Monday, November 26, 2007
Is The Ark of the Covenant In Ethiopia?
History
A Christian sect in Ethiopia claims to have the Ark of the Covenant. For an article for Smithsonian Magazine, reporter Paul Raffaele travels to Askum, Ethiopia to see the temple where it’s allegedly housed and covers the basics of the story:
According to the First Book of Kings, King Solomon built the First Temple in Jerusalem to house the ark. It was venerated there during Solomon’s reign (c. 970-930 B.C.) and beyond.
Then it vanished. Much of Jewish tradition holds that it disappeared before or while the Babylonians sacked the temple in Jerusalem in 586 b.c.
But through the centuries, Ethiopian Christians have claimed that the ark rests in a chapel in the small town of Aksum, in their country’s northern highlands. It arrived nearly 3,000 years ago, they say, and has been guarded by a succession of virgin monks who, once anointed, are forbidden to set foot outside the chapel grounds until they die.
This isn’t the first time I’ve read that the Ark is in Ethiopia. The connection seems to be between the son of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, named Menelik. Late in Solomon’s reign, Memelik returned to Jerusalem to visit his father. Solomon gave him a copy of the Ark, along with the first born sons of Israel’s elders to take back to Ethiopia. The first borns, however, did not want to live away from the original, however, so they pulled a switch. It was not until they got to Ethiopia that Menelik discovered the ruse.
He had to be a bit worried, considering the Ark’s reputation as a weapon. But when he wasn’t destroyed, Menelik decided to keep it. The Ark then remained in the keeping of the Ethiopian royal families down through the ages. The last Emperor of Ethiopia was Haile Selassie. Interestingly, his official title was “His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, King of Kings of Ethiopia and Elect of God.”
On a Miniature Wargaming note, there’s a lot here for a pulp adventure in Ethiopia.
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