ARK OF THE COVENANT

[Judaic] The container for the Tables of the Law (Ten Commandments), but also a dwelling for God himself. In Exodus 25:8, God gives his reason for building the Ark: "... and let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them." He instructs this sanctuary to be built after the pattern of the tabernacle. In this way, in battle, the Hebrews actually carried God before them. During the wilderness period, it was kept in the Tabernacle and after King Solomon built the Temple in Jerusalem, it was kept in the Holy of Holies, the inner shrine. The Ark of the Covenant is described as a gold box with two large cherubim forming the foundation of the mercy seat from which God communed with the Children of Israel. The Ark was lost in the destruction of the Temple in 586 BCE. It is furthermore described in Exodus 25:10-22.