'Ark' in the Bible

“Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it with pitch inside and outside.

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

You are to make a roof, finishing the sides of the ark to within 18 inches of the roof. You are to put a door in the side of the ark. Make it with lower, middle, and upper decks.

But I will establish My covenant with you, and you will enter the ark with your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives.

You are also to bring into the ark two of all the living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you.

Then the Lord said to Noah, “Enter the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you alone are righteous before Me in this generation.

So Noah, his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives entered the ark because of the waters of the flood.

two of each, male and female, entered the ark with Noah, just as God had commanded him.

On that same day Noah along with his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, Noah’s wife, and his three sons’ wives entered the ark with him.

Two of all flesh that has the breath of life in it entered the ark with Noah.

The flood continued for 40 days on the earth; the waters increased and lifted up the ark so that it rose above the earth.

The waters surged and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water.

He wiped out every living thing that was on the surface of the ground, from mankind to livestock, to creatures that crawl, to the birds of the sky, and they were wiped off the earth. Only Noah was left, and those that were with him in the ark.

God remembered Noah, as well as all the wildlife and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. God caused a wind to pass over the earth, and the water began to subside.

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

After 40 days Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made,

but the dove found no resting place for her foot. She returned to him in the ark because water covered the surface of the whole earth. He reached out and brought her into the ark to himself.

So Noah waited seven more days and sent out the dove from the ark again.

“Come out of the ark, you, your wife, your sons, and your sons’ wives with you.

All wildlife, all livestock, every bird, and every creature that crawls on the earth came out of the ark by their groups.

and with every living creature that is with you—birds, livestock, and all wildlife of the earth that are with you—all the animals of the earth that came out of the ark.

Noah’s sons who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham was the father of Canaan.

“They are to make an ark of acacia wood, 45 inches long, 27 inches wide, and 27 inches high.

Insert the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark in order to carry the ark with them.

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

Put the tablets of the testimony that I will give you into the ark.

Set the mercy seat on top of the ark and put the testimony that I will give you into the ark.

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 from there about all that I command you regarding the Israelites.

Hang the veil under the clasps and bring the ark of the testimony there behind the veil, so the veil will make a separation for you between the holy place and the most holy place.

Put the mercy seat on the ark of the testimony in the most holy place.

“You are to place the altar in front of the veil by the ark of the testimony—in front of the mercy seat that is over the testimony—where I will meet with you.

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

the tent of meeting, the ark of the testimony, the mercy seat that is on top of it, and all the other furnishings of the tent—

the ark with its poles, the mercy seat, and the veil for the screen;

Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood, 45 inches long, 27 inches wide, and 27 inches high.

He inserted the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark for carrying the ark.

the ark of the testimony with its poles and the mercy seat;

Put the ark of the testimony there and screen off the ark with the veil.

Place the gold altar for incense in front of the ark of the testimony. Put up the screen for the entrance to the tabernacle.

Moses took the testimony and placed it in the ark, and attached the poles to the ark. He set the mercy seat on top of the ark.

He brought the ark into the tabernacle, put up the veil for the screen, and screened off the ark of the testimony, just as the Lord had commanded him.

The Lord said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron that he may not come whenever he wants into the 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.

Their duties involved the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the sanctuary utensils that were used with these, and the screen—and all the work relating to them.

Whenever the camp is about to move on, Aaron and his sons are to go in, take down the screening veil, and cover the ark of the testimony with it.

When Moses entered the tent of meeting to speak with the Lord, he heard the voice speaking to him from above the mercy seat that was on the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim. He spoke to him that way.

They set out from the mountain of the Lord on a three-day journey with the ark of the Lord’s covenant traveling ahead of them for those three days to seek a resting place for them.

Whenever the ark set out, Moses would say:Arise, Lord!Let Your enemies be scattered,and those who hate You flee from Your presence.

But they dared to go up the ridge of the hill country, even though the ark of the Lord’s covenant and Moses did not leave the camp.

“The Lord said to me at that time, ‘Cut two stone tablets like the first ones and come to Me on the mountain and make a wooden ark.

I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets you broke, and you are to place them in the ark.’

So I made an ark of acacia wood, cut two stone tablets like the first ones, and climbed the mountain with the two tablets in my hand.

and I went back down the mountain and placed the tablets in the ark I had made. And they have remained there, 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 Yahweh to serve Him, and to pronounce blessings in His name, as it is today.

Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the Lord’s covenant, and to all the elders of Israel.

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

“Take this book of the law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God so that it may remain there as a witness against you.

and commanded the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God carried by the Levitical priests, you must break camp and follow it.

But keep a distance of about 1,000 yards between yourselves and the ark. Don’t go near it, so that you can see the way to go, for you haven’t traveled this way before.”

Then he said to the priests, “Take the ark of the covenant and go on ahead of the people.” So they carried the ark of the covenant and went ahead of them.

