‘And it was also contained in the same writing, that the prophet, being warned of God, commanded the tabernacle and the ark to go with him, as he went forth into the mountain, where Moses climbed up and saw the heritage of God. And when Jeremiah came thither, he found an hollow cave, wherein he laid the tabernacle and the ark, and altar of incense, and so stopped the door. And some of those that followed him came to mark the way, but they could not find it. Which when Jeremiah perceived, he blamed them saying, As for that place, it shall be known until the time that God gather his people again together, and receive them unto mercy.’ —II Maccabees 2:4-7
It says in the Mishnah* that one of the priests serving in the temple went looking for the ark outside Jerusalem one day and found a large boulder which he told his colleagues about, but before he could describe its whereabouts, he died a mysterious death:
‘Thus the priests knew that the ark of the covenant was hidden there.’ —Mishnah, 6:2 14
*The Mishnah is a part of the Talmud and codifies the Oral Law.
Once again we have no luck with the ark of the covenant! Searches were not confined to that period, when the whole business was more topical. In 1910 the Parker expedition set out to find it and returned empty-handed.
What had happened to the ark of the covenant?
We are due for a situation report:
According to the Mishnah, priests suspected that the ark was in the vicinity of Jerusalem, because a priest had died in a mysterious way and his death was ascribed to the ark.
Tradition indicates that extraterrestrials were active on earth in Jeremiah’s day.
Jeremiah was forewarned by the ‘angel of the Lord’. His scribe Baruch writes that there were lights in heaven.
The prophet Ezekiel’s description of his encounters with spaceships also falls into the same period.15
Baruch, Jeremiah’s friend and scribe, relates in the pseudepigraphical scripture The Rest of the Words of Baruch that the Ethiopian Ebed-melech had an experience with extraterrestrials.
The following assumptions seem logical:
The group of extraterrestrials was a small one. They did not intervene in battles or help any of the three contending parties. They avoided being seen by large assemblies of people.
For unknown reasons the group was unable to remove the ark and the manna machine themselves. Were they unwilling to interfere in the affairs of men? Were they, too, afraid of the machine’s powerful radioactivity? No matter, for one thing is clear. The extraterrestrials did not want the ark to fall into the hands of the Babylonians. So they asked Jeremiah and a few of his trustworthy companions to hide the hotly disputed object.
The commando operation meant that others had to be in the secret! Among them was the Ethiopian Ebed-melech. Only a short time elapsed between the warning that Jeremiah received and the attack by the Babylonian army. Jeremiah, unable to make a thief-proof hiding place for the ark, was forced to hide it in a cave.
Given the considerable weight of the ark, Jeremiah and his assistants probably had to use roads or tracks. And as carrying it themselves would have been conspicuous, transport was probably effected by ox-cart. As the operation had to be carried out in a single night, the ark must have been hidden near Jerusalem. The Babylonians were advancing rapidly from the west, present-day Jordan.
Jeremiah appears to have been familiar with the peculiarities of the machine; he probably even knew how to work it.
Nothing happened to any of his helpers! Yet later it killed another priest who came too close to it.
The extraterrestrials must have known how important the ark was, otherwise they would cheerfully have let the chest fall into the hands of the Babylonians. But they gave orders for it to be concealed.
Where can Jeremiah have hidden or buried this hot potato?
There are countless possible hiding-places in the rugged countryside around Jerusalem. East of Lake Genasereth the hilly landscape is split up by deep clefts and dotted with natural caves—ideal refuges for the ark! Nevertheless, I cannot believe that Jeremiah travelled 130 km with the heavy burden—and 130 km as the crow flies at that! Given contemporary road conditions and the slowness of transport by oxen, it would have taken some days to get as far as Lake Genasereth. The general direction would have been crazy, too, because they would have run straight into the arms of the enemy.
No matter. Even if Jeremiah did find a hiding-place in the vicinity of Jerusalem, it would be overgrown today. No one has the remotest idea where the divine machine is stored. More important, it is not mentioned again in the historical accounts.
Where can the trail lead?
I did not forget that the Ethiopian Ebed-melech had witnessed the nocturnal transport of the ark. Could he have talked about the wonderful machine when he returned home?
A criminologist does not give up, even if he has little hope of finding the trail. For a long time I tried hard to lay my hands on written Ethiopian traditions. I knew of the existence of the epic Kebra Nagast, which means something like ‘Glory of Kings’ or ‘Renown of Kings’. Hardly anyone in our part of the world has heard of it. It was not easy to get hold of a German translation of the Ethiopian text.
Thank heavens there is one. We have the Royal Bavarian Academy of Sciences to thank for it. They gave the celebrated Assyriologist Carl C. A. Bezold (1859-1922) a stipend so that he could devote his time to translating the unknown work from manuscripts in Berlin, London, Oxford and Paris.16
We cannot say definitely when Kebra Nagast was written, but we should not be far out if we dated the original version to around 850 B.C. Bezold’s German translation is based on the text which the two Ethiopians Isaac and Yemharana-Ab translated from Ethiopian into Arabic in A.D. 409. The translators said in the introduction:
‘We have translated this work from a Coptic book into Arabic . . . in the 409th year of mercy in the land of Ethiopia in the days of Gabra Maskal the king, who is called Lalibala, in the days of Abba George, the good bishop . . . Pray for me, your humble servant Isaac, and do not blame me for infelicities of expression.’
