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The Ark of the Covenant

The Biblical Perspective from Exodus to Revelation

Will the Ark be found again? I have been mulling over this question for several years but hesitated to publish my research not wanting to be relegated to the lunatic fringe. Some of these proposals are well known, but many are based on unsubstantiated legends or personal preference. However, recent events in the Middle East that caused a worldwide energy crisis, economic hardship, and rising antisemitism as well as putting half of those counties on a war footing, may indicate that we are approaching, or indeed are already living in the prophetic last days. Religious Jews call these times the “birth pangs of the Messiah” (חבלי המשיח). This expectation of the approaching Millennial Kingdom compelled me to suggest a possible location where the Ark of the Covenant may be hidden. According to prophecy, a change in the government of Israel will be preceded by the coming of the prophet Elijah:

“I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of Yahweh and will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse (Hebrew: strike the Land with utter destruction)” Malachi 4:5,6. 

This is a modern statue of the prophet Elijah on Mount Carmel. He raises his sword, ready to kill a prophet of Baal. There are three registers of script on the pedestal, the top register is in Latin, with Arabic in the middle and Hebrew at the lower register. These inscriptions are quotes from the deuterocanonical book of Sirach, or Ecclesiasticus 48:1 “Then the prophet Elijah arose like a fire, his word flaring like a torch” (Photo Leen Ritmeyer).

The Ark of the Covenant was made in the desert of Sinai (Exodus 25:10-22) and eventually placed in the Temple and, as we have seen, it then disappeared. If a reappearance of the Ark were to coincide with the return of Elijah, who we believe will come back to the nation of Israel, that would be a great sign confirming that Elijah is truly a prophet sent by God. Another sign could be the finding of Jeremiah’s earthen vessel with the signed evidence of the purchase of the field in Anathoth (Jeremiah 32:6-14). 

A model of the Ark of the Covenant (© design and photo by Leen Ritmeyer)

When God sends prophets to do a great work, He often gave them a sign to encourage them on their mission. For example, when Moses asked for God’s Presence to go with him and encourage him to continue the great work of bringing the Israelites to the Promised Land, he asked to see God’s glory and he was shown the back of God on Mount Sinai (Exodus 33:18-23). John the Baptist was given the sign of a dove descending on Jesus in the River Jordan so that he and those that were with him could recognise Jesus as the Lamb of God (John 1:29-34). 

And when Saul was chosen to be the apostle to the Gentiles, Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:3-5). His task was to explain that “Jesus is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us [Jews and Gentiles]” (Ephesians 2:14). This middle wall of partition was an actual barrier on the Herodian Temple Mount, called the soreg, a kind of wall that separated Jews from Gentiles.

A reconstruction drawing of the soreg with the Temple Warning inscription. Middot 2.3 describes how, inside the Temple Mount was “a latticed railing (soreg) ten handbreadths high.” Josephus refers to this feature, describing it as “a stone balustrade with an inscription prohibiting the entrance of a foreigner under threat of the penalty of death (Ant. 15.417, also War 5.193-194; 6.125). Paul probably referred to this very barrier when he writes that Jesus had “broken down the middle wall of partition” (Ephesians 2.14). © Leen Ritmeyer

There is an intriguing passage about the Ark of the Covenant in Jeremiah 3:14-17 which says: “Return, O backsliding children, says Yahweh; for I am married to you. I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion. And I will give you shepherds according to My heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. Then it shall come to pass, when you are multiplied and increased in the land in those days,” says Yahweh, “that they will say no more, ‘The ark of the covenant of Yahweh’. It shall not come to mind, nor shall they remember it, nor shall they visit it, nor shall it be done anymore. At that time Jerusalem shall be called the Throne of Yahweh, and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of Yahweh, to Jerusalem.” This text appears to connect the appearance of the Ark of the Covenant with the setting up of the throne of the Lord, which is the throne of David. The Angel Gabriel promised Mary that her son Jesus would be given the throne of his father David. This will happen when Jesus returns to the earth, as promised by the two angels in Acts 1:11.

This prophecy speaks of the future Kingdom Age when a new Temple will be built in Jerusalem according to the specifications of Ezekiel 40-48. There will be an interim period when the Ark will stay in a temporary location where it could be visited presumably by priests only, but once the building of that Temple is complete and the Ark placed inside the Holy of Holies of the new Temple, then the Ark of the Covenant will not be visible to anybody except the priests, and therefore not be thought about or visited anymore, as Jeremiah prophesied. We may suggest a parallel with the time of David when he pitched a tent for the Ark where it stayed until it was put in Solomon’s Temple. 

A reconstruction drawing of the Palace of King David. In the palace garden we have drawn a tent for the Ark of the Covenant. © Leen Ritmeyer

The function of the Temple was always to be a house for the Ark of the Covenant. According to the Ezekiel 41:4, the Holy of Holies of the future Temple measures twenty by twenty cubits, the same as the previous Temples of Jerusalem. There is no reason to expect that the Ark would be put in a different location than that which was originally chosen.

A reconstruction drawing of Solomon’s Temple showing the Holy of Holies with the Ark of the Covenant standing beneath the wings of two large cherubim. This Holy of Holies measured 20 by 20 cubits. © Leen Ritmeyer

In the Book of Revelation there is a vision showing that the Temple of God was opened in heaven, and the Ark of His covenant was seen in His Temple (Revelation 11:19). That doesn’t mean to say that a Temple will be built in the heaven where God dwells. The future Temple will be built in Jerusalem, Israel’s capital, but based on heavenly principles. 

This would agree with the prophecy of Isaiah that this Temple would be a house of prayer for all nations (Isaiah 56:7). 

It says in Zech. 14:16 that all nations will come up to Jerusalem to keep the feast of tabernacles (succoth), “and it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, Yahweh of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles”.

How will these people worship Yahweh in the Kingdom and how will they keep the feast of tabernacles? The keeping of this feast involves the making of temporary booths made of “the fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees, the boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook” (Leviticus 23:40). It will remind the mortal population of the temporary nature of their lives on earth. This should urge them to seek salvation in Jesus, the king they will see and worship.

Where will they build these booths? The Temple description in Ezekiel speaks of a vast square outer court, measuring 500 reeds, or 3,000 cubits (1575 m, 1 mile) each side (Ezekiel 42:17-20). The huge size of this outer court will be necessary to accommodate the many worshipers that will come all year round to Jerusalem to build their booths.

A reconstruction drawing of the Temple complex as described in the Temple Scroll. Although the outer court measures 1600 cubits square just over half the size of Ezekiel’s Temple, it nevertheless gives an idea of the huge court where people could gather.
This drawing of the Camp of Israel with the tribal tents arranged around the Tabernacle (Numbers 2) may help visualize the configuration of how the tabernacles will be arranged around the Temple during the Feast of Tabernacles in the sanctuary of the future age.

