[1] At Yuma, Phoenix and Tucson, the records of twenty-six, eighteen
and fifteen years respectively show a rate of evaporation 35.2, 12.7,
and 7.7 times as great as the mean annual rainfall, which was 2.84
in., 7.06 in. and 11.7 in. for the places named.
[2] The San Francisco yellow pine forest, with an area of some 4700
sq. m., is the finest forest of the arid south-west.
[3] The combined flow of the Salt and Verde varies from 100 to more
than 10,000 cub. ft. per second.
[4] The dam locks a narrow canyon. The height is 284 ft., the water
rising 230 ft. against it. The storage capacity is exceeded by
probably but one reservoir in the world--the Wachusett reservoir near
Boston.
ARJUNA, in Hindu mythology, a semi-divine hero of the _Mahabharata_. He
was the third son of Pandu, son of Indra, His character as sketched in
the great epic is of the noblest kind. He is the central figure of that
portion of the epic known as the _Bhagwad-gita_, where he is represented
as horrified at the impending slaughter of a battle and as being
comforted by Krishna.
ARK (a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Ger. _Arche_, adapted from
the Lat. _arca_, chest, cf. _arcere_, to shut up, enclose), a chest,
basket or box. The Hebrew word _tebah_, translated in the A.V. by "ark,"
is used in the Old Testament (1) of the box made of bulrushes in which
Pharaoh's daughter found the infant Moses (Exodus ii. 3), and (2) of the
great vessel or ship in which Noah took refuge during the flood (Genesis
vi.-ix.).
_Noah's Ark._--According to the story in Genesis, Noah's ark was large
enough to contain his family and representatives of each kind of animal.
Its dimensions are given as 300 cubits long, 50 cubits broad and 30
cubits high (cubit = 18-22 in.). It was made of "gopher" wood, which has
been variously identified with cypress, pine and cedar. Before the days
of the "higher criticism" and the rise of the modern scientific views as
to the origin of species, there was much discussion among the learned,
and many ingenious and curious theories were advanced, as to the number
of the animals and the space necessary for their reception, with
elaborate calculations as to the subdivisions of the ark and the
quantities of food, &c., required to be stored. It may be interesting to
recall the account given in the first edition of the _Encyclopaedia
Britannica_ (1771), which contained a summary of some of these various
views (substantially repeated up to the publication of the eighth
edition, 1853). "Some have thought the dimensions of the ark as given by
Moses too scanty ... and hence an argument has been drawn against the
authority of the relation. To solve this difficulty many of the ancient
Fathers and the modern critics have been put to miserable shifts. But
Buteo and Kircher have proved geometrically that, taking the cubit of a
foot and a half, the ark was abundantly sufficient for all the animals
supposed to be lodged in it. Snellius computes the ark to have been
above half an acre in area ... and Dr Arbuthnot computes it to have been
81,062 tuns ... if we come to a calculation the number of species of
animals will be found much less than is generally imagined, not
amounting to a hundred species of quadrupeds, nor to two hundred of
birds.... Zoologists usually reckon but an hundred and seventy species
in all." The progress of the "higher criticism," and the gradual
surrender of attempts to square scientific facts with a literal
interpretation of the Bible, are indicated in the shorter account given
in the eighth edition, which concludes as follows:--"the insuperable
difficulties connected with the belief that all the existing species of
animals were provided for in the ark, are obviated by adopting the
suggestion of Bishop Stillingfleet, approved by Matthew Poole, Pye
Smith, le Clerc, Rossenmuller and others, that the deluge did not extend
beyond the region of the earth then inhabited, and that only the animals
of that region were preserved in the ark." The first edition also gives
an engraving of the ark (repeated in the editions up to the fifth), in
shape like a long roofed box, floating on the waters; the animals are
seen in separate stalls. By the time of the ninth edition (1875) precise
details are no longer considered worthy of inclusion; and the age of
scientific comparative mythology has been reached.
For a comparative study of the occurrence of the ark in the various
deluge myths, in the present edition, see DELUGE; COSMOGONY; BABYLONIA
AND ASSYRIA.
The _Ark of the Law_, in the Jewish synagogue, is a chest or cupboard
containing the scrolls of the Torah (Pentateuch), and is placed against
or in the wall in the direction of Jerusalem. It forms one of the most
decorative features of the synagogue, and often takes an architectural
design, with columns, arches and a dome. There is a fine example in the
synagogue at Great St Helens, London. (X.)
_Ark of the Covenant, Ark of the Revelation, Ark of the Testimony_, are
the full names of the sacred chest of acacia wood overlaid with gold
which the Israelites took with them on their journey into Palestine. The
Biblical narratives reveal traces of a considerable development in the
traditions regarding this sacred object, and those which furnish the
most complete detail are of post-exilic date when the original ark had
been lost. The fuller titles of the ark originate in the belief that it
contained the "covenant" (berith) or "testimony" ('eduth), the technical
terms for the Decalogue (q.v.); primarily, however, it would seem to
have been called "the ark of Yahweh" (or "Elohim"), or simply "the ark."
