'Ark' in the Bible

Make for yourself an ark of cypress wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it with pitch inside and out.

This is how you should make it: The ark is to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high.

Make a roof for the ark and finish it, leaving 18 inches from the top. Put a door in the side of the ark, and make lower, middle, and upper decks.

but I will confirm my covenant with you. You will enter the ark -- you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you.

You must bring into the ark two of every kind of living creature from all flesh, male and female, to keep them alive with you.

The Lord said to Noah, "Come into the ark, you and all your household, for I consider you godly among this generation.

Noah entered the ark along with his sons, his wife, and his sons' wives because of the floodwaters.

male and female, came into the ark to Noah, just as God had commanded him.

On that very day Noah entered the ark, accompanied by his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, along with his wife and his sons' three wives.

Pairs of all creatures that have the breath of life came into the ark to Noah.

The flood engulfed the earth for forty days. As the waters increased, they lifted the ark and raised it above the earth.

The waters completely overwhelmed the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the waters.

So the Lord destroyed every living thing that was on the surface of the ground, including people, animals, creatures that creep along the ground, and birds of the sky. They were wiped off the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark survived.

But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and domestic animals that were with him in the ark. God caused a wind to blow over the earth and the waters receded.

On the seventeenth day of the seventh month, the ark came to rest on one of the mountains of Ararat.

At the end of forty days, Noah opened the window he had made in the ark

The dove could not find a resting place for its feet because water still covered the surface of the entire earth, and so it returned to Noah in the ark. He stretched out his hand, took the dove, and brought it back into the ark.

He waited seven more days and then sent out the dove again from the ark.

In Noah's six hundred and first year, in the first day of the first month, the waters had dried up from the earth, and Noah removed the covering from the ark and saw that the surface of the ground was dry.

"Come out of the ark, you, your wife, your sons, and your sons' wives with you.

Every living creature, every creeping thing, every bird, and everything that moves on the earth went out of the ark in their groups.

and with every living creature that is with you, including the birds, the domestic animals, and every living creature of the earth with you, all those that came out of the ark with you -- every living creature of the earth.

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

"They are to make an ark of acacia wood -- its length is to be three feet nine inches, its width two feet three inches, and its height two feet three inches.

and put the poles into the rings at the sides of the ark in order to carry the ark with them.

The poles must remain in the rings of the ark; they must not be removed from it.

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

You are to put the atonement lid on top of the ark, and in the ark you are to put the testimony I am giving you.

I will meet with you there, and from above the atonement lid, from between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will command you for the Israelites.

You are to hang this curtain under the clasps and bring the ark of the testimony in there behind the curtain. The curtain will make a division for you between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place.

You are to put the atonement lid on the ark of the testimony in the Most Holy Place.

"You are to put it in front of the curtain that is before the ark of the testimony (before the atonement lid that is over the testimony), where I will meet you.

"With it you are to anoint the tent of meeting, the ark of the testimony,

You are to beat some of it very fine and put some of it before the ark of the testimony in the tent of meeting where I will meet with you; it is to be most holy to you.

the tent of meeting, the ark of the testimony, the atonement lid that is on it, all the furnishings of the tent,

the ark, with its poles, the atonement lid, and the special curtain that conceals it;

Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood; its length was three feet nine inches, its width two feet three inches, and its height two feet three inches.

and put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark in order to carry the ark.

the ark of the testimony and its poles, and the atonement lid;

You are to place the ark of the testimony in it and shield the ark with the special curtain.

You are to put the gold altar for incense in front of the ark of the testimony and put the curtain at the entrance to the tabernacle.

He took the testimony and put it in the ark, attached the poles to the ark, and then put the atonement lid on the ark.

And he brought the ark into the tabernacle, hung the protecting curtain, and shielded the ark of the testimony from view, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

and the Lord said to Moses: "Tell Aaron your brother that he must not enter at any time into the holy place inside the veil-canopy in front of the atonement plate that is on the ark so that he may not die, for I will appear in the cloud over the atonement plate.

He must then put the incense on the fire before the Lord, and the cloud of incense will cover the atonement plate which is above the ark of the testimony, so that he will not die.

Their responsibilities included the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, and the utensils of the sanctuary with which they ministered, the curtain, and all their service.

When it is time for the camp to journey, Aaron and his sons must come and take down the screening curtain and cover the ark of the testimony with it.

Now when Moses went into the tent of meeting to speak with the Lord, he heard the voice speaking to him from above the atonement lid that was on the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim. Thus he spoke to him.

So they traveled from the mountain of the Lord three days' journey; and the ark of the covenant of the Lord was traveling before them during the three days' journey, to find a resting place for them.

And when the ark traveled, Moses would say, "Rise up, O Lord! May your enemies be scattered, and may those who hate you flee before you!"

But they dared to go up to the crest of the hill, although neither the ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses departed from the camp.

You must place them in the tent of meeting before the ark of the covenant where I meet with you.

At that same time the Lord said to me, "Carve out for yourself two stone tablets like the first ones and come up the mountain to me; also make for yourself a wooden ark.

I will write on the tablets the same words that were on the first tablets you broke, and you must put them into the ark."

