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procession round Jericho (Joshua 6:4, 6, 8, 11, 12). When carried it was always wrapped in the veil, the badgers’ skins, and blue cloth, and carefully concealed even from the eyes of the Levites who carried it. After the settlement of Israel in Palestine the ark remained in the tabernacle at Gilgal for a season, and was then removed to Shiloh till the time of Eli, between 300 and 400 years (Jeremiah 7:12), when it was carried into the field of battle so as to secure, as they supposed, victory to the Hebrews, and was taken by the Philistines (1 Samuel 4:3-11), who sent it back after retaining it seven months (1 Samuel 5:7, 8). It remained then at Kirjath-jearim (7:1,2) till the time of David (twenty years), who wished to remove it to Jerusalem; but the proper mode of removing it having been neglected, Uzzah was smitten with death for putting “forth his hand to the ark of God,” and in consequence of this it was left in the house of Obed-edom in Gath-rimmon for three months (2 Samuel 6:1-11), at the end of which time David removed it in a grand procession to Jerusalem, where it was kept till a place was prepared for it (12-19). It was afterwards deposited by Solomon in the temple (1 Kings 8:6-9). When the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and plundered the temple, the ark was probably taken away by Nebuchadnezzar and destroyed, as no trace of it is afterwards to be found. The absence of the ark from the second temple was one of the points in which it was inferior to the first temple.
•ARKITE (Genesis 10:17; 1 Chronicles 1:15), a designation of certain descendants from the Phoenicians or Sidonians, the inhabitants of Arka, 12 miles north of Tripoli, opposite the northern extremity of Lebanon.
•ARM used to denote power (Psalm 10:15; Ezekiel 30:21; Jeremiah 48:25). It is also used of the omnipotence of God (Exodus 15:16; Psalm 89:13; 98:1; 77:15; Isaiah 53:1; John 12:38; Acts 13:17)
•ARMAGEDDON occurs only in Revelation 16:16 (R.V., “Har-Magedon”), as symbolically designating the place where the “battle of that great day of God Almighty” (ver. 14) shall be fought. The word properly means the “mount of Megiddo.” It is the scene of the final conflict between Christ and Antichrist. The idea of such a scene was suggested by the Old Testament great battle-field, the plain of Esdraelon (q.v.).
•ARMENIA high land, occurs only in Authorized Version, 2 Kings 19:37; in Revised Version, “Ararat,” which is the Hebrew word. A country in