The word itself (aron) designates an ordinary chest (cp. Gen. i. 26; 2
Kings xii. 10), and the (late) description of its appearance represents
it as an oblong box 2-1/2 cubits long, 1-1/2 cubits in breadth and height
(roughly 1.2 by .75 metres). It was lined within and without with gold,
and through four golden rings were placed staves of acacia wood, by
means of which it was carried. A slab of the same metal (the so-called
"mercy-seat," _kapporeth_, Gr. _hilasterion_) covered the top, and this
was surmounted by two Cherubim (Ex. xxv. 10-22, xxxvii. 1-9). The
latter, however, are not mentioned in earlier passages (Deut. x. 1, 3),
and would naturally increase the weight of the ark, which, according to
2 Sam. xv. 29, could be carried by two men.
The ark was borne by the Levites (Deut. x. 8), and the latest narratives
amplify the statement with a wealth of detail characteristic of the
post-exilic interest in this order. (See LEVITES.) An interesting
passage relating the commencement of an Israelite journey vividly
illustrates the power of the sacred object. As the ark started, it was
hailed with the cry,"Arise, Yahweh, let thine enemies be scattered, let
them that hate thee flee from before thee," and when it came to rest,
the cry again rang out,"Return, O Yahweh, to the myriads of families of
Israel" (Num. x. 33-36). This saying appears to imply a settled life in
Canaan, but both affirm the warlike significance of Yahweh and the ark.
Thus it is the permanent pledge of Yahweh's gracious presence; it guides
the people on their journey and leads them to victory. It is no mere
receptacle, but a sacrosanct object as much to be feared as Yahweh
himself. To presume to fight without it was to invite defeat, and on one
notable occasion the Israelites attempted to attack their enemy north of
Kadesh without its aid, and were defeated (Num. xiv. 44 sq.). There are
many gaps in its history, and although at the crossing of the Jordan and
at the fall of Jericho the ark figures prominently (Josh. iii. sq., vi.
sq.), it is unaccountably missing in stories of greater national moment.
Once it is found at Bethel (Judges xx. 27 sq.). It is met with again at
Shiloh, where it is under the care of Eli and his sons, descendants of
an ancient family of priests (1 Sam. ii. 28; cp. Josh. xviii. 1). After
a great defeat of Israel by the Philistines it was brought into the
field, but was captured by the enemy. The trophy was set up in the
Philistine temple of Ashdod, but vindicated its superiority by
overthrowing the god Dagon. A plague smote the city, and when it was
removed to Ekron, pestilence followed in its wake. After taking counsel
the Philistines placed the ark with a votive offering upon a new cart
drawn by two cows. The beasts went of their own accord to Beth-shemesh,
where it remained in the field of a certain Joshua. Again a disaster
happened through some obscure cause, and seventy of the sons of Jeconiah
were smitten (1 Sam. vi. 19, R.V., margin). Thence it was removed to the
house of Abinadab of Kirjath-jearim, who consecrated his son to its
service (1 Sam. iv.-vii. 1). For many years the ark remained
untouched--apparently forgotten. Shiloh disappears from history; neither
Saul nor even Samuel, whose youth had been spent with it, takes any
further thought of it. After a remarkable period of obscurity, the ark
enters suddenly into the history of David (2 Sam. vi.). Some time after
the capture of Jerusalem the ark was brought from Baal-Judah, but at the
threshing-floor of Nacon (an unintelligible name) Abinadab's son Uzzah
laid hands upon it and was struck down for his impiety. On this account
the place is said to have received the name Perez-Uzzah ("breach of
Uzzah"). It was taken into the house of Obed-edom the Gittite (i.e. of
Gath), and brought a blessing upon his house during the three months
that it remained there. Finally the king had it conveyed to the city of
David, where a tent was prepared to shelter it. Once at Jerusalem, it
seems to have lost its unique value as the token of Yahweh's presence;
its importance was apparently merged with that of the Temple which
Solomon built. The foundation of the capital would pave the way for the
belief that the national god had taken a permanent dwelling-place in the
royal seat. The prophets themselves lay no weight upon the ark as the
central point of Jerusalem's holiness. The real Deuteronomic code does
not mention it, and to Jeremiah (iii. 16) it was a thing of no
consequence. Later, in the age of the priestly schools, the ark received
much attention, although it must obviously be very doubtful how far a
true recollection of its history has survived. But nowhere is any light
thrown upon its fate. The invasion of Shishak, the capture of Jerusalem
by Joash (2 Kings xiv. 13, 14), the troublous reign of Manasseh, the
destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadrezzar, have found each its
supporters. The wild legends of its preservation at the taking of
Jerusalem (2 Macc. ii. and elsewhere) only show that the popular mind
was unable to share the view that the ark was an obsolete relic. More
poetical is the tradition that the ark was raised to heaven, there to
remain till the coming of the Messiah, a thought which embodies the
spiritual idea that a heavenly pledge of God's covenant and faithfulness
had superseded the earthly symbol.[1]
A critical examination of the history of the Israelite ark renders it
far from certain that the object was originally the peculiar possession
of all Israel. Many different traditions have gathered around the story
of the Exodus, and the ark was not the only divinely sent guide or
forerunner which led the Israelites. Its presence at Shiloh, and its
prominence in the life of Joshua, support the view that it was the
palladium of the Joseph tribes, but the traditions in question conflict
with others. The account of the commencement of the ark's journey
associates it with Moses and his kin (Num. x. 29 sqq.)--that is, with
the south Palestinian clans with which the term "Levites" appears to be
closely connected. (See LEVITES.) A distinct movement direct into Judah
is implied by certain old traditions (see CALEB), but this is
subordinated to the more comprehensive account of the journey round by
the east of the Jordan. (See EXODUS, THE.) The narratives in 1 Sam.