The resurrected and justified saints will serve Jesus in the Kingdom as kings and priests and will be responsible for their welfare and spiritual understanding (Luke 19:12-19; Revelation 1:6; 5:10). The saints that are responsible for their particular group will teach them the significance of the Feast of Tabernacles and instruct them that salvation can only be obtained by the blood of Jesus Christ their saviour, who is our Passover and who was also sacrificed for us.

Beth-horon

A place of caves

What is the meaning of the name of Beth-horon? Beth (בית) can mean a house, a dynasty, a place or city. The Hebrew root of horon is hor (חור), which has been translated as holes, caves or caverns[1].

One of the early explorers, Dean Stanley, visited Beth-horon in 1883 and translated the name of the place as the “House of Caves”. He said that “three or four deep caverns are said to exist on a hill immediately south of Upper Beth-horon.”[2] Beth-horon could therefore be translated as a Place of Caves. According to 1 Chronicles 7:24, both Beth-horons were built by Sheerah (or Shera), the daughter of Beriah who was one of the sons of Ephraim.

Upper Beth-horon
Lower Beth-horon (Matson Photographic Collection colorised )

The geology of the Judean Hills consists of layers of hard and soft limestone. When rainwater penetrates these layers it dissolves parts of the softer layers, creating natural caves and underground quarries. These caves are often large enough for hiding in as in the example of Jonathan and his armour bearer climbing up to the Philistine garrison in Michmash (1 Samuel 14:6-14).

The Michmash Pass

When the Philistines saw them, they said, “Look, the Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden.” The word for holes is horim (plural of hor) from the same root of hor. Obviously, these holes were large enough for people to hide in. The mountains of Judea and Samaria are riddled with caves and caverns.

Opening into a large cave in Beth Guvrin
Natural cave at Kh. el-Maqatir near Bethel, later used to house an olive press

What is the importance of these observations? It is plausible that the descendants of Elizaphan used to live in Upper or Lower Beth-horon. Both Beth-horons were located near the Valley of Aijalon. Upper Beth-horn was built on a high hill, but the whole of the coastal plain can be seen from Lower Beth-horon. This twin city was connected to Jerusalem by a well-paved and relatively short (16 km or 10 miles) road that made travelling easy. This distance could be traversed on foot in about three hours. These descendants of Elizaphan were responsible for the Ark of the Covenant. In a time of peace, they could dedicate themselves to other Temple services. However, if they suspected that the Ark was in danger of being damaged or destroyed, they would have taken it to their homes, or in extreme danger hide it in one of these caves, perhaps in the hill south of Lower Beth-horon, the place where three tribes met. That may have happened when they understood that the Babylonians were going to invade the country and possibly destroy the Temple. These Levites would have hidden the Ark in a cavern and sealed off the opening, hoping that, if they survived and the Temple wasn’t destroyed, they would be able to come back and reinstall the Ark of the Covenant back in the Holy of Holies of the Temple. Unfortunately, that never happened. 

Another thing to examine is what David said in Psalm 132, vowing to “find a place for Yahweh, a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob. Behold we heard of it in Ephratah; we found it in the fields of the wood” (Psalm 132:5,6) In Hebrew, the words for ‘fields of the wood’ is s’de ya’ar. Kiriyat Yearim means the city of the woods. From this place David took the Ark to Jerusalem, but here it speaks not of the city but of the fields of the wood. This Psalm, although rooted in the context of David’s life, speaks of a future time when the priests shall be clothed with salvation (vs. 16). 

Our research has enabled us able to focus on a valley that was approximately 8 km (5 miles) wide between Lower Beth-horon and Kiriyat Yearim as a possible location of the hiding place of the Ark of the Covenant.

Or perhaps we could zoom in to that hill south of Lower Beth-horon. There is one outstanding mountain between Lower Beth-horon and Kiriyat Yearim, and that is called in modern Hebrew Mount Uzrar, it rises 538 meters (1,765 feet) above sea level in the Judean Hills. 

A photo of Mount Uzrar. Photo: alltrails.com

That mountain is directly south of Lower Beth-horon in the exact location as described in Joshua 18:13–14. There are many caves in Mount Uzrar.

Some of the natural caves in the side of Mount Uzrar, Photo: alltrails.com

Could that be the mountain where the boundaries of the three tribes of Ephraim, Benjamin and Judah are connected? That mountain has the potential to unite these three tribes in times of danger or to defend the central mountain range when attacked. Similarly, Mount Tabor was the common boundary of the tribes of Issachar, Zebulon and Naphtali who rallied there in the time of Deborah and Barak. Could it be that the Ark of the Covenant is hidden here or on the lower slopes of Lower Beth-horon? The distance between these two places is 6 km (3.7 miles). That may not sound much, but that is still an extensive area to investigate.

By combining biblical texts with archaeology and geography, I believe that it is possible to pinpoint the location of the Ark of the Covenant to within an area of about 6 km (3.7 Miles). We cannot be certain and need to remember the meaning of Elizaphan’s name “My God has hidden”. However, if it is in God’s purpose and the time is right, we believe that the Ark of the Covenant may be found again and have a future role to play. We just need to watch, pray and wait.

[1] Brown, F, Driver, S.R. and Briggs C.A. (1962) Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, p. 357, hollows, caves or caverns.

According to the Abarim Publication’s Biblical Etymology Dictionary, hor means a cave or a hole. 

[2] Stanley, A.P. (1883). Sinai and Palestine in connection with their history (London), p. 208.

The Ark of the Covenant

The family of Elizaphan

After its long journey in Philistine territory, the Ark was brought to Beth Shemesh. As some of the men there had looked into the Ark (1 Samuel. 6:19 ), a plague followed and the Ark was moved to Kiryat Ye’arim, one of the five cities of the Gibeonites (Joshua 9:17). The Ark stayed in Kiryat Ye’arim for twenty years. On top of the hill of Kiryat Ye’arim stands a church called Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant Church to commemorate this event.

Kiriat Yearim with Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant Church on top of the hill

Inside the church is a painting showing King David playing the harp in front of the Ark of the Covenant. The name Yahweh is written in between the two cherubim.

This is a painting that shows David playing the harp in front of the Ark which has the name of Yahweh written between the cherubim. This painting hangs on one of the walls of the Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant Church in Kiriyat Yearim

King David initially copied the Philistines and transported the Ark on a wagon with disastrous results for Uzzah (2 Samuel 6:1-8). The Ark was then put in the house of Obededom the Gittite (2 Samuel 6:10). Three months later, after David heard that the house of Obededom was blessed, the Ark would have been carried, presumably on the shoulders of the descendants of Elizaphan, to Jerusalem. At that time, Shemaiah of the sons of Elizaphan was the chief (1 Chronicles 15:1-8) and he would have continued the task originally given to his forefather Elizaphan. This shows that the descendants of Elizaphan retained an important position after the time of the Judges.

After David became king over Israel, he prepared a place for the Ark of the Covenant in Jerusalem. He pitched a tent, probably in the garden of his palace, until the Ark could be moved to the Temple that David’s son Solomon would build.

