him, went into the ark because of the waters of the flood.

{two of each} went to Noah, into the ark, male and female, as God had commanded Noah.

On this same day, Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and the wife of Noah and the three wives of his sons with them, went into the ark,

And they came to Noah to the ark, {two of each}, from every living thing in which [was] the breath of life.

And the flood came forty days and forty nights upon the earth. And the waters increased, and lifted the ark, and it rose up from the earth.

And the waters prevailed and increased greatly upon the earth. And the ark went upon the surface of the waters.

And he blotted out every living thing upon the surface of the ground, from humankind, to animals, to creeping things, and to the birds of heaven; they were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah and those who [were] with him in the ark remained.

And God remembered Noah and all the wild animals, and all the domesticated animals that [were] with him in the ark. And God caused a wind to blow over the earth, and the waters subsided.

And the ark came to rest in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat.

And it happened [that] at the end of forty days Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made.

But the dove did not find a resting place for the sole of her foot, and she returned to him into the ark, for the waters [were still] on the face of the earth. And he stretched out his hand and took her, and brought her to himself into the ark.

And he waited another seven days, and {again he sent out} the dove from the ark.

And it happened that, in the six hundred and first year, in the first [month], on the first [day] of the month, the waters dried up from upon the earth. And Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked. And behold, the face of the ground was dried up.

"Go out from the ark, you and your wife, and your sons, and your sons' wives with you.

Every animal, every creeping thing, and every bird, [and] everything [that] moves upon the earth, according to its families, went out from the ark.

and with every living creature that [is] with you--the birds, the animals, and every animal of the earth with you, from all [that] came out of the ark to all the animals of the earth.

Now the sons of Noah who came out of the ark [were] Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham [was] the father of Canaan.)

"And they will make an ark of acacia wood, two and a half cubits its length and a cubit and a half its width and a cubit and a half its height.

And you will put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry the ark with them.

In the rings of the ark will be the poles; they will not be removed from it.

And you will put into the ark the testimony that I will give to you.

And you will put the atonement cover above onto the ark, and into the ark you will put the testimony that I will give you.

And I will meet you there, and I will speak with you from over the atonement cover, from between the two cherubim that [are to be] on the ark of the testimony--all that I will command you to the {Israelites}.

And you will put the curtain under the clasps, and you will bring the ark of the testimony there inside the curtain, and the curtain will separate for you between the holy and the {most holy place}.

And you will put the atonement cover on the ark of the testimony in the {most holy place}.

And you will put it before the curtain that [is] upon the ark of the testimony, before the atonement cover, which [is] on the testimony, there where I will meet with you.

And you will anoint with it the tent of assembly and the ark of the testimony,

the tent of assembly and the ark of the testimony and the atonement cover that [is] on it and all the equipment of the tent,

the ark and its poles; the atonement cover and the curtain of the screen;

And Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood, two and a half cubits its length and a cubit and a half its width and a cubit and a half its height.

And he put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry the ark.

the ark of the testimony and its poles and the atonement cover;

And you will put there the ark of the testimony, and you will cover over the ark [with] the curtain.

And you will put the gold altar for incense before the ark of the testimony, and you will set up the entrance screen for the tabernacle.

And he took and he put the testimony into the ark, and he placed the poles on the ark, and he put the atonement cover on the ark, above [it].

And he brought the ark into the tabernacle, and he set up the curtain of the screening, and he shielded the ark of the testimony, as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

And Yahweh said to Moses, "Tell your brother Aaron [that] he should not enter at any time into the sanctuary {behind} the curtain {in front of} the atonement cover that [is] on the ark, so that he might not die, because I appear in the cloud over the atonement cover.

Their responsibility [was] the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altar, and the vessels of the sanctuary, with which they ministered, and the curtain, and all of its use.

When setting out the camp, Aaron and his sons will go and lower the curtain of the covering and cover with it the ark of the testimony.

And when Moses came to the tent of assembly to speak with him, he would hear the voice speaking to him from the atonement cover, which [is] on the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim, and he would speak to him.

And so they set out from the mountain of Yahweh a journey of three days, with the ark of the covenant of Yahweh setting out ahead of them three days' journey to search out a resting place for them;

And whenever the ark was setting out Moses would say, "Rise up, Yahweh! May your enemies be scattered; may the ones that hate you flee from your presence."

But they dared to go to the top of the mountain, and the ark of the covenant of Yahweh and Moses did not depart from the midst of the camp.

"At that time Yahweh said to me, 'Carve for yourself two tablets of stone [just] as the former [ones], and come up the mountain to me, and you shall make for yourself an ark of wood.

And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the former [tablets], which you smashed, and you must put them in the ark.'

And [so] I made an ark {of acacia wood}, and I carved two tablets of stone like the former [ones], and I went up the mountain [with] the two tablets in my hand.

And I turned, and I came down from the mountain, and I put the tablets in the ark that I had made, and they are there, [just] as Yahweh commanded me.

At that time Yahweh set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of Yahweh to stand {before} Yahweh, to serve him and to bless [the people] in his name until this day.

So Moses wrote this law, and he gave it to the priests, the descendants of Levi, the [ones] carrying the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, and to all the elders of Israel.

then Moses commanded the Levites carrying the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, {saying},

"Take the scroll of this law and put it at the side of the ark of the covenant of Yahweh your God, and it will be there as a witness against you.

and they commanded the people: "When you see the Levitical priests carrying the ark of the covenant of Yahweh your God you must set out from your place and go after it.

