An article in this week’s Time entitled “A Lead on the Ark of the Covenant” reports that Tudor Parfitt claims to have found the ark of the covenant (or at least its replacement). Now as any good scholar knows, the ark was found back during World War II by Dr. Henry Jones, Jr., and now resides in a warehouse somewhere in Washington, DC. But according to Parfitt, the ark is actually in Zimbabwe.
As with any decent story related to the Bible, Time exhibites a good deal of ignorance concerning scholarship. In the second paragraph, they include this summary of scholarship:
Scholars debate [the ark of the covenant’s] current locale (if any): under the Sphinx? Beneath Jerusalem’s Temple Mount (or, to Muslims, the Noble Sanctuary)? In France? Near London’s Temple tube station?
No serious scholar I know has ever put forth any of these theories. It is only amateurs and treasure hunters with more imagination than evidence who support such ideas. Yet Parfitt cannot be classed with such dilettantes. In the 1980s, he isolated a link between the priestly lineage of the Jews and a tribe called the Lemba in Africa. The Lemba claimed to be a lost tribe of Israel, and genetic evidence suggests that there just may be a connection.
Parfitt claims that the ark of the covenant is somehow connected to a drum-like object called the ngoma lungundu that the Lemba have. The article lists a number of similarities between the ngoma and the ark, including the facts that both are holy, both are carried on poles, and both emit fire against God’s enemies.1 The main problem, however, is that the article he found does not match biblical descriptions of the ark.
What he has found is a drum. It was a drum that was sometimes used to carry sacred object, but still a musical instrument. And this is a far cry from the ark. The ark is never mentioned as having any musical qualities.2 He also notes that this drum was used as a type of cannon. But the ark of the covenant is never depicted as a weapon. It goes before the people in battle, but as a way of invoking God as the divine warrior. The ark is the throne of God, so taking it into battle means that God goes into battle with you as it clearly states in 1 Samuel 4:1-4. And in the only two battles in which the ark is mentioned — Joshua 6 and 1 Samuel 4 — the ark is not physically taken into the battle. At Jericho, the priests carry it around the city, while in the battle at Ebenezer the ark is in the Israelite camp.
In addition, the ngoma found by Parfitt is carbon-dated to 1350 CE. And Lemba ledged asserts that 400 years ago the ngoma destroyed itself and had to be rebuilt. Yet Parfitt persists. He states:
There can be little doubt that what I found is the last thing on earth in direct descent from the Ark of Moses.
He is right — there can be little doubt. What there can be is huge amounts of doubt. It takes assumption after assumption and leap after leap to arrive at the conclusion Parfitt reaches. The artifact he describes has only superficial connections with the ark of the covenant. Perhaps the Lemba are a branch of the tribe of Levi, and perhaps they built their own type of ark after fleeing from Jerusalem in 587 BCE. But the ngoma has so few similarities to the ark of the covenant that it is untenable to think that this tribe possessed the ark of the covenant at any point in their history.
A quick search of the Internet shows that ngoma drums are common in southern Africa. According to the Mukondeni Art Gallery in South Africa:
This drum, when beaten with a human hand, caused enemy armies to fall dead at the sound of its mighty voice. At present all royal houses, as well as the homes of the more junior chiefs still possess one or more Ngoma drums.
The Mukondeni Art Gallery even has a picture of a ngoma lugundu on their site. While the article in Time seems to suggest that Parfitt has discovered a one-of-a-kind artifact, ngoma are in fact rather common. The reason that the Lemba have such a drum is that they are a part of southern African culture. The similarities to the ark of the covenant can be explained more easily by positing a sociological coincidence than by assuming a historical connection with the ark found in the Bible.
Parfitt has a forthcoming book on this subject entitled The Lost Ark of the Covenant: Solving the 2,500 Year Mystery of the Fabled Biblical Ark. It will be available this coming Tuesday (February 26th). The History Channel will be also airing a special based in part on Parfitt’s work. The show, called The Quest for the Lost Ark, first airs on March 2.
- It should be noted that nowhere in the Bible does it claim that the ark shot out fire in battle. That part of the story comes from oral tradition. [back]
- Parfitt notes that David danced before the ark and the ark is frequently associated with trumpets, but neither of those are evidence that the ark itself is a musical instrument. [back]
On February 24th, 2008 at 7:58 pm
[…] The Ark of the Covenant Found! February 24, 2008 Posted by Calvin in Bible, Interactions, Religion. Tags: Ark of the Covenant, Dagon, Indiana Jones, movies, Time Magazine, Tudor Parfitt trackback If anyone out there has read this story in Time, and is wondering what the facts are, I highly recommend heading over to Blue Cord and finding out. […]
On February 29th, 2008 at 12:32 pm
Thank you for this insightful article. As I watched The Today Show this morning, I had to laugh when Matt Lauer asked about the carbon dating of this artifact. In a rush of words, Parfitt admitted this was not the actual ark, but a replacement. That fact was glossed over in the interview.
Parfitt also mentioned that there are two separate descriptions for the ark in the Bible. I wonder, “What Bible is he reading and why doesn’t he mention the mercy seat?”
I commented to my husband that what he found looked more like the laver than the ark. I do plan to watch the program just to see how far they will stretch their version of the truth.