Reconstruction drawing of David’s Palace with a tent for the Ark of the Covenant in its grounds. In the excavations of Yigal Shiloh, which took place between 1978-’84, a stepped stone structure was discovered that may have served as a foundation for David’s palace that stood higher up the hill. 

The record of their genealogy continues unto the time of Hezekiah who tried to undo the damage done to the Temple and its services by his father Ahaz. Hezekiah called for Levites to minister to God and to cleanse and consecrate the Temple. Among the Levites who responded to his summons was Shimri of the sons of Elizaphan with his brother Jeiel (2 Chronicles 29:13). 

The next thing to find out is where did these Kohathites live? In Joshua 21:20,21 we read that they were given four cities out of the tribe of Ephraim, namely Shechem, a city of refuge, Gezer, Kibzaim and Beth-horon. According to the parallel passage in 1 Chronicles 6:68, Kibzaim is also called Jokmeam, identified with Tel el-Mazar[1] located in the central Jordan Valley.

Map showing how the boundaries of the tribes of Ephraim, Benjamin and Judah join at Har Uzrar (the hill south of Lower Beth-horon)

[1] Rainey, A.F. (2006). The Sacred Bridge, Jerusalem, p. 176.

The family of Elizaphan could of course have lived in any of these four cities. We need to ask the question which one of these four cities would have been the most advantageous for them to live in and conduct their official duties in the Jerusalem Temple?

It would be helpful to calculate the distances of these four cities from Jerusalem. Shechem is located at 60km (37 miles) from Jerusalem, Gezer at 36 km (22 miles), Kibzaim/Jokmeam at 62 km (38 miles) and Upper and lower Beth-horon at 16-18 km (10-12 miles).

Beth-horon was therefore closest to Jerusalem. As the sons of Elizaphan served in the Jerusalem Temple and they were leaders of the Kohathites, it would not be unreasonable to suggest that they would have chosen to live in Beth-horon. There were two places that were called Beth-horon, Upper Beth-horon and Lower Beth-horon, identified respectively by their Arabic names of Beit Ur el-Foqa and Beit Ur et-Tahta. This identification has never been challenged. The distance between these twin cities is 2.5 km (1.5 miles).

Both cities are situated high on the main road from Joppa (Jaffa or Yaffo) to Jerusalem and then continued to Jericho, and crossing over to Rabbath-Ammon. There are references to the “ascent of Beth-horon” and the “going down of Beth-horon”, depending in which direction one travels. Many armies have used this route, either to conquer places in the central mountain range, or fleeing back to where they came from after defeat. The Amorites fled down this road after their defeat in the Battle of Gibeon (Joshua 10:10-11), Philistine raiders assaulted Beth-horon from Michmash (1 Samuel 13:18) and in the Maccabean period battles between the Syrians and the Maccabees took place here (1 Maccabees 3:16,24; 7:39).

Since 1948, the main road from the west going up to Jerusalem runs through Bab el-Wad, but in biblical times, the western gateway to Jerusalem was the Beth-horon Road. In the 1980’s, a new road was built, Route 443, which follows the ancient Beth-horon Road. In biblical times, both Beth-horons and the road on which they were located, played an important role in the security of Judah and facilitated commerce. 

Interestingly, on the 14th of July 2026, a Joint Announcement from the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu and Transportation and Road Safety Minister Brig.-Gen. (Res.) Miri Regev, said that the government has approved the proposal that the part of Route 443 between the Ben Shemen Interchange and the Beituniya-Givat Ze’ev Junction will be named “The Levites’ Way” to commemorate the name of David Levy[1]. It was also determined that the road will be given this name “in recognition of the historical and heritage connection of the region to the Tribe of Levi and the priests …” 

It was pleasing to see that the present government of Israel is aware of the Levitical connection with this road. According to our research, the descendants of Elizaphan would have used this road to travel to the Temple in Jerusalem and back home again.

[1] The late David Levy served as Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Construction and Housing Minister, Aliyah and Integration Minister, and as a Member of Knesset for decades, and worked to promote social equality, strengthen the periphery, and narrow gaps in Israeli society. He was very popular with Sephardi Jews who shouted “David King of Israel” when elections for a new prime minister were held in Israel. He was deputy prime minister at various times between 1981 and 2000.

“Joint Announcement from the PM and the Transportation Minister

TYpe: Media Statements Government: The 37th Government Publish Date: 14.07.2026
The Government has approved the proposal of the Prime Minister and the Transportation Minister: Route 443 will be named “The Levites’ Way in Memory of Minister David Levy, of blessed memory”

The Government approved today, the proposal of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Transportation and Road Safety Minister Brig.-Gen. (Res.) Miri Regev, to name Route 443 ‘The Levites’ Way’ in memory of Minister David Levy, of blessed memory, along the section of the road between the Ben Shemen Interchange and the Beituniya-Givat Ze’ev Junction.

This decision commemorates the legacy and long-standing achievements of the late David Levy, who served as Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Construction and Housing Minister, Aliyah and Integration Minister, and as a Member of Knesset for decades, and worked to promote social equality, strengthen the periphery, and narrow gaps in Israeli society.

In addition to commemorating the name of David Levy, it was determined that the road will also be called ‘The Levites’ Way’ in recognition of the historical and heritage connection of the region to the Tribe of Levi and the priests, as well as to the Modi’in area, which is identified with the Hasmonean family.

Route 443 is one of the most central and important transportation arteries in the State of Israel, connecting Jerusalem, Modi’in, Judea and Samaria, the Judean foothills and the center of the country, which is used daily by hundreds of thousands of drivers.

In accordance with the Government’s decision, the Ministry of Transportation and Road Safety, in cooperation with the Ministry of Defense, will work to update the signage along the road, and the Government Secretariat will act to publish the new name in the official gazette.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:

“The late David Levy was a dedicated public servant who contributed immensely to the State of Israel. From his childhood in Beit She’an, he broke barriers and reached the leadership of the nation, where he championed social action and assistance for disadvantaged populations, while promoting peripheral towns. He was a loyal representative of the State of Israel and stood our ground proudly before the nations of the world. We are proud today to commemorate his memory on a road that connects our capital, Jerusalem, with the center of the country, as a symbol of a man who dedicated his life and energy to the unity of Israel.”

Transportation and Road Safety Minister Brig.-Gen. (Res.) Miri Regev:

“The late David Levy was one of the most prominent leaders of the State of Israel, who worked throughout his life for the unity of the nation, the promotion of the periphery, and social justice. Naming one of the central transportation arteries in Israel after him is a fitting tribute to a man who dedicated his life to the service of the state and Israeli society, ensuring that his legacy will continue to guide future generations.”

