ark of the covenant

The Hebrew, Greek, and Latin that is sometimes translated as “ark of the covenant” in English (other English options: “pact chest” [translation by John Goldingay, 2018] or “Coffer of the Covenant” [translation by Everett Fox, 1995]) is translated in various ways:

  • Mairasi: Anasi Farjora or “Covenant Place” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Uma: “Promise Box” (source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Covenant Chest” (source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Chest of the Agreement” (source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Chest of the Initiated-agreement” (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Danish Bibelen 2020: kisten med den hellige aftale or “chest with the holy agreement” (source: Ehrensvärd in HIPHIL Novum 8/2023, p. 81ff. )

Following is reverse applique stitching (“mola”) by an unknown Guna artist depicting the ark:

Source: Sacred Art Pilgrim website .

In American Sign Language it is translated with a sign that combines “box” and the wings of the cherubim on top of the ark (see Exod 25:18 and following). (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)


“Ark of the covenant” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor

See also cherub and tabernacle (noun).

Translation commentary on Exod 40:3

And you shall put in it is literally “And you [singular] shall place there.” The ark of the testimony, of course, refers to the “ark of the covenant” (New Revised Standard Version), as at 25.22. This expression focuses on the idea of “reminder,” which refers to the terms of the covenant written on the stone tablets. So Good News Translation has “the Covenant Box containing the Ten Commandments.”

And you shall screen the ark with the veil is literally “and you [singular] shall isolate the ark with the veil.” The word for veil is the same word used in 26.31, which is distinguished from the “screen” in 26.36. However, the word for screen here is the verb from which the noun “screen” is derived. It means to block off, or “screen off” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), or “shield” (New International Version).

Quoted with permission from Osborn, Noel D. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Exodus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1999. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .