|
Book Review of The Sign and the Seal by Graham Hancock
Reviewed by Gary Greenberg
From the BASNY Explorer
One doesn’t have to buy the author’s central thesis, that
the Ark of the Covenant is presently located in the Ethiopian city of
Axum, to enjoy this book. The story of his search and the excursions
into Ethiopian history are well worth the price of admission.
Mr. Hancock served as East African correspondent for the Economist
and spent some considerable time in Ethiopia. While there, at the
invitation of the government then in power, he had produced a
coffee-table book about Ethiopia Unfortunately, that government was
overthrown and the rebels controlled much of the territory that
Hancock needed to explore in the course of his search. His connection
with the former leaders created a number of barriers, and he had
substantial concerns about his safety. The political situation in
Ethiopia supplies a backdrop for his story.
Ethiopia presents two interesting problems for people interested in
biblical archaeology and Jewish history. First is the famous legend
that the Queen of Sheba came from Ethiopia and had children by
Solomon. Second is the unexplained presence of a large black Jewish
population in Ethiopia, many of whom were recently rescued and
brought to Israel in Operation Solomon.
According to a thirteenth century Ethiopian text called Kebra
Nagast (“Glory of Kings”), Solomon and Sheba had a son
named Menelik. As the book tells it, Menelik removed the Ark of the
Covenant from the Temple and brought it to Ethiopia, where it has
remained ever since. Former emperor Haile Selassie claimed to be a
direct descendant of Sheba and Solomon through Menelik.
In the course of his search, Hancock also interviewed members of the
Ethiopian Jewish community, the Falashas, and to my surprise, they
too have a story about the ark coming to Ethiopia, but it differs
substantially from that of the Kebra Nagast. In the local
Jewish tradition, the Falashas were the Jews who first entered
Ethiopia but did so only after a lengthy stay in Egypt where they had
built a temple near Aswan. That temple was destroyed and they moved
into Ethiopia. In Ethiopia, the Ark was first kept in a tent on the
Island of Tana Kirkos, but approximately sixteen hundred years ago it
was removed to Axum. To the extant that the Jewish version may have a
kernel of truth, the story of a Temple in Aswan would refer to the
famous Jewish temple in Elephantine, an island in the Aswan
territory, which was destroyed in the late fifth century BC, dating
the Falasha arrival in Ethiopia to around 400 BC
There is one more major factor that I find interesting in regard to
the conflict between the Jewish and Christian versions of the
Ark’s arrival in Ethiopia. It appears that around 980 AD a
Jewish Queen named Gudit (or Judit) successfully led a united
federation against the Christian leaders. Her dynasty, very possibly
Jewish, dominated northern Ethiopia, although before long, it
apparently reverted back to Christianity. Subsequently, there appears
to be a very intense cultural, military, and political rivalry
between the Christians and the Jews. It is only after this period
that the Christian version of the ark story appears to have been
written down. One might wonder how much the conflcit between Jew and
Christian affected the developement of the respective legends about
the Ark coming to Ethiopia.
Throughout Hancock’s journey we meet numerous people, Christian
and Jewish, many of them versed in ancient folk lore and filled with
tales of ancient Ethiopian traditions. For me, these interviews were
the most interesting part of the back. And all through the journey,
we are periodically reminded of the background political turmoil
afflicting the country, lending just the touch of danger that we
expect for our archaeological adventurers.
Although Hancock finally arrives at Axum to see the Ark, it is never
brought out to him. He can not provide direct proof for his thesis,
nor do we have any idea what the supposed Ark looks like. What we do
know is that throughout Ethiopia, churches contain a tabot, a
symbolic replica of the ark. They are among the countries most sacred
symbols and no Christian church would be without one.
|