Command the priests carrying the ark of the covenant: When you reach the edge of the waters, stand in the Jordan.”

when the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth goes ahead of you into the Jordan.

When the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, come to rest in the Jordan’s waters, its waters will be cut off. The water flowing downstream will stand up in a mass.”

When the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carried the ark of the covenant ahead of the people.

Now the Jordan overflows its banks throughout the harvest season. But as soon as the priests carrying the ark reached the Jordan, their feet touched the water at its edge

The priests carrying the ark of the Lord’s covenant stood firmly on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel crossed on dry ground until the entire nation had finished crossing the Jordan.

and said to them, “Go across to the ark of the Lord your God in the middle of the Jordan. Each of you lift a stone onto his shoulder, one for each of the Israelite tribes,

you should tell them, ‘The waters of the Jordan were cut off in front of the ark of the Lord’s covenant. When it crossed the Jordan, the Jordan’s waters were cut off.’ Therefore these stones will always be a memorial for the Israelites.”

Joshua also set up 12 stones in the middle of the Jordan where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant were standing. The stones are there to this day.

The priests carrying the ark continued standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything was completed that the Lord had commanded Joshua to tell the people, in keeping with all that Moses had commanded Joshua. The people hurried across,

and after everyone had finished crossing, the priests with the ark of the Lord crossed in the sight of the people.

“Command the priests who carry the ark of the testimony to come up from the Jordan.”

When the priests carrying the ark of the Lord’s covenant came up from the middle of the Jordan, and their feet stepped out on solid ground, the waters of the Jordan resumed their course, flowing over all the banks as before.

Have seven priests carry seven ram’s-horn trumpets in front of the ark. But on the seventh day, march around the city seven times, while the priests blow the trumpets.

So Joshua son of Nun summoned the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant and have seven priests carry seven trumpets in front of the ark of the Lord.”

He said to the people, “Move forward, march around the city, and have the armed troops go ahead of the ark of the Lord.”

After Joshua had spoken to the people, seven priests carrying seven trumpets before the Lord moved forward and blew the trumpets; the ark of the Lord’s covenant followed them.

While the trumpets were blowing, the armed troops went in front of the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard went behind the ark.

So the ark of the Lord was carried around the city, circling it once. They returned to the camp and spent the night there.

Joshua got up early the next morning. The priests took the ark of the Lord,

and the seven priests carrying seven trumpets marched in front of the ark of the Lord. While the trumpets were blowing, the armed troops went in front of them, and the rear guard went behind the ark of the Lord.

Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell before the ark of the Lord with his face to the ground until evening, as did the elders of Israel; they all put dust on their heads.

All Israel, foreigner and citizen alike, with their elders, officers, and judges, stood on either side of the ark of the Lord’s covenant facing the Levitical priests who carried it. As Moses the Lord’s servant had commanded earlier, half of them were in front of Mount Gerizim and half in front of Mount Ebal, to bless the people of Israel.

Then the Israelites inquired of the Lord. In those days, the ark of the covenant of God was there,

Before the lamp of God had gone out, Samuel was lying down in the tabernacle of the Lord, where the ark of God was located.

When the troops returned to the camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why did the Lord let us be defeated today by the Philistines? Let’s bring the ark of the Lord’s covenant from Shiloh. Then it will go with us and save us from the hand of our enemies.”

So the people sent men to Shiloh to bring back the ark of the covenant of the Lord of Hosts, who dwells between the cherubim. Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

When the ark of the covenant of the Lord entered the camp, all the Israelites raised such a loud shout that the ground shook.

The Philistines heard the sound of the war cry and asked, “What’s this loud shout in the Hebrews’ camp?” When the Philistines discovered that the ark of the Lord had entered the camp,

The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

When he arrived, there was Eli sitting on his chair beside the road watching, because he was anxious about the ark of God. When the man entered the city to give a report, the entire city cried out.

The messenger answered, “Israel has fled from the Philistines, and also there was a great slaughter among the people. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are both dead, and the ark of God has been captured.”

When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell backward off the chair by the city gate, and since he was old and heavy, his neck broke and he died. Eli had judged Israel 40 years.

Eli’s daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and about to give birth. When she heard the news about the capture of God’s ark and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband, she collapsed and gave birth because her labor pains came on her.

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

“The glory has departed from Israel,” she said, “because the ark of God has been captured.”

After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod,

When the people of Ashdod got up early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen with his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and returned him to his place.

But when they got up early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen with his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. This time, both Dagon’s head and the palms of his hands were broken off and lying on the threshold. Only Dagon’s torso remained.

When the men of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, “The ark of Israel’s God must not stay here with us, because His hand is strongly against us and our god Dagon.”

So they called all the Philistine rulers together and asked, “What should we do with the ark of Israel’s God?”“The ark of Israel’s God should be moved to Gath,” they replied. So the men of Ashdod moved the ark.