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The Ark of The Covenant: All Roads Lead to Yemen

The Ark of The Covenant: All Roads Lead to Yemen

Last updated on: October 8, 2026 at 9:43 am by Rebecca Wallace Keene

The Ark of The Covenant: All Roads Lead to Yemen 2026-10-08T09:43:37-04:00 Rebecca Wallace Keene

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The Ark of The Covenant: All Roads Lead to Yemen made by Rebecca Keene with cahtgpt

The Ark of The Covenant: All Roads Lead to Yemen

That The Ark of the Covenant goes to Yemen is one of the few things I can say with certainty. Our last article explored the idea that two Arks existed. There are many competing stories about what happened to those Arks. However, no matter which trail I followed, I eventually ended up in Yemen. Over the course of this series, we will look at each of those legends separately. We will then explore what happens after Yemen. Today, we start with the tale that originally made me take Yemen more seriously as a possible stopping place for The Ark or Arks.

Levites Go to Yemen

Joseph Jacobs and Schulim Ochser wrote an article called “Yemen” in the 1901-1906 Jewish Encyclopedia. In that article, they claim “Under the prophet Jeremiah 75,000 Jews, including priests and Levites, are said to have gone to Yemen.” This aligns with the story of the Sanaite Jews. They say their forefathers settled in Yemen 42 years before the destruction of The Temple. That would place the immigration around 629/628 BCE. Reuben Ahroni argued in Yemenite Jewry: Origins, Culture, and Literature that the reason for this migration was Jeremiah’s warning to the Israelites that Nebuchadnezzar was coming to destroy the temple.

The interesting thing about this migration is that Levites are specifically mentioned amongst the group that moved to Yemen. They were members of the priestly class who were responsible for caring for and carrying The Ark. That does not prove The Arks went with them. However, it makes The Arks’ move to Yemen with them more likely than if the group included only normal Israelites.

The Arks of The Covenant Are Hidden

2 Maccabees 2:4–6 tells us that “Jeremiah came and found a cave-dwelling, and he brought there the tent and the ark and the altar of incense; then he sealed up the entrance.” This is believed to be Mount Nebo. Jeremiah calls it the mountain Moses ascended to see God’s inheritance. If Jeremiah hid one of the Arks, likely the travelling Ark, it seems unlikely that Ark went with the Jews to Yemen.

We know from the last article that, before this Josiah had told the Levites to place The Ark in the Temple, as recorded in 2 Chronicles 35:3. That, I believe, is The Temple Ark. However, it is unlikely it went with this group too. The reason is that there are later accounts of people claiming to see The Ark under The Temple Mount. Therefore, I almost marked this route off my list. Then I found something that made me look again.

Yemen Jews Use The Ark of The Covenant

Magdel le Roux recorded, “Arabic sources indicate that those Jews in Yemen had the Ark of the Covenant.” He went on to explain that they used The Ark against their enemies in battle. Therefore, I tried to verify this. I discovered there was a battle between Yemeni Jews and Ethiopia in 523 CE.

Two separate inscriptions confirm this war. According to DASI — Ry 508 inscription record, one inscription corresponds to June 523 and reports Yūsuf Asʾar Yathