Bezalel bin
Uri of
Judah tribe and
Aholiab bin
Ahismach of
Dan tribe built the Ark.(
Exodus 31:2-7) Moses called "every wise heart" to assist in the construction. (Exodus 35:10-12)
Moses blessed the Ark with oil of holy ointment upon its completion. (Exodus 30:23-26)
The Bible describes the Ark (in
Hebrew aron habrit) as made of
acacia wood and covered with the purest gold. It had dimensions of 130x80x80 cm. The upper surface, called the mercy seat, was encompassed with a frame of gold.
On the two sides were golden rings, used to hold two wooden poles with gold casing in order that the ark could be carried. (Numbers 7:9 &
1 Kings 8:3-6) On top of the ark were two
cherubim facing each other. (
Leviticus 16:2 &
Numbers 7:89) Their wings represented God's throne, while the ark was his footstool. (Exodus 25:10-22. 37:1-9)
In the ark there were two stone tablets forming the testimony of God's
covenant with the people and his
10 commandments, (Deuteronomy 31:26) a pot of
manna (Exodus 16:33), and
Aaron's rod that budded (Numbers 17:10). On the contrary view of the
Tanakh, "There was nothing in the Ark except the two tables of stone." (1 Kings 8:9)
The Ark was contained in the
Temple of Solomon, both were described as "the beauty of Israel" (
Lamentations 2:1). There is much controversy over the fate of the Ark involving
Jewish and
Christian debates. However, Muslims confidently know its fate because of a brief passage in the
Quran, the seal of books, and
Mohammed, the seal of
prophets.
Jeremiah, a prophet, speaking during the reign of
Josiah (640 – 609 BC), described a time when the Ark will no longer be needed. (Jeremiah 3:16)
Philistines captured the Ark twice and returned it after it caused them hardships. (Psalms 78:61) In the
deuterocanonical
2 Maccabees 2:4-10, Jeremiah took the Ark,
tabernacle, and
altar of incense and buried them in a cave on
Mount Nebo (Deuteronomy 34:1)
Next, Jeremiah instructed his followers that the location of the Ark should remain a secret, "until the time that God should gather His people again together, and receive them unto mercy."
The ark was described as being in heaven in later scriptures. (
Revelation 11:19) Quran makes one brief passage, "Their prophet said to them, "The sign of his kingship is that the Ark of the Covenant will be restored to you, bringing assurances from your Lord, and relics left by the people of Moses and the people of Aaron. It will be carried by the angels. This should be a convincing sign for you, if you are really believers." (Quran 2:248)
When
Babylon destroyed
Jerusalem and the Temple in 587 BC, the Ark's destiny entered into myth. Some historians claimed it was carried away as war booty by
Nebuchadnezzar. Another variant included concealment under the Temple Mount before the Babylonian siege. Yet another variant included concealment in
Ethiopia by
Menelik I, son of
Solomon and
Sheba, during the reign of
Manasseh. (687 – 642 BC) In any case, the Ark was missing when the second temple was built.
References:
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/ark.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ark_of_the_Covenant
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01721a.htm
http://www.dccsa.com/greatjoy/ark.html
http://www.domini.org/tabern/arkcovnt.htm
http://www.harunyahya.com/articles/32ark_of_covenant.php