It was also in the writing that the prophet, having received an oracle, ordered that the tent and the ark should follow with him, and that he went out to the mountain where Moses had gone up and had seen the inheritance of God. And Jeremiah came and found a cave, and he brought there the tent and the ark and the altar of incense, and he sealed up the entrance. Some of those who followed him came up to mark the way, but could not find it. When Jeremiah learned of it, he rebuked them and declared: "The place shall be unknown until God gathers his people together again and shows his mercy." (2 Maccabees 2:1-7)
Thanks. That’s one of the primary texts regarding the Ark’s location but I hadn’t read it in a while.
“The place shall be unknown until God gathers his people together again and shows his mercy.”
I like that part. Just noting a potential word play in “the place shall be unknown”... a hint at “ploni almoni”, which is a “such and such” place (or person), like Anytown USA or John Doe.
The Biblical place “called” ploni almoni was the place David’s men went after fleeing Saul, but David didn’t want to tell the priest where that was.
https://www.thejc.com/judaism/jewish-words/ploni-almoni-1.15782
I heard about this account as well, and it would make the most sense, but did the tent exist in his day? They had the Temple but I always wondered if the tent was still in existence when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians.
“Gathers His People “
Soon.
And Very Soon!