אֲרוֹן H0727
Chest or box; the Ark of the Covenant, a money-collection chest, or a coffin for burial.
A remarkably versatile word for a rectangular container, appearing overwhelmingly as the Ark of the Covenant -- the sacred chest housing the tablets of the Law, carried by the Levites through the wilderness and eventually placed in Solomon's temple. The same word serves for the collection chest Jehoiada set beside the altar for temple repairs (2 Kgs 12:10), and in a single poignant use, for the coffin in which Joseph's embalmed body was placed in Egypt (Gen 50:26). Cognates across Phoenician, Aramaic, Assyrian, and Arabic all point to a basic meaning of 'chest' or 'box,' showing the sacred connotation was an Israelite development layered onto an everyday object-word.
Senses
1. ark (covenant vessel) — The Ark of the Covenant, the gold-overlaid wooden chest that held the stone tablets, Aaron's rod, and a jar of manna. Nearly every occurrence of this lemma (197 of 202) refers to this sacred object. Multilingual translations consistently distinguish it: English 'ark,' Spanish 'arca,' French 'arche,' German 'Lade' -- all reserving a special term for this unique cultic vessel. Key passages include its construction (Exod 25:10-22), its role in crossing the Jordan (Josh 3:6), and its capture by the Philistines (1 Sam 4:11). 197×
AR["تابوتَ", "تابوتُ", "تابوتِ", "تَابُوتَ", "تَابُوتِ"]·ben["নিয়মের-", "সিন্দুক", "সিন্দুক-", "সিন্দুকের"]·DE["Lade-von"]·EN["ark-of"]·FR["arche-de"]·heb["ארון", "ארון-", "ארן"]·HI["संदूक", "सन्दूक"]·ID["tabut", "tabut-"]·IT["arca-di"]·jav["pethi"]·KO["구", "궤", "궤(접)", "궤를", "방주", "방주가"]·PT["'aron-de", "arca-de", "arca-de-"]·RU["-ковчег", "ковчег", "ковчег-", "ковчеге", "ковчегом"]·ES["arca-de", "el-arca-de"]·SW["sanduku", "sanduku-la"]·TR["sandık", "sandığı", "sandığını", "sandığını-", "sandığının"]·urd["صندوق"]
Exod 25:22, Exod 26:33, Exod 26:34, Exod 30:6, Exod 30:26, Exod 39:35, Exod 40:3, Exod 40:5, Exod 40:21, Num 4:5, Num 7:89, Deut 10:8 (+38 more)
2. chest (money box) — A chest used for collecting monetary offerings, specifically the temple-repair fund box established by the priest Jehoiada during Joash's reign. The same root word shifts from sacred to fiscal context in 2 Kings 12:10-11 and 2 Chronicles 24:8-11. Spanish and German translations ('el arca,' 'die Lade') keep the same base term but context alone disambiguates, while some languages use a distinct word for a money-box. 4×
AR["الصُّنْدُوقَ", "فِي-الصُّنْدُوقِ", "فِي-ٱلصُّنْدُوقِ"]·ben["-বাক্সকে", "-বাক্সে", "সিন্দুকে"]·DE["die-Lade", "fuer-die-Lade", "in-der-chest"]·EN["in-the-chest", "into-the-chest", "the-chest"]·FR["[לארון]", "dans-le-chest", "l'arche"]·heb["ב-ארון", "ה-ארון", "ל-ה-ארון"]·HI["बआरोन-में", "सन्दूक", "सन्दूक-में"]·ID["di-peti", "ke-peti", "peti"]·IT["a-arca", "in-il-chest", "l'arca"]·jav["dhateng-peti", "peti", "wonten-ing-peti"]·KO["권에", "그-궤를", "에-그-궤"]·PT["a-arca", "na-arca", "para-a-arca"]·RU["в-ковчег", "в-ящике", "ковчег"]·ES["el-arca", "en-el-arca"]·SW["katika-sanduku", "katika-sanduku-lile", "sanduku-lile"]·TR["sandık", "sandıkta", "sandığa", "sandığı"]·urd["صندوق", "صندوق-میں"]
3. coffin (burial container) — A coffin or sarcophagus, used only once in Genesis 50:26 for Joseph's burial container in Egypt. The Phoenician cognate similarly means 'sarcophagus,' suggesting this funerary sense is the oldest layer of meaning. English renders it 'coffin,' Spanish 'ataúd,' and German 'Sarg' -- each language switching to a specifically funerary term, highlighting how distinct this sense is from the sacred-vessel usage. 1×
AR["فِي-تَابُوتٍ"]·ben["শবাধারে"]·DE["in-einen-Sarg"]·EN["in-the-coffin"]·FR["dans-le-coffin"]·heb["ב-ה-ארון"]·HI["में-ताबूत"]·ID["dalam-peti-mati"]·IT["in-il-coffin"]·jav["wonten-pethi"]·KO["에-관"]·PT["no-caixão"]·RU["в-гроб"]·ES["en-el-ataúd"]·SW["sanduku"]·TR["tabuta"]·urd["تابوت-میں"]
Related Senses
H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H3548 1. priest, cultic officiant (750×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)H5869a 1. in the eyes/sight of (evaluative) (734×)H5650 1. Servant, attendant, subject (723×)H0408 1. prohibitive negation do-not (712×)G2443 1. so that, in order that (purpose/result) (665×)G0575 1. from (649×)G1223 1. through, by means of (582×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
אֲרוֹן c. art. הָאָרוֹן, הָאָרֹן203 n.m. Ex 35, 12 (f. 1 S 4, 17; 2 Ch 8, 11) chest, ark (Ph. ארן, sarcophagus, Assyrian êrênu (& êrû) chest ZimBP 6, 22, Arabic إِرَانٌ chest, so Aramaic ܐܰܪܘܽܢܳܐ also Nab. ארנא, Vog p. 102, Ph. Mish. also pl. ארונות)—only sg.; abs. †אֲרוֹן 2 K 12:10 = 2 Ch 24:8; c. art. הָאָרוֹן Dt 10:2 + always except Ex Lv Nu where הָאָרֹן (Ex 25:14(×2) + 13 times Ex, Lv 16:2…