Both Beth-horons are located on the southern border of the tribal territory of Ephraim which is identical to the northern boundary of Benjamin from the River Jordan to Ataroth-adar, next to the hill that is located on the south side of Lower Beth-horon. From there the border turns south and joins Kiriyat-baal which is Kiryat Ye’arim (Joshua 18:13,14). This western part originally joined the eastern border of Dan, but they forsook their allotted portion and moved north to Laish/Leshem in modern day Tel Dan. The northern portion of Dan must have been taken over by Ephraim and the southern portion by Judah. This is reflected in the change of name from Kiriyat-baal to Baale Judah (2 Samuel 6:2). Interestingly, this location of the hill near Ataroth-adar also joined the territory of Ephraim (Joshua 16:5). So, here we have a hill south of Lower Beth-horon that is joined by three tribes, Ephraim, Benjamin and Judah. Lower Beth-horon overlooked the valley to the south toward Kiriyat Yearim (see map above).

Next time we will look at the meaning and importance of the name Beth-horon.

The Ark of the Covenant

Will it be found again?

The Ark of the Covenant was undoubtedly the most holy piece of furniture ever made, if it can be referred to as such. It consisted of a rectangular chest made of shittim wood and covered over with gold. 

The word Ark, aron in Hebrew, means merely a chest and has been translated as ‘coffin’ in Gen. 50.26. God had commanded Moses to make the Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 25.10-22) and inside it, Moses placed the two tables of the law. Later, Aaron’s rod that budded was placed in it (Numbers 17.10), together with the golden pot that had the manna (Exodus 16.33; Hebrews 9.4). 

This is a model of the Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 25) as it stood in the Holy of Holies of the Tabernacle that was made in Sinai. The Ark was carried by two long staves that were placed through rings on the side of the Ark. The lid of the Ark or mercy seat was made of pure gold and had two cherubim crafted out of it.

The mercy seat was a kind of lid, which closed the chest from above. It was made of pure gold and was held in place by a golden ridge or crown. Beaten out of this mercy seat were two cherubim, which with their wings overshadowed the mercy seat. They were beaten out of the same piece of pure gold as the mercy seat. 

The Ark was made in Sinai by Bezaleel ben Uri, whose name appropriately means, “In the Shadow of El (God), the Son of my Light”. After the Ark of the Covenant was made, it was placed in the Tabernacle. After a long journey it was eventually placed in the Holy of Holies of Solomon’s Temple. 

The Tabernacle was surrounded by an open court, formed by 60 pillars with silver capitals and linen curtains in between (Exodus 27). The Tabernacle itself stood at the back of this court with the Laver and the Altar of Burnt Sacrifices in front of it.
In this drawing, we see the inside of the Tabernacle. Inside the Holy Place was the Lampstand (menorah), the Table of Shewbread and the Altar of Incense. The Ark of the Covenant stood in the Holy of Holies.

The question many people have tried to answer is where the Ark of the Covenant is now. Was the Ark destroyed by the Babylonians or perhaps hidden somewhere. It is almost unthinkable that such an important and unique object which represented the dwelling place of God himself would have been destroyed. 

From the Biblical record, it appears that the Ark remained in the Holy of Holies of Solomon’s Temple until the reign of King Manasseh, who set a wooden statue of the Asherah (goddess) which he had made in the Temple (2 Kings 21.7; 2 Chronicles 33.5). During the reign of Josiah, we read that the king commanded the Levites to “Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David, king of Israel built. It shall no longer be a burden on your shoulders” (2 Chronicles 35.3). This would imply that the Ark had been removed for safe keeping by the Levites, very likely because of the sacrilege of Josiah’s grandfather Manasseh. After Josiah had cleansed the Temple, we hear no more of the Ark. There is no mention of it in the list of Temple treasures carried off to Babylon when the city fell in 586 B.C. (2 Kings 25.13-17). Neither does it appear on the Arch of Titus in Rome, which depicts the triumphant procession of the Romans with the spoils of the Jerusalem Temple following its destruction in 70 A.D. 

In recent years, there has been a surge of interest in the location of the Ark of the Covenant. According to the Second Book of Maccabees (2.1-8), Jeremiah hid the Ark on Mount Nebo in Jordan, while many rabbis believe that it is still hidden somewhere under the Temple Mount. This belief is based mainly on 1 Kings 8:8: “And the poles extended so that the ends of the poles could be seen from the holy place, in front of the inner sanctuary; but they could not be seen from outside. So, they are there to this day”. The phrase “to this day” is supposed to be the key indicator that the Ark is still hidden somewhere under the Temple Mount. In 1981, workers of the Religious Affairs Ministry carried out a dig under the Temple Mount in search of the Ark. However, when this caused disturbances among the Arab population, the project was aborted. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church claims that the Ark is kept safe and secure in the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion in Axum. In the early years of the twentieth century, British Israelites carried out excavations at the Hill of Tara in Ireland, believing that the Ark was brought to Ireland by an Israelite princess. And there are many more suggestions which are difficult to prove.

British Israelites and the Ark of the Covenant

We had our own encounter with one of these supposed hiding places of the Ark of the Covenant. In 1998 Kathleen and I visited the Hill of Tara, an ancient ceremonial site which some claim to have been the seat of the High Kings of Ireland.  We were surprised to see that excavation squares had been opened and filled in again on the side of the hill.

Kathleen at the filled-in excavation squares at the Hill of Tara.

At that time, we were unaware of the connection between British Israelites and the Ark of the Covenant. We found out that between 1899 and 1902, members of the British-Israel Association of London travelled to County Meath, Ireland, in search of the Ark of the Covenant. British Israelites claim that the peoples of the British Isles (including the Anglo-Saxons) are the direct genetic and spiritual descendants of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. 

These British Israelites believed that the Prophet Jeremiah had fled to Ireland with the daughters of King Zedekiah and that the Ark of the Covenant was buried at the Hill of Tara. They dug up and damaged parts of the historic site but after three years of digging, the Ark of the Covenant remained as elusive as ever. 

In the 1955, several notable discoveries were made at Tara, including an undisturbed passage grave. Apparently four historical phases dating from the middle-late Iron Age to 400 A.D. were discovered.

In 1997, some of the excavation squares were reopened and nothing of note was found, apart from an ancient industrial bowl furnace and iron slag to the disappointment of those who view the Hill of Tara as a ritual centre. We weren’t surprised that nothing was found. 

These above-mentioned theories, often based on legends, were soon dismissed. This shows that one must develop a methodology to get some indication of where the Ark of the Covenant might be. Unfortunately, there is no further information given in the Tanakh (Old Testament) regarding the location of the Ark after its last mention in 2 Chronicles. 35:3 where Josiah ordered the Levites to put the holy ark back in the Temple. After that the Ark disappeared from history. In this brief text of 2 Chronicles. 35:3, we have information that, combining biblical texts with archaeology and geography, may lift a small corner of the veil that hides its location.

This passage of 2 Chronicles 35.3 may be worth exploring as it contains several clues as to the whereabouts of the Ark. This passage elicits several questions. Firstly, Josiah commanded Levites to carry the Ark of the Covenant which begs the question which group of Levites were they? Secondly, why had the Ark to be carried on the shoulders ? Thirdly, from which hiding place did these Levites bring the Ark back and where did they live? Pondering these questions may be a fruitful avenue to follow. It may not point to the exact location of the Ark, but we may come very close to it.

