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Ark Of Covenant Is In Jerusalem, And I Will Find It - Archaeologist
Halifax News ^ | 1-23-2003 | Chris Lambie

Posted on 01/24/2003 8:34:33 AM PST by blam

Ark of Covenant is in Jerusalem, and I will find it - archeologist

Israeli scholar tells Sackville audience hunt for relic is nothing like the movies

By CHRIS LAMBIE
The Daily News

Thursday, January 23, 2003

The Ark of the Covenant is probably buried somewhere deep in the hidden catacombs under Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, says a leading Israeli archeologist.

The biblical ark was a wooden box containing the two tablets of the Ten Commandments given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai.

“If somebody will ever find the Ark of the Covenant, it will be me,” Dan Bahat told about 50 people yesterday at Sackville’s Faith Baptist Church.

Bahat blames Steven Spielberg’s 1981 Indiana Jones adventure, Raiders of the Lost Ark, for making people curious about the relic’s whereabouts.

“As a matter of fact, the whole story of the Ark of the Covenant started after the film Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark; before, you didn’t hear so much about it,” said the Bar Ilan University professor who is on a tour of Canada sponsored by the Israeli government.

Bahat, a father of four, said his search for the ark has been nothing like that of the movie archeologist Indiana Jones.

“Harrison Ford did it beautifully,” he said. “But I must tell you one thing. I never jumped out of running cars, I never went into a dungeon full of poisonous snakes, and I never fought Nazi Germans.”

Three major world religions — Muslims, Jews and Christians — revere Temple Mount, which is thought to be where Abraham offered to sacrifice his son to God. Later, Solomon built a temple over the same spot, to house the sacred Ark of the Covenant and the stone tablets setting out the Ten Commandments, the very ones Moses had brought down from Mount Sinai.

Bahat suspects the relic may still be hidden “in an enormous subterranean structure” inside Temple Mount.

“If there is a place where you could hide the Ark of the Covenant, it is this cave,” said Bahat, who has been excavating tunnels along the Western or Wailing Wall, a massive remainder of the wall around the last Jewish temple.

Ethiopian Christians, however, believe the ark resides in their country.

The Bible says the Queen of Sheba visited King Solomon. Most scholars say she came from present-day Yemen. But Ethiopian legend maintains she was from that country and gave birth to Solomon’s son, Menelik. This tradition says that when Menelik visited Solomon, his aides stole the ark and brought it home. It is said to be held under strictest secrecy in the town of Axum.

Bahat discounts that version of events. “It is nonsense,” he said. “There is no reason whatsoever why it would be in Ethiopia.”


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: archaeologist; ark; arkofthecovenant; covenant; godsgravesglyphs; jerusalem; of; tencommandments
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1 posted on 01/24/2003 8:34:34 AM PST by blam
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To: blam
The Bible says the Queen of Sheba visited King Solomon. Most scholars say she came from present-day Yemen. But Ethiopian legend maintains she was from that country and gave birth to Solomon’s son, Menelik. This tradition says that when Menelik visited Solomon, his aides stole the ark and brought it home. It is said to be held under strictest secrecy in the town of Axum.

Bahat discounts that version of events. “It is nonsense,” he said. “There is no reason whatsoever why it would be in Ethiopia.”

Calling Graham! Calling Graham!!

2 posted on 01/24/2003 8:38:13 AM PST by RoughDobermann
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To: blam
Well, there were two arks, so the Ethiopians might have one.
3 posted on 01/24/2003 8:39:36 AM PST by bvw
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To: RightWhale; JudyB1938
Ping.
4 posted on 01/24/2003 8:40:01 AM PST by blam
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To: blam
Read a book a few years ago about the Ark in Ethiopia. The folks there believe they have it.Its also logical to assume that the Prophet Jeremiah may have taken it.He was alive when Jerusalem was taken in 586 BC and he may have taken and hidden it for safe keeping outside of Israel.It would be one of the greatest arheological finds of all time.
5 posted on 01/24/2003 8:40:20 AM PST by lexington minuteman 1775
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To: blam
The Ark of the Covenant is probably buried somewhere deep in the hidden catacombs under Jerusalem’s Temple Mount...

