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2 Maccabees recounts a tradition in which Jeremiah hides the ark, tent, and altar in a cave, stating they will remain hidden until a future time. This narrative expands on Jeremiah, who foretells a day when the ark will no longer be remembered or needed.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Jeremiah 3:16
Hebrew Bible
15 I will give you leaders who will be faithful to me. They will lead you with knowledge and insight. 16 In those days, your population will multiply and become fruitful34 in the land. At that time,” says the Lord, “people will no longer talk about having the ark that contains the Lord’s covenant with us. They will not call it to mind, remember it, or miss it. No, that will not be done anymore! 17 At that time the city of Jerusalem will be called the Lord’s throne. All nations will gather there in Jerusalem to honor the Lord’s name. They will no longer follow the stubborn inclinations of their own evil hearts. 18 At that time the nation of Judah and the nation of Israel will be reunited. Together they will come back from a land in the north to the land that I gave to your ancestors as a permanent possession.
Date: 500–401 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
2 Maccabees 2:5
Deuterocanon
4 It was in the writing that the prophet, being warned by God, commanded that the tabernacle and the ark should follow with him, when he went out to the mountain where Moses had gone up and saw God’s inheritance. 5 Jeremiah came and found a cave, he brought the tabernacle, the ark, and the altar of incense into it; then he sealed the entrance. 6 Some of those who followed with him came there that they might mark the way, and could not find it. 7 But when Jeremiah learned about that, he rebuked them, saying, “The place shall be unknown until God gathers the people together again and shows mercy. 8 Then the Lord will disclose these things, and the glory of the Lord shall be seen with the cloud, as it was also shown to Moses, also as Solomon implored that the place might be consecrated greatly,
Date: 160–63 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... In 2 Maccabees it is said that Jeremiah was told to go up to Mount Nebo and take there the tent, the ark, and the altar of incense and seal them in a cave; this is clearly a later legend dependent on Jeremiah 3:16-17 ..."
William Lee Holladay, Jeremiah 2: A Commentary on the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah, Chapters 26-52 (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1989), 127.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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