The Ark of the covenant Was an Ark or Chest of shittim wood ( 2.5 Cubits by 1.5 Cubits by 1.5 cubits) overlaid with Gold, and embellished with a crown of Gold extending around the chest upon the top edge. Four rings of pure Gold were set in the four corners, two on one side and two on the other, through which were passed the wooden staves overlaid with Gold used in carrying the sacred chest. Exodus 25: 10:37: 1-10 The Ark of Covenant, thus fittingly enshrined, was the only piece of furniture in the Most Holy Place. It was visited but once each year by the high Priest, on the day of Atonement, to make " atonement for the sin of the people." This was the most solemn ceremony of the Hebrew worship. The biblical account relates that, approximately one year after the Israelites' exodus from Egypt, the Ark was created according to the pattern given to Moses by God when the Israelites were encamped at the foot of biblical Mount Sinai. Thereafter, the gold-plated acacia chest was carried by its staves while en route by the Levites approximately 2,000 cubits (approximately 800 meters or 2,600 feet) in advance of the people when on the march or before the Israelite army, the host of fighting men.[2] When the Ark was borne by Levites into the bed of the Jordan River, the waters parted as God had parted the waters of the Red Sea, opening a pathway for the entire host to pass. The walls of the city of Jericho were shaken to the ground with no more than a shout from the army after the Ark of the Covenant was paraded around them for seven days by Levites accompanied by seven priests sounding seven trumpets of rams' horns When carried, the Ark was always hidden under a large veil made of skins and blue cloth, always carefully concealed, even from the eyes of the priests and the Levites who carried it. God was said to have spoken with Moses "from between the two cherubim" on the Ark's cover. *** Comes with an explanation card about the Ark and Contents significance and its history