Firstly, there was one specific Levitical family that had been put in charge of the Ark of the Covenant, namely Elizaphan (Numbers 3:30), also known as Elzaphan (Exodus 6:22). When Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron offered strange incense, they were struck down. Moses then called Elzaphan and his brother Mishael to carry the corpses out of the camp of Israel (Leviticus 10:4,5). Elizaphan became the first leader of the Kohathite clan and was given an important task.

“The leader of the fathers’ house of the families of the Kohathites was Elizaphan the son of Uzziel. Their duty included the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the utensils of the sanctuary with which they ministered, the screen, and all the work relating to them” (Numbers 3:30,31)

So, the first person ever to have been put in charge of the Ark of the Covenant, was called Elizaphan ben Uzziel.  His name means “My El (God) has hidden” and he was the son of Uzziel, which means “My Strength is El (God)”. It is a comforting thought that if the Ark still exists and has a future role to play, then it must have been hidden with the knowledge of God himself and that it will be found when it will suit Him best. Nevertheless, we believe that it is important to continue our search.

Secondly, when the Tabernacle had to be transported, wagons were given to the Levites, two wagons and their oxen to the sons of Gershom and four to the sons of Merari. These wagons were used to transport the heavy parts of the tabernacle, such as the pillars, the curtains, the boards, etc. But to the sons of Kohath, Moses gave no wagons as they looked after the holy things of the Tabernacle, such as the Ark, the Table, the Menorah and the Veil, which they were told had to be carried on their shoulders (Numbers 7:2-9). The Kohathite family of Elizaphan continues to be mentioned in the Tanakh. In our next post we will try to find out how far Elizaphan’s family can be traced in the Scriptures.

The Crucifixion

Last year about this time, Daniel Smith produced a video on The Archaeology of Gethsemane.  

Now he has produced another video on his YouTube channel called Messages of Christ, this time on the method of crucifixion by first delving into the history and archaeology of what is known. He wrote that if we feel it would be of interest to our audience, we’d love to have it shared on your blog. Of course we would! Click on the image below to see the video:

An image of the crucifixion site

This is the text that introduces the video:

“Much of what we think we know about the crucifixion of Jesus on Golgotha is inaccurate. We set out to better understand the crucifixion. To more fully comprehend the suffering Christ endured. 

What did it really look like? Do we have any archaeological evidence? And what exactly happened on Good Friday? To find out, we consulted archaeologists, physicians, and historians — piecing together ancient texts with modern discovery, and modeling the entire story for the first time. 

Join us as we reveal what the crucifixion on Calvary actually looked like and what it meant for the cross, once a symbol of Roman terror, to become the ultimate symbol of hope found in the empty tomb.”

Enjoy watching!

The origin of Hanukkah

In the wake of the Bondi Beach massacre we ask what is Hanukkah?

The barbaric Bondi Beach massacre that happened on the 14th of December 2025 as the Jewish community was celebrating the first day of Hanukkah was universally condemned and rightly so. 15 people unfortunately lost their lives, including a child and many suffered gunshot wounds. For the Jews, Hanukkah was a feast of lights, but while discussing this with some people, very few knew what Hanukkah was all about and when this festival began to be celebrated? 

The Hebrew word Hanukkah means dedication. In Numbers 7:10, 84, 88 and 2 Chron. 7:9 this word is used for the dedication of the altar, first of the Tabernacle and then of the Temple. Psalm 30 is a song for the dedication of the house of David; and in the post-exilic period it is used for the dedication of the House of God (Ezra 6:16) and of the repaired city wall (Nehemiah 12:27). 

So, what is the origin of the Feast of Hanukkah and which dedication does it refer to? Most of the historical information comes from the intertestamental books of First and Second Maccabees. Historical documents from this time are known as the deuterocanonical literature. Six other books are accepted as deuterocanonical by some ancient churches: Tobit, Judith, Baruch, Ecclesiasticus, and Wisdom. Other sources are the Works of Flavius Josephus, History of the Jewish War, The Antiquities of the Jews, and Against Apion.

Josephus records in a somewhat fanciful manner (Ant. 11.325–339) a visit to the Temple by Alexander the Great after his capture of Gaza in 332 BCE. Here, the Jewish historian has him sacrificing in the Temple under the guidance of the High Priest. Although this may be mere legend, the story points to the perpetuation of the Temple services following their revival after the return from exile in Babylon.

Around the end of the third century BCE, restoration work was carried out on the Temple Mount by the High Priest Simon, son of Onias. According to the apocryphal work of Ben Sira called Ecclesiasticus (50.1–3), the work is described as follows: 

“It was the High Priest Simon son of Onias who repaired the Temple during his lifetime and in his day fortified the sanctuary. He laid the foundations of the double height, the high buttresses of the Temple precincts. In his day the water cistern was excavated, a reservoir as huge as the sea.”

It is clear from the text that the bulk of these works consisted of the repair and strengthening of existing structures.

Although no archaeological remains of these buttresses have been found, nevertheless they have been indicated on the drawing as a suggestion. The location of the cistern is also indicated.

After the death of Alexander the Great in 332 BCE, Judea came under Ptolemaic rule from 301-200 BCE. The Ptolemies were benevolent toward the Jews. Ptolemy Philadelphus II of Egypt (285-246 BCE) commissioned a translation of the Hebrew Bible in c. 250 BCE. A tradition (recorded in the Letter of Aristeas) says that scholars from Jerusalem translated the Torah, the five books of Moses, into Greek for Ptolemy’s library in Alexandria. The term Septuagint derives from the Latin for “seventy” (septuaginta) and refers to the seventy-two translators involved in this work. During the following century, the rest of the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek, with the entire Greek version retaining this name.

During the 3rd century BCE, many battles took place between the Ptolemies in the south and the Seleucids in the north. In 200 BC, a final battle between the two forces took place in Panion (modern Banias) which was lost by the Ptolemies. The Seleucids then controlled the Holy Land. Whereas the Ptolemies were benevolent rulers, the Seleucids were the very opposite.

The most infamous of the Seleucid rulers, Antiochus Epiphanes (1 Maccabees 1:10; 2 Maccabees 4:7), tried to impose Hellenistic culture on the Jewish people, forbidding worship on the Temple Mount. In 169 BCE, Antiochus Epiphanes went to Jerusalem, where he plundered the Temple and took all the furniture and treasures away to Antioch (1 Maccabees 1:21-23; 2 Maccabees 5:11-20). The altar was defiled by sacrificing a pig, and the Temple was dedicated to Olympian Zeus. The Jews were forbidden to practice their religion, including rituals such as sacrificing and circumcision, the observance of the Sabbath, and were compelled to accept the new pagan rituals. Some renegade Jews, under leadership of Jason the high priest, accepted the new religion.