iv.-vi. stand on a plane by themselves, and the gap between them and 2
Sam. vi. has not been satisfactorily fixed. But it is not certain that
the two belong to the same cycle of tradition; Kirjath-jearim and
Baal-Judah are identified only in later writings, and the behaviour of
Saul's daughter (2 Sam. vi. 15 sqq.) may conceivably imply that the ark
was an unknown object to Benjamites. It is of course possible that the
ark was originally the sacred shrine of the clans which came direct to
Judah, and that the traditions in 1 Sam. iv.-vi., Josh. iii. sqq. are of
secondary origin, and are to be associated with its appearance at
Shiloh, the fall of which place, although attributed to the time of
Samuel, is apparently regarded by Jeremiah (xxvi. 6) as a recent event.
Of these two divergent traditions, it would seem that the one which
associates it with the kin of Moses and David may be traced farther in
those late narratives which connect the ark closely with the Levites and
even attribute its workmanship to Bezalel, a Calebite (Ex. xxxi. 2; 1
Chron. ii. 19 sqq.). The tradition in Psalms cxxxii. 6 of the search for
the ark at Jaar (Kirjath-jearim) and Ephratah is not clear; but a
comparison with 1 Chron. ii. 50 seems to show that it recognized the
"Calebite" origin of the ark.
See, on this, S.A. Cook, _Critical Notes on 0. T. History (Index_
s.v.), and, for other views, Kosters, _Theol. Tijd_. xxvii. 361 sqq.;
Cheyne, _Encyc. Bib._ "Ark"; G. Westphal, _Yahwes Wohnstatten_, pp. 55
sqq., 85 sqq. (Giessen, 1908).
Whether the ark originally contained some symbol of Yahweh or not has
been the subject of much discussion. Thus, it has been held that it
contained stone fetishes (meteoric stones and the like) from Yahweh's
original abode on Sinai or Horeb. As the palladium of the Joseph tribes,
it has even been suggested that the bones of Joseph were treasured in
the ark. Others have regarded it as an empty portable throne,[2] or as a
receptacle for sacred serpents (analogies in Frazer, _Pausanias_, iv.
pp. 292, 344). That it contained the tables of the law (Deut. x. 2; 1
Kings viii. 9) was the later Israelite view, and the subsequent
development is illustrated in Heb. ix. 4. It is enough to decide that
the ark represented in some way or other the presence of Yahweh and that
the safety of his followers depended upon its security (analogies in
Frazer, _Paus._ x. p. 283). The Semitic world affords many examples of
the belief that a man's religion was part of his political connexion and
that the change of nationality involved change of cult. He who leaves
his land to enter another, leaves his god and is influenced by the
religion of his new home (1 Sam. xxvi. 19; Ruth i. 16 sqq.), but
strangers know not "the cult of the God of the land" (2 Kings xvii. 26).
No nation willingly changes its god (Jer. ii. 11), and there are means
whereby the follower of Yahweh may continue his worship even when
outside Yahweh's land (2 Kings v. 17). When a people migrate they may
take with them their god, and if they conceive him to be a spiritual
being who cannot be represented by an image, they may desire a
symbolical expression of or, rather, a substitute for his presence.
Accordingly the conception of the ark must be based in the first
instance upon the beliefs of the particular clans or tribes whose sacred
object it was.
See further, W.R. Smith, _Religion of the Semites_, p. 37; Schwally,
_Kriegsaltertumer_, i. p. 9; _Revue biblique_ (1903), pp. 249 sqq.;
and on the ark, generally, in addition to the literature already
cited, Kautzsch, Hastings' _Dict. Bible_, v. p. 628; A.R.S. Kennedy,
_Century Bible: Samuel_ (_Appendix_); E. Meyer, _Die Israeliten, Index
s.v. "Lade,"_; and R.H. Kennett, _Enc. of Rel. and Ethics_.
(S. A. C.)