Raiding Influences for the Ark of the Covenant?

This time, we will ride a different trail than usual. This is about the Ark of the Covenant, which has raised many questions throughout history. Its location is unknown, though there are many legends as to its whereabouts. No wonder archaeologists are frustrated. Try crate 9906753.

In the Old Testament, there are many details about the construction of the temple, making of and the Ark, and so on. God commanded many aspects for building it, but not every detail of its design. Some people wonder if the Israelites raided Egyptian influences when they made it.

Credit: Free Christian Illustrations

Let's ride up yonder hill so we can look down and get a bigger picture. First of all, we do not have any images of the Ark of the Covenant for reference, so saying it had Egyptian influences is speculation. Even so, such influences may not be out of the question.

Since God didn't provide a blueprint, builders were able to use some creativity. Indeed, people frequently draw from other sources. Note that one purpose of the Ark was to remind the Israelites of God's provisions. They would not have been willing to incorporate pagan idolatry such as the Egyptians, Hittites, and Canaanites used.

My husband is not a believer and every so often talks about things that I don’t know how to answer. He said that he read an article that said that historians should take the Bible more seriously from a historical standpoint but that the Ark of the Covenant that the Israelites had was based on Egyptian religious artefacts, and the temples as well. I found this article but I don’t know how to respond to him.

To read the response by Gavin Cox, ride on over to "Does the Ark of the Covenant have Egyptian influences?" You may also like, "What happened to the Ark of the Covenant?"