The next year, in 168 BCE, a strong fortress, the Seleucid Akra, was built to the south of the Temple Mount and east of the Huldah Gates. These were the main gates that were used by people that went up from the Lower City to the Temple. The garrison that was stationed inside the fortress, could easily control access to the Temple Mount, and the Book of Maccabees 1:38 documented that it became an ambush for the sanctuary much resented by the Jews.

The Seleucid Akra was built against the southern wall of the Temple Mount
The Seleucid Akra was built to the immediate east of the Huldah Gates so that they could control the people who lived to the south in the City of David going to the Temple Mount. This fortress was built in 168 BCE and finally destroyed 25 years later in 141 BCE.

The desecration of the Jerusalem Temple and the construction of the Akra Fortress eventually led to the Maccabean revolt which lasted from 167 to 160 BCE. In 164 BCE, Judas defeated the Seleucid forces at the battle of Bethzur. Five years earlier, the Temple had been defiled by Antiochus IV Epiphanes, but now Judas the Maccabee and his men could go up to Jerusalem to purify and dedicate the sanctuary. When they found the Temple in a shocking state of neglect and its buildings in ruin, they mourned and prayed to God.

While cleaning the Temple, a small jug with olive oil was found under the seal of the High priest that was used to fill the lamps of the Lampstand (Menorah). There was only oil sufficient for one day, but, miraculously it lasted for eight days. That is where the idea of the Hanukkiah comes from.

This menorah graffito was found in between two floors of a Herodian building that stood above the Broad Wall. This depiction of the Lampstand (menorah) probably decorated one of the walls of a priestly family home in Jerusalem. Apart from the Lampstand, it shows the Table of Shewbread (bottom right), the Altar of Incense (top right) and the three-stepped stone (bottom left) which the priest would stand on to light the lamps of the Lampstand in the Temple.
The Temple Menorah had seven branches, while the Hanukkiah used at Hanukkah has eight branches representing the eight nights that oil miraculously burned in the Temple. The ninth oil lamp on the central stem is called the shamash and was used to light the others.
Reconstruction drawing of a Hanukkiah

Priests were selected to remove the defiled altar stones which were kept in a special place until they knew what to do with them (1Maccabees 4:45,46). They were eventually placed in a special room in the Chamber of the Hearth in Herod’s Temple.

This is a plan of the Temple and its surrounding courts and buildings.
A flight of twelve steps according to Middot 2.3. led up to a terrace known as the Hel, which bordered the Temple on the south and west. The Sanctuary itself consisted of three courts, each higher than the former, and beyond them, the Temple with the Holy and Most Holy Places. One could enter via the Eastern Gate, first into the Court of the Women or Treasury.
From the Court of the Women, men could advance through the Nicanor Gate into the Court of the Israelites and priest were allowed into the Court of the Priests. Three gate buildings were located on both the north and south side of the Temple. The Chamber of the Hearth was in the northwest corner of the Temple Court and the Chamber of Hewn Stone in the southeast. A small chamber in the northeast corner of the Chamber of the Hearth was used to place the altar stones that were defiled by the Seleucids.

A new altar was built from unhewn stones, the Temple was cleaned, new furniture brought in, and the Lampstand was lit. The Temple and altar were dedicated and there was great rejoicing. It was then decided to make a law that the keeping of this feast of dedication (Hanukkah) would be kept every year for eight days (1Maccabees 4:36-61; 2 Maccabees 10:1-8).

The Gospel of John records that Jesus too kept the Feast of Hanukkah (John 10:22). But where on the Temple Mount was Jesus? There are some unique locations in the Land of the Bible where you really get a sense of place. One  of these is inside the Eastern Wall of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Here the record of Jesus’ visit to the Temple precincts in John 10.22-39 comes to vibrant life. We are told:

And it was the feast of the dedication at Jerusalem: it was winter; and Jesus was walking in the Temple in Solomon’s Porch (John 10:22,23).

Jesus had come to keep Hanukkah, the Feast of Lights. This feast commemorates the dedication of the Temple in 164 BC, after it had been defiled by Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who, three years earlier, had ordered a pig to be sacrificed on the Temple altar.

But why does this place evoke the Gospel story so powerfully? It is surely because this side of the Temple Mount is closest to the original, with minimal additional construction. The Eastern Wall of the Temple Mount was the only one that was not moved by King Herod the Great when he carried out his monumental expansion of the Temple Mount in the first century.

At present there are no porticoes along the Eastern and Southern Walls of the Temple Mount. In the Herodian period, however, there were porticoes on all sides. The eastern stoa pre-dated the others and was already colonnaded in the Hasmonean period. This Porch, or stoa, stood directly over the wall of the earlier square Temple Mount and at the time of Herod the Great, was known as Solomon’s Porch.

Walking on the Temple Mount along the inside of the Eastern Wall, looking north.
Standing here on the inside of the Eastern Wall (looking south), we can imagine Jesus speaking with his disciples, while around them in the Temple precincts, the people celebrated God’s intervention in their place of worship.
An overall view of a model of the Temple Mount looking from the northwest. In the foreground is the Antonia Fortress, while the Temple with its surrounding buildings stood close to the centre of the Temple Mount. The lower portico above the Eastern Wall (upper centre) was known as Solomon’s Porch, mentioned in John 10.23 and Acts 3.11; 5.12.

This does not necessarily mean that this porch was built by this famous king, but certainly by Herod’s predecessors. Offering welcome shelter from sun, wind and rain, it was obviously used as a place of congregation. Josephus provides us with an evocative description:

The porticoes, all in double rows, were supported by columns five and twenty cubits high—each a single block of the purest white marble—and ceiled with panels of cedar. The natural magnificence of these columns, their excellent polish and fine adjustment presented a striking spectacle (War 5.190–192).

While Jesus was walking in the Porch of Solomon, the eastern portico of the Temple Mount, he was asked if he was the Messiah. Despite the works that God had given Jesus to do, he was met with unbelief and was almost stoned to death one wintry day during the feast of Hanukkah (John 10.31). Acts 3.11 and 5.12 also provide us with images of the time when the disciples used to congregate and teach here after the death of their master. Peter and James healed the man who was lame at the Beautiful Gate after which he went to Solomon’s Porch.

A reconstruction drawing of the underground passageway of the Double Gate of Herod’s Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Most of the elements in this drawing have been preserved, including the domes inside the double passageway. We have proposed that this beautifully decorated gateway was the Beautiful Gate of the Temple, where the lame man was healed by Peter and John.
In the reconstruction drawing, people are entering the tunnel on the right side and exiting on the left. The best place for a lame beggar to get the attention of the worshipers would be if he was placed between the two entrances.

Sadly, anti-semitism is still with us today. However, we are waiting for a new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells (2 Peter 3:13). Soon Christmas will be celebrated and we remember that the angel Gabriel said to Mary that her son Jesus shall be great and shall be called the Son of the highest and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David .. and of his kingdom there shall be no end (Luke 1:32,33).