And Joshua said to the priests, "Take up the ark of the covenant and cross [over] {ahead of the people}." And they took up the ark of the covenant and went {ahead of the people}.

You will command the priests carrying the ark of the covenant, saying, 'At the moment that you come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, you will stand [still] in the Jordan.'"

Look! The ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth [is about to] cross [over] ahead of you into the Jordan.

When the soles of the feet of the priests carrying the ark of Yahweh, Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan will be cut off {upstream}, and they will stand [still in] one heap.

And it happened, when the people set out from their tents to cross [over] the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant were {ahead of the people}.

When those carrying the ark came up to the Jordan, and the priests carrying the ark dipped their feet in the edge of the water (the Jordan was flowing over its banks during all the days of harvest),

And the priests carrying the ark of the covenant of Yahweh stood firmly on the dry land in the middle of the Jordan while all Israel crossed on dry ground, until all the nation finished crossing the Jordan.

And Joshua said to them, "Cross [over] before the ark of Yahweh your God to the middle of the Jordan, and each one of you lift up a stone on your shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the {Israelites},

you will say to them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off {from before} the ark of the covenant of Yahweh. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones will be as a memorial for the {Israelites} for eternity."

Then Joshua set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests carrying the ark of the covenant [stood], and they are there to this day.

The priests carrying the ark remained standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything that Yahweh commanded Joshua to tell the people was finished, according to all that Moses commanded Joshua. And the people hastily crossed [over].

And it happened, when all the people had finished crossing, the ark of Yahweh and the priests crossed [over] in front of the people.

"Command the priests carrying the ark of the testimony {to come up} from the Jordan."

And it happened that when the priests carrying the ark came up from the middle of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet {touched dry land}, the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and flowed over all its banks as before.

And seven priests will bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark. On the seventh day you will march around the city seven times, and the priests will blow on the trumpets.

So Joshua son of Nun summoned the priests and said to them, "Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests carry the trumpets of the rams' horns before the ark of Yahweh."

And he said to the people, "Go forward and march around the city, and let the armed [men] pass before the ark of Yahweh.

{And when Joshua spoke} to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams' horns before the presence of Yahweh went forward and they blew the trumpets; and the ark of the covenant of Yahweh followed behind them.

And the armed [men] went before the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard came after the ark, while they were blowing the trumpets.

And the ark of Yahweh went around the city, {circling once}, and they came [into] the camp and spent the night in the camp.

Then Joshua got up early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of Yahweh.

The seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of the rams' horns before the ark of Yahweh went on continually, and they blew on the trumpets. And the armed [men] went before them, and [the] rear guard came after the ark of Yahweh, while the trumpets blew continually.

And Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the ground on his face before the ark of Yahweh until the evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads.

Then all Israel, {foreigner as well as native}, with the elders, officials, and judges stood {on either side} of the ark before the priests and the Levites, who carried the ark of the covenant of Yahweh. Half of them [stood] in front of Mount Gerizim, and the other half in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses Yahweh's servant had commanded before to bless the people of Israel.

And the {Israelites} inquired of Yahweh (In those days the ark of the covenant of God [was] there,

and the lamp of God had not yet gone out, Samuel was lying in the temple of Yahweh where the ark of God [was].

When the army came [back] to the camp, the elders of Israel asked, "Why has Yahweh defeated us today before [the] Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of Yahweh to us from Shiloh so that it may come into our midst and deliver us from the hand of our enemies."

So the army sent to Shiloh and brought from there the ark of the covenant of Yahweh of hosts who sits [between] the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, [were] there with the ark of the covenant of God.

Now when the ark of the covenant of Yahweh arrived at the camp, all Israel {let out a loud shout} so that the earth shook.

When [the] Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said, "What [is] the noise of this loud shouting in the camp of the Hebrews?" Then they learned that the ark of Yahweh had come into the camp.

Furthermore, the ark of God was captured, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

When he came, {there was} Eli sitting on his chair {by the side of the road} watching, because his heart was anxious about the ark of God. Now the man had come {to give his report} in the city, and all the city cried out.

Then the messenger answered and said, "Israel has fled before [the] Philistines. There has been a great defeat among the troops. Also, your two sons have died, Hophni and Phinehas, and the ark of God has been captured."

Just as he mentioned the ark of God, he fell from his chair backwards against the side of the gate. He broke his neck and died, because the man was old and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years.

Now his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, [was] pregnant and [about] to give birth. When she heard the news concerning the capture of the ark of God and that her father-in-law and her husband had died, she {went into labor} and gave birth, because her labor pains came upon her.

She called the boy Ichabod, saying, "The glory has departed from Israel," referring to the capture of the ark of God and concerning her father-in-law and husband.

And she said, "The glory has departed from Israel, because the ark of God was captured."

Now [the] Philistines had captured the ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod.

Then [the] Philistines took the ark of God and brought it to the temple of Dagon and placed it beside Dagon.

When the Ashdodites got up early the next morning, {there was} Dagon fallen with his face to the ground before the ark of Yahweh! So they took Dagon and returned him to his place.

When they got up early in the morning the next day, {there was} Dagon fallen [again] with his face to the ground before the ark of Yahweh! The head of Dagon and the palms of his two hands were cut off, lying at the threshold; only [the body] of Dagon was left.

The men of Ashdod saw [that] it [was] so, and they said, "The ark of the God of Israel should not remain with us, because his hand [is] harsh on us and on Dagon our god!"