The Ark of the Covenant : myths, stories and history

The Ark of the Covenant or Ark of Yhwh has fascinated people from biblical times to the present day. In this lecture, we set out to trace the origin and early theological reinterpretations of the Ark. This investigation began with a survey of all the biblical texts that mention the Ark. These texts show that the Ark has different names and different functions depending on the milieu in which it was produced. We then turned to the question of its original content. As we shall see in the rest of the lecture, numerous traditions developed concerning its contents as the religious evolution of ancient Israel progressed. Finally - and this is the most important part of the lecture - there is a literary and historical analysis of the story of the Ark (1 Sam 4-6; 2 Sam 6). The first part of this narrative probably contains the earliest and most complete account of the Ark. This text may have been written to legitimize the creation of a new sanctuary at Qiryath Yearim. This new hypothesis was made possible by archaeological excavations organized by Tel-Aviv University and the Collège de France.