The Archaeology of Gethsemane

Daniel Smith is a scriptural history enthusiast whose dream in life is to help visually teach others about the scriptures. He started producing videos on YouTube because he saw so little content that was visually engaging, educational, and uplifting. His YouTube channel called Messages of Christ now has 63 million views and 500k subscribers. It has been a pleasure to have worked with him on several projects.

This time of the year, many people celebrate Passover/Pesach/Easter in remembrance of the Passover meal that Jesus held with his disciples before going to Gethsemane where he was betrayed by Judas and arrested by the Temple guards.

As Daniel explains in this video, it is most likely that Jesus and his disciples stayed overnight in this cave and he draws parallels between the processes of producing olive oil and the suffering of Christ.

Gethsemane is usually associated with the garden next to the Church of All Nations at the foot of the Mount of Olives which has many ancient olive trees. However, a few decades ago a cave was discovered next to the Church of the Virgin Mary that originally held an olive press. After excavations were completed, this site has been developed as a chapel.

The Church of the Virgin Mary
The Entrance to the Gethsemane Grotto
The chapel built in the original olive press cave

Apart from the suffering of Christ, it is possible to make a connection with a prior event that took place here. There may be an interesting parallel with what happened to David when he fled from Absalom.

We read in 2 Sam 15:23 that after leaving Jerusalem, David crossed the Kidron Valley and would have passed by the place that was later called the Garden of Gethsemane. It is interesting that David said in 2 Sam 15:26, “Let [the LORD] do to me what seems good to Him”. And despite the difficult situation he found himself in, he put his trust in the LORD. In his extremity Jesus said something similar, “not my will but Thine be done”.

On his return to Jerusalem, David said to Abishai in 2Sam. 19:22, “… do not I know that I am this day king over Israel?” This occasion was the second time that David came to Jerusalem as king. Reading these words must would been a powerful comfort to Jesus, and indeed also for us as we similarly await his return.

Christmas and the Origin of Hanukkah

Jesus kept the Feast of Hanukkah

Every year on the 25th of December, most Christians celebrate Christmas, but in this year of 2024, Jews keep the Feast of Hanukkah on the very same day. This happens only occasionally. Because of the lunisolar system of the Jewish year, the exact date of Hanukkah changes every year, but it usually falls between late November and late December in the Gregorian calendar. 

In a previous post, we talked about the archaeology of Xmas and explained what a stable where Jesus was born might have looked like.

This drawing shows a typical stable block. The animals were kept behind the fenestrated wall (a wall with windows), while animal fodder and other provender was kept on this side of the wall. Fodder was put in mangers, or wooden feeding troughs, which were placed in the windows, so that animals could eat. Mary and Joseph (pictured here) would have put baby Jesus to sleep in such a manger.

This Hebrew word Hanukkah means dedication. In Numbers 7:10, 84, 88 and 2 Chron. 7:9 this word is used for the dedication of the altar, first of the Tabernacle and then of the Temple. Psalm 30 is a song for the dedication of the house of David; and in the post-exilic period it is used for the dedication of the House of God (Ezra 6:16) and of the repaired city wall (Nehemiah 12:27). 

So, what is the origin of the Feast of Hanukkah and which dedication does it refer to? Most of the historical information comes from the intertestamental books of First and Second Maccabees. Historical documents from this time are known as the deuterocanonical literature. Six other books are accepted as deuterocanonical by some ancient churches: Tobit, Judith, Baruch, Ecclesiasticus, and Wisdom. Other sources are the Works of Flavius Josephus, History of the Jewish War, The Antiquities of the Jews, and Against Apion.

Josephus records in a somewhat fanciful manner (Ant. 11.325–339) a visit to the Temple by Alexander the Great after his capture of Gaza in 332 BCE. Here, the Jewish historian has him sacrificing in the Temple under the guidance of the High Priest. Although this may be mere legend, the story points to the perpetuation of the Temple services following their revival after the return from exile in Babylon.

Around the end of the third century BCE, restoration work was carried out on the Temple Mount by the High Priest Simon, son of Onias. According to the apocryphal work of Ben Sira called Ecclesiasticus (50.1–3), the work is described as follows: 

“It was the High Priest Simon son of Onias who repaired the Temple during his lifetime and in his day fortified the sanctuary. He laid the foundations of the double height, the high buttresses of the Temple precincts. In his day the water cistern was excavated, a reservoir as huge as the sea.”

It is clear from the text that the bulk of these works consisted of the repair and strengthening of existing structures.

Although no archaeological remains of these buttresses have been found, nevertheless they have been indicated on the drawing as a suggestion. The location of the cistern is also indicated.

After the death of Alexander the Great in 332 BCE, Judea came under Ptolemaic rule from 301-200 BCE. The Ptolemies were benevolent toward the Jews. Ptolemy Philadelphus II of Egypt (285-246 BCE) commissioned a translation of the Hebrew Bible in c. 250 BCE. A tradition (recorded in the Letter of Aristeas) says that scholars from Jerusalem translated the Torah, the five books of Moses, into Greek for Ptolemy’s library in Alexandria. The term Septuagint derives from the Latin for “seventy” (septuaginta) and refers to the seventy-two translators involved in this work. During the following century, the rest of the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek, with the entire Greek version retaining this name.

During the 3rd century BCE, many battles took place between the Ptolemies in the south and the Seleucids in the north. In 200 BC, a final battle between the two forces took place in Panion (modern Banias) which was lost by the Ptolemies. The Seleucids then controlled the Holy Land. Whereas the Ptolemies were benevolent rulers, the Seleucids were the very opposite.

The most infamous of the Seleucid rulers, Antiochus Epiphanes (1 Maccabees 1:10; 2 Maccabees 4:7), tried to impose Hellenistic culture on the Jewish people, forbidding worship on the Temple Mount. In 169 BCE, Antiochus Epiphanes went to Jerusalem, where he plundered the Temple and took all the furniture and treasures away to Antioch (1 Maccabees 1:21-23; 2 Maccabees 5:11-20). The altar was defiled by sacrificing a pig, and the Temple was dedicated to Olympian Zeus. The Jews were forbidden to practice their religion, including rituals such as sacrificing and circumcision, the observance of the Sabbath, and were compelled to accept the new pagan rituals. Some renegade Jews, under leadership of Jason the high priest, accepted the new religion.

The next year, in 168 BCE, a strong fortress, the Seleucid Akra, was built to the south of the Temple Mount and east of the Huldah Gates. These were the main gates that were used by people that went up from the Lower City to the Temple. The garrison that was stationed inside the fortress, could easily control access to the Temple Mount, and the Book of Maccabees 1:38 documented that it became an ambush for the sanctuary much resented by the Jews.

The Seleucid Akra was built against the southern wall of the Temple Mount
The Seleucid Akra was built to the immediate east of the Huldah Gates so that they could control the people who lived to the south in the City of David going to the Temple Mount. This fortress was built in 168 BCE and finally destroyed 25 years later in 141 BCE.

