For the Israelites, God’s very presence was associated with the ark of the covenant. (Exodus 25:22) This was a sacred chest of wood overlaid with gold in which Moses placed the two stone tablets of the Law. While the Israelites dwelled in the wilderness, the Ark was kept in the Most Holy compartment of the tent of meeting. (Exodus 26:33) The Ark was eventually placed in the Most Holy compartment of Solomon’s temple.—1 Kings 6:19.
The Ark is last mentioned at 2 Chronicles 35:3 when King Josiah in 642 B.C.E. returned it to the temple. The Ark may have been removed by Josiah’s apostate predecessor, Manasseh, who put an image in the temple. Or perhaps the move had been for safekeeping during Josiah’s temple renovations. (2 Chronicles 33:1, 2, 7; 34:1, 8-11) What became of the Ark thereafter is a mystery, for it is not listed among the objects taken from the temple when the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem in 607 B.C.E.—2 Kings 25:13-17.
The Scriptures do not say that the Ark was returned to the Most Holy of the temple rebuilt by Zerubbabel; nor does it seem that a replacement was ever made.—Ezra 1:7-11.
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