"This is the closest anybody in the private market can get to owning the Ark of the Covenant from the Raiders of the Lost Ark," Supp said. "We estimate at auction a very conservative value of $80,000 to $120,000. Realistically, I can see it getting into quarter-million-dollar range."
The Ark of the Covenant was lost after the Jerusalem Temple was destroyed in 586 BCE. Some claim that it was stolen while others claim it is on Mount Nebo, from where Moses saw the Promised Land. Most popularly, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church claims that they have it in their Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion.
Jewish and Christian holy scriptures dictate that the Ark of the Covenant can be carried only by Levites, who constituted the ancient Jewish priestly class. They must carry the Ark by using two wooden poles inserted through rings on its sides, as touching the Ark itself will result in death at the hands of God.
The Ark of the Covenant, also known as the Ark of the Testimony or the Ark of God, is believed to have been the most sacred religious relic of the Israelites. It is described as a wooden chest coated in pure gold and topped off by an elaborate golden lid known as the mercy seat.
How much would the Ark of the Covenant cost today?
"This is the closest anybody in the private market can get to owning the Ark of the Covenant from the Raiders of the Lost Ark," Supp said. "We estimate at auction a very conservative value of $80,000 to $120,000.
When was the last time the Ark of the Covenant was seen?
The last time the Ark of the Covenant was supposedly seen was in Jerusalem, some 2,600 years ago. Now archaeologists are exploring the ancient town of Kiriath Jearim, where the Bible says the ark was kept for 20 years before being taken to Jerusalem.
According to church leaders, the Ark of the Covenant has for centuries been closely guarded in Aksum at the Church of St. Mary of Zion. Not even the high priest of Aksum can enter its resting chamber. Its sole custodian is a virgin monk who cannot leave the sacred grounds until his death.
Whether it was destroyed, captured, or hidden–nobody knows. One of the most famous claims about the Ark's whereabouts is that before the Babylonians sacked Jerusalem, it had found its way to Ethiopia, where it still resides in the town of Aksum, in the St. Mary of Zion cathedral.
What happens if you look at the ark of the covenant?
When the ark was captured by the Philistines, outbreaks of tumors and disease afflicted them, forcing the Philistines to return the ark to the Israelites. Some stories describe how death would come to anyone who touched the ark or looked inside it.
The total weight obtained for the Ark, as stated above, is 83 kilograms (183 pounds), which consists of 5.0+14.7+11.9+25.0+20.0+2.6+0.03+4.2 kilograms.
Guy Ritchie's The Covenant is a great movie with an interesting story on an important subject matter. It has some intense action scenes and many moments of suspense.
The teamextracted aged rock and soil samples from a geological formation in Turkey, which they believe contained the ruins of the vessel. Archaeologists in Turkey have discovered what they believe to be ruins of a Noah's Ark-like vessel after excavating a geological site, the New York Post reported.
The Philistines defeated the Israelites in war and took the ark of the covenant of God. After being tormented by various plagues, the Philistines returned the ark. Samuel exhorted the Israelites to repent and return to the Lord.
Much of Jewish tradition holds that it disappeared before or while the Babylonians sacked the temple in Jerusalem in 586 B.C. But through the centuries, Ethiopian Christians have claimed that the ark rests in a chapel in the small town of Aksum, in their country's northern highlands.
The cave concealing the ark is not for our eyes because God does not wish us to see it and the temple furniture within. God closed the tunnel to the ark cave because He did not desire the 3ABN group [who had paid Wyatt to come and film] to see these holy objects.
Jewish tradition maintains that the Ark disappeared during the Babylonian sack of Jerusalem in 586 BCE. Archaeologists believe that there are no reliable records of the Ark's whereabouts after this date. Despite this, many theories and claims exist about the Ark's subsequent location.
What did the Ark of the Covenant actually look like?
According to the Book of Exodus, explains Halpern, the Ark is a box made from a type of wood generally translated as acacia, covered in gold, and used as a container for the stone blocks bearing the Ten Commandments.
The Covenant is not based on a true story but is inspired by the collective experiences of interpreters and soldiers in the war in Afghanistan. Jake Gyllenhaal's character, John Kinley, is not a real person but is instead inspired by real sergeants who worked with interpreters.
According to the Tanakh, עזה, Uzzah or Uzza, meaning "Her Strength", was an Israelite whose death is associated with touching the Ark of the Covenant. The account of Uzzah appears in two places in scripture: 2 Samuel 6:3-8 and 1 Chronicles 13:7-11.
It has been said that when activated the Ark will release the wrath of God, with blazing fire and blinding lights that have the power to part the sea and wipe away all those unfortunate enough to stand in its way. After King Solomon's temple was sacked and burned down in 586 BC, the Ark was thought lost to the flames.
The responsibility of carrying the Ark during movement of the nation of Israel fell upon the family of Kohath of the tribe of Levi. The Levites of the Tribe of Levi were the only ones authorized and sanctified to carry the Ark of the Covenant. There were some rules to follow in carrying the Ark.
The ritual innovation that replaced the tablets and ark with the Torah was anticipated and encouraged by the Pentateuch itself. Pentateuchal passages that speak of the tablets in the ark or the scroll of Torah tend to conflate the contents of tablets and scroll.
Is the Ark of the Covenant under the dome of the rock?
In an article published in the current edition of Biblical Archaeology Review, Leen Ritmeyer describes how he used measurements, Bible texts and rabbinical commentary to deduce that the Ark stood in a rectangular depression carved in the rocky outcropping below the dome.