The desecration of the Jerusalem Temple and the construction of the Akra Fortress eventually led to the Maccabean revolt which lasted from 167 to 160 BCE. In 164 BCE, Judas defeated the Seleucid forces at the battle of Bethzur. Five years earlier, the Temple had been defiled by Antiochus IV Epiphanes, but now Judas the Maccabee and his men could go up to Jerusalem to purify and dedicate the sanctuary. When they found the Temple in a shocking state of neglect and its buildings in ruin, they mourned and prayed to God.

While cleaning the Temple, a small jug with olive oil was found under the seal of the High priest that was used to fill the lamps of the Lampstand (Menorah). There was only oil sufficient for one day, but, miraculously it lasted for eight days. That is where the idea of the Hanukkiah comes from.

This menorah graffito was found in between two floors of a Herodian building that stood above the Broad Wall. This depiction of the Lampstand (menorah) probably decorated one of the walls of a priestly family home in Jerusalem. Apart from the Lampstand, it shows the Table of Shewbread (bottom right), the Altar of Incense (top right) and the three-stepped stone (bottom left) which the priest would stand on to light the lamps of the Lampstand in the Temple.
One of the duties of the priests in the Temple was looking after and trimming the seven lamps of the Lampstand. According to ancient sources, a priest stood on a block of stone with three steps cut out of it, so that he could reach the lamps.

The Temple Menorah had seven branches, while the Hanukkiah used at Hanukkah has eight branches representing the eight nights that oil miraculously burned in the Temple. The ninth oil lamp on the central stem is called the shamash and was used to light the others.

Priests were selected to remove the defiled altar stones which were kept in a special place until they knew what to do with them (1Maccabees 4:45,46). They were eventually placed in a special room in the Chamber of the Hearth in Herod’s Temple.

This is a plan of the Temple and its surrounding courts and buildings.
A flight of twelve steps according to Middot 2.3. led up to a terrace known as the Hel, which bordered the Temple on the south and west. The Sanctuary itself consisted of three courts, each higher than the former, and beyond them, the Temple with the Holy and Most Holy Places. One could enter via the Eastern Gate, first into the Court of the Women or Treasury.
From the Court of the Women, men could advance through the Nicanor Gate into the Court of the Israelites and priest were allowed into the Court of the Priests. Three gate buildings were located on both the north and south side of the Temple. The Chamber of the Hearth was in the northwest corner of the Temple Court and the Chamber of Hewn Stone in the southeast. A small chamber in the northeast corner of the Chamber of the Hearth was used to place the altar stones that were defiled by the Seleucids.

A new altar was built from unhewn stones, the Temple was cleaned, new furniture brought in, and the Lampstand was lit. The Temple and altar were dedicated and there was great rejoicing. It was then decided to make a law that the keeping of this feast of dedication (Hanukkah) would be kept every year for eight days (1Maccabees 4:36-61; 2 Maccabees 10:1-8).

The Gospel of John records that Jesus too visited the Temple Mount in Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Hanukkah (John 10:22). While he was walking in the Porch of Solomon, the eastern portico of the Temple Mount, he was asked if he was the Messiah. Despite the works that God had given him to do, he was met with unbelief.

Jerusalem’s Temple Mount

Building the Most Detailed Depiction of Herod’s Temple

Daniel Smith is a 3D model team leader based in Salt Lake City, Utah. We have been in contact many times in order to help visualise in 3D the Temples of Jerusalem. He recently developed a video of “Jerusalem’s Temple: Building the Most Detailed Depiction of Herod’s Temple.”

His newly released 3D presentation is described as follows:

“King Herod’s Temple stood in Jerusalem as a masterpiece of ancient architecture, symbolizing the faith and devotion of its time. Understanding the significance of its location, history, and intricate design can deepen one’s reverence for this sacred site”

This is truly a masterful video that aims to bring together the extensive research that began at the Temple Mount Excavations in Jerusalem in 1968, directed by the late Professor Benjamin Mazar. Many scholars have analysed the result of this and other excavations in Jerusalem to get a full picture of what Herod’s Magnum opus may have looked like. We understand that this 3D video is the first of a series designed to help people better understand this sacred structure.

Fifty years ago our team was surveying by hand the archaeological remains of Herod’s Temple Mount and making accurate survey and reconstruction drawings of the architectural remains of the Temple Mount walls and other remaing structures, including the surviving architectural elements. We could not have imagined then that technology would advance so much as to enable people to virtually visit the Temple Mount in such a spectacular way. Daniel and his dedicated team are to be congratulated on this magnificent result of two years of hard work!

One of the reconstructed views of the Temple see from the Royal Stoa.

Who opened the sealed tomb of Jesus?

How was the tomb sealed?

This is a question that is frequently asked at this time of the year. We are told that after his crucifixion on Golgotha, the body of Jesus was laid in a new tomb, but he was raised from the dead three days later.

Golgotha in the foreground with the Temple Mount looking east

The new tomb in which Jesus was laid before the stone was moved to close the opening.

The resurrection of Christ was an important event that gives hope to many Christian believers, including ourselves. 

However, from an archaeological point of view, I am interested to know how the tomb of Jesus was sealed. We know the story as recorded in the Gospels:

Matt. 27:62-66 On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, saying, “Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise.’ Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, “He has risen from the dead.’ So, the last deception will be worse than the first.” Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how.” So, they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard. (NKJV)

There are images on the internet that show ropes around the rolling stone or metal bars, but nothing would be strong enough to prevent such a large and heavy stone from being moved by a few strong men.

As I was researching this topic, I came across an image that shows the seal securing the entrance to a shrine of gilded wood that belonged to the Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun. The handles of the two doors were secured together by a rope and a seal.

On the right handle was a clay seal featuring Anubis , the Egyptian god of funerary rites and protector of the gates to the underworld. 

Again, such a piece of rope would not have prevented anybody from entering the tomb chamber. After more than three millennia, the seal was finally broken by Egyptologist Howard Carter in the early 1920’s.

The important thing about this sealing rope is not the rope itself, but the clay seal that is attached to the door handle on the right. This shows the authority of the person who had ordered the sealing, and anybody trying to break that seal would be accountable and suffer the consequences.

In this image, the stone has been rolled in front of the opening to the new tomb. A seal was then attached between the stone and the front of the tomb.

The tomb of Jesus was sealed on the authority of the High Priest which was either Annas or Caiaphas. The tomb was sealed using two patches of wax connected with a piece of rope. People knew that anybody breaking that seal would be held accountable to the High Priest.  From a factual point of view, the string was ineffective, but the authority of the High Priest would have been respected. However, angels are not subject to this authority. Their only desire is to do the will of God. The earthquake that is described in Matthew 28:2 was brought about by the angel of the Lord who had descended from heaven. He would have been the one who broke the seal and rolled back the stone from the door.

At the same time Jesus was raised from the dead in fulfilment of Psalm 16:10-11:

“For You will not leave my soul in the grave, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

Jesus never sinned during his life on earth and was rewarded with immortality. Let us then follow Christ who suffered for us, leaving us an example, that we should follow His steps.