Egyptian Influence on the Ark of the Covenant

Egyptian influences on the Ark of the Covenant, suggest that the Israelites, immersed in Egyptian culture during their 430-year captivity, incorporated Egyptian religious and architectural elements into its design, such as sacred furniture and barque-like features used to transport deities or mummies, adorned with cherubim and carried by priests. The Ark, a reliquary for the Ten Commandments, mirrors Egyptian chests like the pedes and Chest of Anubis, with its Mercy Seat and carrying poles, reflecting Late Bronze Age Egyptian ritual furniture (c. 1389–1073 BC). David’s choice of Mount Moriah’s threshing floor for an altar, later the site of Solomon’s Temple, ties the Ark to chthonic and fertility themes akin to the Egyptian god Osiris, while its procession echoed Egyptian ceremonies. The Ark’s ultimate fate remains speculative - possibly hidden beneath the Temple Mount between 650–587 BC - with Masonic rituals allegorically hinting at its concealment and rediscovery, framing David, not Solomon, as a central figure in its narrative through the lens of Hiram Abiff.

The Ark of the Covenant