So I made an ark of acacia wood and carved out two stone tablets just like the first ones. Then I went up the mountain with the two tablets in my hands.

Then I turned, went down the mountain, and placed the tablets into the ark I had made -- they are still there, just as the Lord commanded me.

At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the Lord's covenant, to stand before the Lord to serve him, and to formulate blessings in his name, as they do to this very day.

Then Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the Levitical priests, who carry the ark of the Lord's covenant, and to all Israel's elders.

he commanded the Levites who carried the ark of the Lord's covenant,

"Take this scroll of the law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God. It will remain there as a witness against you,

and commanded the people: "When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by the Levitical priests, you must leave here and walk behind it.

Joshua told the priests, "Pick up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of the people." So they picked up the ark of the covenant and went ahead of the people.

Instruct the priests carrying the ark of the covenant, 'When you reach the bank of the Jordan River, wade into the water.'"

Look! The ark of the covenant of the Ruler of the whole earth is ready to enter the Jordan ahead of you.

When the feet of the priests carrying the ark of the Lord, the Ruler of the whole earth, touch the water of the Jordan, the water coming downstream toward you will stop flowing and pile up."

So when the people left their tents to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them.

When the ones carrying the ark reached the Jordan and the feet of the priests carrying the ark touched the surface of the water -- (the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest time) --

The priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firmly on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan. All Israel crossed over on dry ground until the entire nation was on the other side.

Joshua told them, "Go in front of the ark of the Lord your God to the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to put a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the Israelite tribes.

tell them how the water of the Jordan stopped flowing before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the water of the Jordan stopped flowing. These stones will be a lasting memorial for the Israelites."

Joshua also set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan in the very place where the priests carrying the ark of the covenant stood. They remain there to this very day.

Now the priests carrying the ark of the covenant were standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything the Lord had commanded Joshua to tell the people was accomplished, in accordance with all that Moses had commanded Joshua. The people went across quickly,

and when all the people had finished crossing, the ark of the Lord and the priests crossed as the people looked on.

"Instruct the priests carrying the ark of the covenantal laws to come up from the Jordan."

The priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord came up from the middle of the Jordan, and as soon as they set foot on dry land, the water of the Jordan flowed again and returned to flood stage.

Have seven priests carry seven rams' horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day march around the city seven times, while the priests blow the horns.

So Joshua son of Nun summoned the priests and instructed them, "Pick up the ark of the covenant, and seven priests must carry seven rams' horns in front of the ark of the Lord."

And he told the army, "Move ahead and march around the city, with armed troops going ahead of the ark of the Lord."

When Joshua gave the army its orders, the seven priests carrying the seven rams' horns before the Lord moved ahead and blew the horns as the ark of the covenant of the Lord followed behind.

Armed troops marched ahead of the priests blowing the horns, while the rear guard followed along behind the ark blowing rams' horns.

So Joshua made sure they marched the ark of the Lord around the city one time. Then they went back to the camp and spent the night there.

Bright and early the next morning Joshua had the priests pick up the ark of the Lord.

The seven priests carrying the seven rams' horns before the ark of the Lord marched along blowing their horns. Armed troops marched ahead of them, while the rear guard followed along behind the ark of the Lord blowing rams' horns.

Joshua tore his clothes; he and the leaders of Israel lay face down on the ground before the ark of the Lord until evening and threw dirt on their heads.

All the people, rulers, leaders, and judges were standing on either side of the ark, in front of the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord. Both resident foreigners and native Israelites were there. Half the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and the other half in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the Lord's servant had previously instructed to them to do for the formal blessing ceremony.

The Israelites asked the Lord (for the ark of God's covenant was there in those days;

and the lamp of God had not yet been extinguished. Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord as well; the ark of God was also there.

When the army came back to the camp, the elders of Israel said, "Why did the Lord let us be defeated today by the Philistines? Let's take with us the ark of the covenant of the Lord from Shiloh. When it is with us, it will save us from the hand of our enemies.

So the army sent to Shiloh, and they took from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts who sits between the cherubim. Now the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phineas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

When the ark of the covenant of the Lord arrived at the camp, all Israel shouted so loudly that the ground shook.

When the Philistines heard the sound of the shout, they said, "What is this loud shout in the camp of the Hebrews?" Then they realized that the ark of the Lord had arrived at the camp.

The ark of God was taken, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phineas, were killed.

When he arrived in Shiloh, Eli was sitting in his chair watching by the side of the road, for he was very worried about the ark of God. As the man entered the city to give his report, the whole city cried out.

The messenger replied, "Israel has fled from the Philistines! The army has suffered a great defeat! Your two sons, Hophni and Phineas, are dead! The ark of God has been captured!"

When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell backward from his chair beside the gate. He broke his neck and died, for he was old and heavy. He had judged Israel for forty years.

His daughter-in-law, the wife of Phineas, was pregnant and close to giving birth. When she heard that the ark of God was captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she doubled over and gave birth. But her labor pains were too much for her.

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

She said, "The glory has departed from Israel, because the ark of God has been captured."

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

The Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the temple of Dagon, where they positioned it beside Dagon.