Of course we must forgive poor Isaac for introducing Christian doctrines and hints about the coming of Christ that were certainly not in the original Kebra Nagast. They could not have been, for it was written before Christ was born. How then could King Solomon, who lived about 965-926 before Christ, talk about Jesus, the crucifixion and the resurrection?
So it is best to skip the post-Christian additions in order to stay on the pre-Christian trail of the ark of the covenant. In fact we advance considerably in our search, as there is a reference to the ark right at the beginning of Kebra Nagast:
‘Make an ark of wood that cannot be eaten by worms, and overlay it with pure gold. And thou shalt place therein the Word of the Law, which is the Covenant that I have written with Mine own fingers . . . Now the heavenly and spiritual (original) within it is of divers colours, and the work thereof is marvellous, and it resembleth jasper and the sparkling stone, and the topaz, and the hyacinthine stone, and the crystal, and the light, and it catcheth the eye by force, and it astonisheth the mind and stupefieth it with wonder; it was made by the mind of God and not by the hand of the artificer, man, but He Himself created it for the habitation of His glory . . . And within it are a Gomor (?)* of gold (containing) a measure of the manna which came down from heaven; and the rod of Aaron which sprouted after it had become withered though no one watered it with water, and one had broken it in two places, and it became three rods being (originally) only one rod.’—Kebra Nagast, Chap. 17
*Possibly omer, an ancient Hebrew measure of about 3 litres.
A plausible description of an apparatus of which the Ethiopians of that day knew nothing. From their vocabulary they took concepts which at least made matters roughly intelligible. Ezekiel did the same thing when he described the glory of the Lord as resembling sapphire, precious stones and crystal. Enoch made a similar attempt when he depicted the leader of the extraterrestrials in this semi-Surrealist
way: ‘His body was like unto a sapphire, his face unto a chrysolith . . . a powerful light, not to be described, and in the light were figures . . .’ That is what we find in the Apocalypse of Abraham. How closely the images resemble each other!
An important thing about the first mention of the ark in Kebra Nagast is the statement that inside the ark there was an unusual object which was not made by human hands.
Kebra Nagast gives us a detailed and colourful account. It says that the Ethiopian Queen Makeda learnt from a travelling merchant that Solomon, king of the Israelites, was a handsome man and ruled over a magnificent kingdom. Queen Makeda also heard about the god of the Israelites and the mysterious ark he gave to the wandering people.
This news inspired the queen to pay a neighbourly and friendly visit to her colleague Solomon. She prepared for a sumptuous journey, without counting the cost. It says in Kebra Nagast that 797 camels were saddled, countless mules and asses used as pack animals and that there were more than 300 people in her retinue.
According to report, Solomon the Wise was also an indefatigable playboy—a womaniser of the kind that had no place in the Mosaic law. Not only did he enjoy himself with the women of his own country, he also had playmates imported from over the border. No wonder, then, that he gave the Ethiopian queen a reception that was splendid in the extreme:
‘And he paid her great honour and rejoiced and he gave her a habitation in the royal palace near him. And he sent her food for both the evening and the morning meal, each time 15 measures by the kori* of finely ground white meal, cooked with oil and gravy and sauce in abundance, and 30 measures by the kori of crushed white meal wherefrom bread for 350 people was made, with the necessary platters and trays and ten stalled oxen, and five bulls, and 50 sheep, without counting the kids, and deer, and gazelles and fatted fowls, and a vessel of wine containing 60 gerrat measures, and 30 measures of old wine . . . And every day he arrayed her in garments which bewitched the eyes.’ —Kebra Nagast, Chap. 25
*Ancient Hebrew measure = 364 litres.
The trifles in which Solomon the Wise invested paid off. He seduced the queen right royally and as he spoilt her and gave her so many presents during her stay, he had to be equally lavish when she left. Let us look at the list in Kebra Nagast:
‘He . . . gave unto her whatsoever she wished for of splendid things and riches, and beautiful apparel . . . and everything on which great store was set in the country of Ethiopia, and camels and wagons 6000 in number, which were laden with beautiful things of the most desirable kind, and wagons wherein loads were carried over the desert . . . and a vessel wherein one could traverse the air, which Solomon had made by the wisdom God had given unto him.’ —Kebra Nagast, Chap. 30
This text needs reading twice. It describes in detail the presents Makeda took back to Ethiopia: camels, carts, vessels and vehicles for land travel . . . and a cart which flew through the air! The chronicler distinguishes clearly between the types of cart: one for land travel, one for travels through the air. An astonishing character, this Solomon. He seemed to have everything in his car park!
The inevitable happened.