On February 29th, 2008 at 9:53 pm
It is from scripture that we get to know of the Ark and who commissioned it and why. It follows then that it is from Scripture we find out what happened to the Ark and that from the same One commissioned it. God speaking through Jeremiah says (Jer 3:15-18) In those days, when your numbers have increased greatly in the land,” declares the LORD, “men will no longer say, ‘The ark of the covenant of the LORD.’ It will never enter their minds or be remembered; it will not be missed, nor will another one be made. (NIV)
That phrase “nor will another one be made” does suggest that the original one was destroyed or is materially absent otherwise why make another one if the original is still in existence? It is not a difficult determination to make. Therefore the day someone will declare they have found the Ark of the Covenant, we will know it to be a replica and not the original.
From Jeremiah 3:15-17 we can see that the One who commissioned the Ark also decommissioned. And the Lord through Jeremiah explains the decommissioning. The ark itself symbolized Yahweh’s ruler-ship; and it was believed that God had his earthly throne on the lid of the sacred chest. 1 Sam 4:1b, …and they brought back the ark of the covenant of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim (see also Ex 25:22, Ps. 80:1, Ps. 99:1).
And it is this understanding of where the throne of God was that helps us understand why the original Ark (was destroyed, removed, disappeared or will never be found). In His sovereignty GOD replaced the representation of His earthly throne from the Ark with a city—Jerusalem. “The whole city of Jerusalem will be my throne. All nations will come here to worship me” (Jer. 3:17). I am of the opinion the Ark of the Covenant was probably destroyed or taken away by the Babylonians when they captured Jerusalem in 586 B.C. It need not have disappeared miraculously because we see that the bronze serpent (another divinely commissioned artefact) was destroyed by Hezekiah according to (I Kgs 18:3).
Don’t bother looking for it underneath the hollow tunnels of temple mount, or in Ethiopia, or in Zimbabwe or anywhere else. If God says to forget it not miss or make a replica then DON’T look for it or miss it or make a replica. As of now and going back to circa 586BC it has zero spiritual value and idol Dagon will not break before it nor will anyone who touches it die.
On March 1st, 2008 at 9:36 am
[…] I’ve been behind in writing and in catching up on the news. However, this morning I found a post on Blue Cord about Time’s recent article on the “finding” of the Ark of the […]
On March 3rd, 2008 at 9:28 pm
I watched the History Channel program which presented the The Quest for the Lost Ark. I believe that Tudor Parfitt presents a quite plausible argument for the migration of the priestly line, now recognized as the Lemba tribe. DNA markers support his assertion and he could have presented a fascinating, scientifically based presentation on the Lemba tribe. I would have truly enjoyed that. But, alas, Parfitt went on to present his assertion that he had located the Ark of the Covenant. I don’t understand how someone can make such a rapid departure from factual data which so clearly describes the Ark of the Covenant. Unless of course he doesn’t accept the description found in Exodus Chap: 25. It is quite simple and the science and mathmatics are fairly straightforward and simple.
See for yourself:
Exodus 25:10 “And they shall make an ark of acacia wood; two and a half cubits shall be its length, a cubit and a half its width, and a cubit and a half its height. 11 And you shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and out you shall overlay it, and shall make on it a molding of gold all around. 12 You shall cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in its four corners; two rings shall be on one side, and two rings on the other side. 13 And you shall make poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold. 14 You shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, that the ark may be carried by them. 15 The poles shall be in the rings of the ark; they shall not be taken from it. 16 And you shall put into the ark the Testimony which I will give you.
17 “You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold; two and a half cubits shall be its length and a cubit and a half its width. 18 And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work you shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat. 19 Make one cherub at one end, and the other cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim at the two ends of it of one piece with the mercy seat. 20 And the cherubim shall stretch out their wings above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and they shall face one another; the faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat. 21 You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the Testimony that I will give you. 22 And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.
This description doesn’t look anything like the ngoma lugundu that Parfitt claims is the Lost Ark of the Covenant. Perhaps Parfitt is choosing portions of the ancient text that best line up with his assertions.
On March 6th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
The Ark and its sanctuary were “the beauty of Israel” (Lamentations 2:1). Rashi and some Midrashim suggest that there were two arks - a temporary one made by Moses, and a later one made by Bezalel.
This could be reasonable the original ark could have been made just like the ark Professor Tudor Parfitt has found.
In Deuteronomy it say the ark was made only out of wood.
Deut 10:1: “At that time the Lord said unto me, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first, and come up unto me into the mount, and make thee an ark of wood.”
Deut 10:2: “And I will write on the tables the words that were in the first tables which thou breakest, and thou shalt put them in the ark.”
Deut 10:3: So I made the ark out of acacia wood and chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I went up on the mountain with the two tablets in my hands.
On March 7th, 2008 at 12:08 am
Any one notice that in Deuteronomy Moses alone makes the Ark, where as in Exodus, it refers to as they made the Ark.Two different Arks? I find it very interesting that Parfitt may have found the original Ark.
On March 7th, 2008 at 6:40 am
Kevin wilson qoute-It should be noted that nowhere in the Bible does it claim that the ark shot out fire in battle. That part of the story comes from oral tradition.
In the march from Sinai, and at the crossing of the Jordan, the Ark preceded the people, and was the signal for their advance (Num. 10:33; Josh. 3:3, 6). The Ark of the Covenant burned the thorns and other obstructions in the wilderness roads. According to tradition, sparks from between the two cherubim killed serpents and scorpions. (I and II Chronicles.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ark_of_the_Covenant
On April 15th, 2008 at 7:01 am
I caught this programme last night. Far fetched indeed but then again so are ALL the ark stories whether Biblical or oral. Drums are used in some religious cermonies to invoke spirits and they have regularly been used for armies so it certainly fits some of the Bibilical descriptions of its use. Lets not forget Parfitt does not claim this to be the Ark itself but a more recent recreation of it. He states in this programme that this drum is only about 600 years old.