The striking resemblances could be coincidental. The Temple of Edfu was built following the Exodus. So the ark of Horus might have drawn on descriptions of the Ark of the Covenant. Jewish soldiers carried God in the Ark as they went to battle the Philistines.
When the Israelites built their Temple in Jerusalem, they ensconced the Ark in its Holy of Holies, which the Jewish High Priest entered once each year. The Ark incorporated two “cherubim” facing each other, their wings extending over the “mercy seat” from which God spoke. So what does Edfu’s ark of Horus have to do with the Ark of the Covenant? According to the Bible, the Ark of the Covenant, enthroning the invisible Jewish God, was carried on two poles attached by rings to the base. Two bird-like creatures face each other above the ark, their wings extending over the seat on which Horus sat. A replica of the ark now displayed in the Holy of Holies is based on a wall relief showing the ark with its poles sitting on a pedestal in a boat floating on the Nile.
Priests occasionally transported the god statue away from the temple in an ark (box) resting in a miniature boat carried on two poles. to honor Horus, the falcon god of the sky. Following the model of much earlier temples, a small statue of Horus resided in a niche in the temple’s Holy of Holies, accessible only by the pharaoh and the high priest. The Temple of Edfu was built by the Greek rulers of Egypt beginning in the third century B.C. Although of no help on that question, a well-preserved Egyptian temple may provide clues about the origins of that famous box. People have long speculated about the fate of the Ark of the Covenant the Bible says the Israelites carried during their Exodus from Egypt. Don has graciously agreed to let us include some excerpts on our blog. Don says “I have tried to find stories in the places we visit that exhibit not only our common humanity but the traditions and religious beliefs that both unite and divide us”. In 2015 he wrote “ Flushed with Curiosity 101 Travel Tales with a Twist”, all of which were spearheaded by his travels. Don Knebel traveled with BAS to Egypt in 2007 subsequently Jordan and many other places in the world.
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