I've heard that rumor for a long time, but always with the statement that the Muslims won't let the Israelis rummage around under the Temple Mount. And the Muslims, as we all know, have been doing a great deal of excavation under the Temple Mount for years, even to the point of endangering the Western Wall.

6 posted on 01/24/2003 8:42:17 AM PST by xJones
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To: bvw
Well, there were two arks, so the Ethiopians might have one.

"I told 'im we already got one"!

7 posted on 01/24/2003 8:43:53 AM PST by ALASKA
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To: blam
The Ark is in Ethiopia. I posted an article here some time ago, but it got moved to Religion and then seems to have vanished. Here's a link to the article in Crisis Magazine:

http://www.crisismagazine.com/julaug2002/feature2.htm
8 posted on 01/24/2003 8:45:08 AM PST by Cicero
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To: bvw
What do you mean they've already got one?

Said with an English accent.....
9 posted on 01/24/2003 8:46:12 AM PST by El Sordo (Just a hobo among the trains of thought)
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To: ALASKA
LOL!
10 posted on 01/24/2003 8:46:44 AM PST by zx2dragon (Funny how Monty Python can apply to anything in life.)
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To: xJones
The Ark of the Covenant is probably buried somewhere deep in the hidden catacombs under Jerusalem’s Temple Mount...

...And the Muslims, as we all know, have been doing a great deal of excavation under the Temple Mount for years

Why do I have visions of Raiders of the Lost Ark with Arabs instead of Nazis?

11 posted on 01/24/2003 8:47:57 AM PST by KarlInOhio (Tagline.txt not found. Abort, Retry, Fail?)
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To: blam
The Ark of the Covenant, according to Second Esdras 10:22, was "carried away" by invaders (possibly the Babylonians). Josephus explicitly said it was not in the Second (Herodian) Temple.

And if you take the Bible seriously, you would not want to be the person who stumbles upon the Ark of the Covenant; Second Samuel 6:6-8.

I might add that the word "ark" which has come down to us in English is not the same word as that used for Noah's boat. In Hebrew, one of the names of the Ark of the Covenant is aroen ha-kodesh, "the holy box" (using the same word for box as in the last verse in the Book of Genesis). It appears that the Hebrew acronym for this phrase, Ar'K, led to the word Ark (in the sense of the Ark of the Covenant) in English and some other European languages.

12 posted on 01/24/2003 8:53:15 AM PST by DonQ
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To: lexington minuteman 1775
The Sign and the Seal by Graham Hancock. It convinced me.
13 posted on 01/24/2003 8:54:16 AM PST by CaptRon
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To: blam
Bump
14 posted on 01/24/2003 8:57:43 AM PST by Alex Murphy
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To: blam
It is said to be held under strictest secrecy in the town of Axum.

Aha, it resides AT AN UNDISCLOSED LOCATION! Forget Indiana Jones. Call Dick Cheney!

15 posted on 01/24/2003 8:59:48 AM PST by blau993
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To: CaptRon
Following up on Hancock's book is the article I cite above in Crisis Magazine, which adds a few new details. I also find his theory convincing.
16 posted on 01/24/2003 9:00:01 AM PST by Cicero
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To: blam
What exactly will finding it mean? How will it be proven to be genuine? Is it expected to glow or something, like in the movie?
17 posted on 01/24/2003 9:00:46 AM PST by stuartcr
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To: ALASKA
"Its very nice!"
18 posted on 01/24/2003 9:14:36 AM PST by Hermann the Cherusker
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To: Deb
Hmmmmm....do you know anyone who may have an inside track? ;-)
19 posted on 01/24/2003 9:16:20 AM PST by habs4ever
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To: blam
read later
20 posted on 01/24/2003 9:16:53 AM PST by LiteKeeper
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