אָרוֹן
aron · chest, ark; coffin
Hebrew word · Strong’s number H727 · appears 202 times in the Bible
What is the Strong number?
Strong’s number identifies this word: use it to find the same word in other study tools.What it means
aron (אָרוֹן) is a Hebrew word of the Bible that means “chest, ark; coffin”.
Chest, box. Above all, the ark of the covenant: the chest that held the tablets. Also a coffin.
How to say it
a·ron
Approximate pronunciation. Vowels sound as in Spanish (a as in father, e as in bed, i as in machine, o as in note, u as in rule); the syllable in bold is stressed. The voice is your device's.
Its senses in the Bible
- A box; also a burial box.
- The sacred chest of the covenant, which held the tablets.
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906)
Word study
Box, chest. Almost always it is the ark of the covenant; once, a coffin.
- The ark that Moses has made Exodus 25:10
- The ark of the covenant in Israel's history 1 Samuel 4:172 Samuel 6:6
- What was inside: the two tablets of stone 1 Kings 8:9
- Joseph's coffin Genesis 50:26
Historical and cultural background
According to 1 Kings 8:9 “There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone that Moses had placed there at Horeb”. Exodus 25 describes how it is made and how it is carried: with poles put through its rings.
How we translate it
“Ark” 195 times, “chest” 6 (the money chest of the temple), “coffin” 1 (Genesis 50:26, by the sense). In English “ark” also renders another word, תֵּבָה, Noah's ark and the basket of Moses: they are different words in Hebrew.
How it is translated
The words this translation uses for it, most frequent first.
- ark ×195
- chest ×6
- coffin ×1
Where it appears
- Genesis×1
- Exodus×26
- Leviticus×1
- Numbers×6
- Deuteronomy×8
- Joshua×30
- Judges×1
- 1 Samuel×40
- 2 Samuel×21
- 1 Kings×12
- 2 Kings×2
- 1 Chronicles×34
- 2 Chronicles×18
- Psalms×1
- Jeremiah×1
- Genesis 50:26
Joseph died a hundred and ten years old; they embalmed him and he was placed in a coffin in Egypt.
- Exodus 25:10
They shall make an ark of acacia wood: two cubits and a half its length, a cubit and a half its width, and a cubit and a half its height.
- Exodus 25:14
You shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry the ark with them.
- Exodus 25:15
In the rings of the ark the poles shall be; they shall not be removed from it.
- Exodus 25:16
You shall put into the ark the testimony that I will give you.
- Exodus 25:21
You shall put the cover of expiation on top of the ark, and into the ark you shall put the testimony that I will give you.
- Exodus 25:22
There I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the cover of expiation, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, all that I will command you for the sons of Israel.
- Exodus 26:33
You shall hang the veil under the clasps, and bring there, inside the veil, the ark of the testimony; and the veil shall separate for you between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place.
- Exodus 26:34
You shall put the cover of expiation on the ark of the testimony in the Most Holy Place.
- Exodus 30:6
You shall put it in front of the veil that is by the ark of the testimony, in front of the cover of expiation that is over the testimony, where I will meet with you.
- Exodus 30:26
With it you shall anoint the tent of meeting and the ark of the testimony,
- Exodus 31:7
the tent of meeting, and the ark of the testimony, and the cover of expiation that is on it, and all the utensils of the tent;
- Exodus 35:12
the ark and its poles, the cover of expiation, and the veil that screens it;
- Exodus 37:1
And Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood; two cubits and a half was its length, and a cubit and a half its width, and a cubit and a half its height.
- Exodus 37:5
and he put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, to carry the ark.
- Exodus 39:35
the ark of the testimony and its poles, and the cover of expiation;
- Exodus 40:3
And you shall put there the ark of the testimony, and you shall screen the ark with the veil.
- Exodus 40:5
And you shall put the golden altar for incense before the ark of the testimony, and you shall put the screen of the entrance for the dwelling.
- Exodus 40:20
And he took and put the testimony into the ark, and set the poles on the ark, and put the cover of expiation on the ark above.
- Exodus 40:21
And he brought the ark into the dwelling, and set up the veil that screens it, and screened the ark of the testimony, as YHWH had commanded Moses.
- Leviticus 16:2
And YHWH said to Moses, “Tell Aaron your brother that he is not to come at any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, in front of the cover of expiation that is on the ark, so that he does not die; for in the cloud I will appear over the cover of expiation.
- Numbers 3:31
And their charge is the ark, and the table, and the lampstand, and the altars, and the utensils of the Holy Place with which they minister, and the screen, and all its service.
- Numbers 4:5
When the camp sets out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down the veil that screens, and cover with it the ark of the testimony.
- Numbers 7:89
And when Moses went into the tent of meeting to speak with him, he heard the voice speaking to him from above the cover of expiation that was on the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim; and he spoke to him.
- Numbers 10:33
And they set out from the mountain of YHWH a journey of three days, and the ark of the covenant of YHWH went before them a journey of three days to seek out for them a resting place.
- Numbers 10:35
And whenever the ark set out, Moses would say, “Rise up, YHWH, and let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee from before you.”
- Numbers 14:44
But they presumed to go up to the top of the mountain, though the ark of the covenant of YHWH and Moses did not depart from the midst of the camp.
- Deuteronomy 10:1
At that time YHWH said to me, “Carve for yourself two tablets of stone like the first ones, and come up to me on the mountain, and make for yourself an ark of wood.
- Deuteronomy 10:2
And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke, and you shall put them in the ark.”
- Deuteronomy 10:3
So I made an ark of acacia wood and carved two tablets of stone like the first ones, and went up the mountain with the two tablets in my hand.
- Deuteronomy 10:5
Then I turned and came down from the mountain and put the tablets in the ark that I had made; and they are there, as YHWH commanded me.
- Deuteronomy 10:8
At that time YHWH set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of YHWH, to stand before YHWH to minister to him and to bless in his name, to this day.
- Deuteronomy 31:9
And Moses wrote this instruction and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of YHWH, and to all the elders of Israel.
- Deuteronomy 31:25
that Moses commanded the Levites, who carried the ark of the covenant of YHWH, saying,
- Deuteronomy 31:26
“Take this book of the instruction and put it beside the ark of the covenant of YHWH your Elohim, and it shall be there as a witness against you.
- Joshua 3:3
and commanded the people, saying, “When you see the ark of the covenant of YHWH your Elohim and the priests, the Levites, carrying it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it.
- Joshua 3:6
And Joshua said to the priests, “Carry the ark of the covenant and pass on before the people.” So they carried the ark of the covenant and went before the people.
- Joshua 3:8
And you shall command the priests who carry the ark of the covenant, saying, ‘When you come to the edge of the water of the Jordan, you shall stop in the Jordan.’”
- Joshua 3:11
Look, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing before you into the Jordan.
- Joshua 3:13
And it shall be, when the soles of the feet of the priests who carry the ark of YHWH, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan will be cut off, the waters that come down from above, and they will stand in one heap.”
And 162 more times.