QQC--Ark and its Poles

Quirks, Queries and Commentary—Exodus 25:10-16

This llustration seems closest to the biblical description.
Compare to the illustrations below.
Notice how much stouter the poles are
their location at the bottom of the box
and the way they're positioned under the box
to fully support the weight without the rings breaking.

There is no mention of feet on the ark.

The ark of the covenant was a trunk or chest the size of an ample desk—bigger than the one I’m sitting at.  Made of wood, it was covered inside and out with gold with gold molding and four gold rings.  Gold is heavy.  I once held a bar of gold just a bit larger than a chocolate bar and it was heavy.  Now imagine a large chest, somewhere between table and counter heights, as deep as it is high and quite a bit longer, covered inside and out with this heavy metal.  I have a cedar chest that is maybe a quarter the size, with no gold on it, and it isn’t all that light.  Add on the gold and it would need several strong men (back in those days) to carry it. 

The shape of the box is good--it doesn't have feet--
but the poles are up too high and
they're in rings that would likely break off with the weight.
Also, there's not enough pole going beyond the box
to allow the men space to put them on their shoulders.

To assist in the carrying, they were to make two wooden poles, also covered in gold to slip through the rings at the bottom corners (not up at the lid) and the ark would ride above the heads of the Levites carrying it.  Those poles, nor the rings, could not be slender and delicate as is usually depicted in illustrations or they wouldn’t be strong enough to support the weight.  They’d simply snap in two (or three or four).  No, these poles must have been fairly substantial in girth to do the required job.

The poles are in the right position
But they are way too thin.

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