Nine months and five days after her return, the queen gave birth to a son whom she called Bayna-lehkem. (Now an idea which may be straying from the subject. Phonetically the name Bayna-lehkem is very similar to Ebed-melech. Surely it is conceivable that vowels and consonants got muddled in colloquial speech. That Bayna-lehkem and Ebed-melech are identical? Chronologically this possibility makes no sense, for Solomon’s period dates about 400 years further back in the past than the lifetimes of Jeremiah and Ebed-melech. But there would be nothing exceptional about the chroniclers confusing the names when they reported events. But as I have said, this is only by the way.)
Bayna-lehkem, the son of a whirlwind love affair between king and queen, was trained in all the arts and the use of every kind of weapon, as befitted his station. At the age of 22, he, too, travelled to Jerusalem to meet his father:
‘And the youth Bayna-lehkem was handsome, and his whole body and his members, and the bearing of his shoulders resembled those of King Solomon his father, and his eyes, and his legs, and his whole gait resembled those of Solomon the King.’ —Kebra Nagast, Chap. 32
Delighted by the visit, Solomon lavished magnificent gifts on his son in truly regal manner. But Bayna-lehkem was smart!
None of the wonderful presents excited him. He had one secret imperative wish. He wanted the ark of the covenant!
He told his father Solomon so and added that he would like to take the ark to his mother, because whoever owned it was protected by the Almighty.
Solomon was a little frightened when he heard this wish, but only a little, although he knew he would have to keep things quiet. After all the ark was a priceless relic which came from Moses and was kept in a special room in the temple to which only chosen priests had access. In view of the king’s attitude, we can assume that, as matters stood, he no longer had any special use for it or that he wanted to protect Makeda by installing the machine in her palace and reminding her of the happy hours they had spent together. In any case he would have entrusted the custody of the ark to someone.
The ark of the covenant was never transported without special precautions.
Solomon made transport conditional on two things:
that it was to take place in absolute secrecy;
that it must be done without his official knowledge.
Both conditions were natural. If priests and public found out the king was giving the precious ark away so casually, there would be a revolution.
Bayna-lehkem had inherited wisdom from his father and astuteness from his mother. He consulted his confidants to find out how he could fulfil the parental requirements. They came to the conclusion that a trick was the only solution. As the king’s son, Bayna-lehkem was a man of confidence who had access to secret rooms. So he would go into the room containing the ark and take its precise measurements. Then his men would visit the city and order separate parts of the ark from carpenters, without those worthy craftsmen realising what they were making:
‘And I will take the framework without the pieces of wood thereof being fixed together, and I will have them put together (later). And I will set them down in the habitation of Zion (the ark), and will drape them with the draperies of Zion, and I will take Zion, and will dig a hole in the ground, and will set Zion there, until we journey and take it away with us thither.’ —Kebra Nagast, Chap. 45
A simple, yet artful plan.
When the carpenters had delivered parts made of the same wood and with the same colour as the original ark, Bayna-lehkem entered the temple room by night, leaving the door ajar so that his friends could follow him. They were to remove the Mosaic ark of the covenant covered with old rags, carry it to the Ethiopian camp outside Jerusalem and bury it, until they set off for home. A copy made of the imitation parts was set up in the room. No one would notice the difference:
‘And he rose up straightway, and woke up the three men his brethren, and they took the pieces of wood, and went into the house of God—now they found all the doors open, both those that were outside and those that were inside—to the actual place where he found Zion, the Tabernacle of the Law of God; and it was taken away by them forthwith . . . And the four of them carried Zion away, and they brought it into the house of Azaryas, and they went back into the house of God, and they set the pieces of wood where Zion had been, and they covered them with the covering of Zion, and they shut the doors.’ —Kebra Nagast, Chap. 48
A week later the Ethiopians broke camp. No one in Jerusalem had noticed what had happened to the ark—yet another indication that the Israelites were no longer interested in the manna machine, which did not function:
‘And they bade (the king) farewell and departed. And first of all they set Zion by night upon a wagon together with a mass of worthless stuff, and dirty clothes, and stores of every sort and kind. And all the wagons were loaded, and the masters of the caravan rose up
, and the horn was blown, and the city became excited, and the youths shouted loudly.’ —Kebra Nagast, Chap. 50
Far away from Jerusalem, knowing that they were safe, the Ethiopians unloaded the ark of the covenant and put it on to a new cart. Once again an extraordinary phenomenon took place, but we know that the ark was never transported without something special happening:
‘Michael the Archangel marched in front . . . and spreading himself out like a cloud over them he hid them from the fiery heat of the sun. And as for the wagon, no man hauled it, but he himself (i.e. Michael) marched with the wagons and whether it was men, or horses, or mules, or loaded camels, each was raised above the ground to the height of a cubit; and all those who rode upon the beasts were lifted up above their backs to the height of one span of a man, and all the various kinds of baggage which were loaded on the beasts . . . were raised up to the height of one span of a man . . . And everyone travelled in the wagon like a ship on the sea when the wind bloweth . . . and like an eagle when his body glideth above the wind. Thus did they travel; there was none in front and none behind, and they were disturbed neither on the right hand nor on the left.’ —Kebra Nagast, Chap. 52
Signs of the Gods? Page 3
