THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
Jerusalem the throne of the Lord." This utterance reminds of the description of the new temple, which Ezekiel gives in the last chapters of his book (xl. sqq.), in which nothing is read of an ark of the covenant, where the living cherubim carrying the glory of God take the place of the cherubim of the tabernacle and of the Solomonic temple, made by the hand of men, — a reference to the time of the true dwelling of God in his congregation made perfect, in whose heart he wrote his law (Jer. xxxi. 33), a time when shall be fulfilled what the ark of the covenant of the Mosaic legislature together with the tabernacle prophetically prefigured as " a shadow of the good things to come " (Heb. x. 1).
W VOLCKf.
In the preprophetic age, " the ark " was the most important symbol of the Hebrew religion, and its functions belonged almost wholly to that period. The preceding sketch takes for granted that the descriptions of it given in 6. Charac- Exodus correspond to its form, conter of the dition, and contents as it actually Accounts appeared throughout its many vieissiin Exodus, tudes. But it is now generally admitted that they are an idealization, like the accounts in the same priestly code of the tabernacle itself. The tradition, however, that the ark was transported from Sinai to Palestine, and was moved from place to place till it was finally lodged in the shrine of David in Jerusalem and thence naturally transferred to the temple of Solomon, is doubtless based on fact.
The chief significance of the ark in the history of religion is that it represents in unique fashion the transition stage between the primitive conceptions of the Deity and those announced by the prophets. The advance made by the Mosaic revelation upon the previous beliefs of the Hebrews is signally shown in its representation 7. The of Yahweh as more than a mere local First deity. He was, indeed, still thought Period of of as inseparable from his chosen the Ark's people; but wherever they went he History, might go with them. He did not, it is true, forsake Sinai at once; in great emergencies he came thence in his full power and majesty to the new home of his worshipers (Judges v. 4 sqq., cf. I Kings xix. 8 sqq., Deut. xxxiii. 2). The ark, however, was to be a constant and unfailing proof that he was among them as their champion and protector. This is the original meaning of Ex. xxxiii. (cf. R. Smend, Alttestamentliche Religionsgeschichte, Leipsic, 1893, pp. 42-43). The question of the literal accuracy of the statement that the two tablets of the law were placed in the ark at Sinai and were thenceforward kept there will be settled according to the view taken by each inquirer of the character of the Mosaic teaching. It is perhaps easier to believe that they were placed there at first than to suppose that they were kept there during the whole early history of Israel. The guardians of the ark were then very little concerned about the commandments of Yahweh ; what they wanted was to have him fight their battles; they cared more for his nu men than for his nomen. Moreover, it is not said
whether the version of the decalogue contained in Ex. xx. (E) or that of xxxiv. (J) was the one that was laid in the ark. So long as both versions were in vogue neither could have been regarded as exclusively sacrosanct. Possibly some sacred stone was first placed in the ark as a talisman. It is noteworthy that the place in the Jordan where the ark stood when the waters were divided was marked by a heap of stones — a sacred memorial (Josh, iii.-iv.). The first period in the history of the ark came to an end with its capture by the Philistines when it was demonstrated that the power of Yahweh did not necessarily accompany those who trusted to its presence for victory (I Sam. iv.). This was doubtless a wholesome lesson; but the moral of it was weakened in later times by the sacerdotalists who added to the genuine tradition stories of the terrible punishments inflicted both upon the Philistines and Hebrews who failed, though unwittingly, fully to appreciate the sanctity of the ark (I Sam. v., vi.).
In the next period the ark, instead of being itself an object of worship and an instrument of blessing or cursing, became a sacred relic in a permanent sanctuary. The transition stage was the time between its return from the Philistine 8. The country and its triumphal trans- Second portation to Jerusalem (I Sam. vii. Period. 1-2; II Sam. vi. 1-11). The circumstances are obscure. But this much seems plain: That there was no fitting sanctuary for the ark now that Shiloh, the national religious center, had been destroyed; that the ark itself, having ceased to be a beneficent wonder-worker, was kept in seclusion; and that during the whole of the unsettled reigns of Saul and of David in Hebron it was never regarded or appealed to as a national palladium, not even in the most anxious days of battle. When a permanent seat of worship and of central government had been provided by David, it was natural that the most venerable monument of the national religion (cf. Jer. iii. 16) should be securely housed and guarded. But it had lost its practical efficiency. We do not read of its being again taken forth with the army (II Sam. xi. 11 merely implies that it had not as yet a fitting temple of its own); and David himself in his utmost peril refused to have it carried with him when he left Jerusalem before Absalom (II Sam. xv. 24 sqq.). With its removal to the temple of Solomon it disappears from the record of Israel's religion. It was superseded by the living word of Revelation.
J. F. McCurdy.
Bibliography: The best treatment is found in EB, i. 300-310, with that in DB, i. 149-151 perhaps next; J. H. Kurtz, Beitrage zur Symbolik des alttestamentlichen Kultus, in Zeitschrift fur lutherische Theoloqie, xii. (1851 ) 27 sqq.; idem, Der alttestamentliche Opjerkultus, §§ 11, 15, Leipsic, 1S62; A. Kohler, Lehrbuch der biblischen Geschichte, i. 368-369, Erlangen, 1875; Sehring, Der alttestamentliche Sprachgebrauch in Betreff des Namena der Bundeslade, in ZATW xi. (1891) 114-115; Couard, Die religiose nationale Bedeutung der Lade, in ZATW, xii., 1892; W. H. Kosters, in ThT, xxvii., 1893 (brilliant); H. Winckler, Geschichte Israels, i. 70-77, Leipsic, 1895; R. Krcetzschmar, Die Bundesvorstellung im Alien Testament, pp. 208-220, Marburg, 1896; C. von Schick, Die Stiftshutte des Tern-pel in Jerusalem, und der Tempelplatz der JctrJ-cil, liorlin, 1896; V,'. Lotz, Die Bundeslade, Leipsic,