To the Israelites, the Ark also was a symbol — and a vehicle for — God's almighty power. Jewish legend and tradition describe the Ark lifting it's bearers off the ground. Many biblical accounts of the Ark seem almost to be describing a weapon of war. To march into battle bearing the Ark of the Covenant was to be undefeated. The Bible describes the Ark's power at the conquering of Jericho. When the Israelites hold it before them and sound their rams' horns, the city walls are blown over and Jericho is easily taken.


The Ark at the conquest of Jericho.

But the Ark could be unpredictable. When the glowing cloud arced between the cherubim, Moses himself would often keep clear of the Tabernacle as implied in Exodus 40:35. Biblical accounts describe a Holy Ark that seems to strike down its caretakers with the same raw power unleashed against its caretakers' enemies. The sons of Aaron— Moses' own nephews— were struck dead by the fire of the Lord when they bring the wrong offering before the Ark. In 2 Samuel 6:7, during a celebration in Jerusalem, the driver of the cart bearing the Ark reaches out to steady the golden box and falls dead at its touch.


Dagon, a god of the Philistines, falls before the Ark.

The Ark of the Covenant did not always bring victory to its bearers. In about 1050 B.C., the rival Philistines defeated the Hebrews in battle and captured the Ark, which they took back to their home city of Ekron. But for them, the treasure turned into a torment. When they placed it in their temple, the idol of their god Dagon was found the next morning with its head and hands mysteriously gone. The Philistines themselves were afflicted with painful leprosy-like sores until the Ark was returned to the Hebrews.

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