Ark of the Covenant

Ark of the Covenant, in Judaism, sacred repository. Mentioned frequently in the Bible, the ark is described in Exodus 25 as a chest of acacia wood. It was known also as the Ark of the Law, the Ark of the Testimony, or the Ark of God. The chest was 2.5 cubits (3 ft 9 in) in length and 1.5 cubits (2 ft 3 in) in breadth and height; it could be carried by poles at the long sides. The ark lay in the Holy of Holies, the sacrosanct enclosure of the tabernacle and of the Temple in Jerusalem. The chest contained, according to various sources, Aaron's rod, a pot of manna, and the stone tablets of the Decalogue (see Ten Commandments). In the synagogues today, the term ark designates the repository for the scrolls of the Law used in the sacred service.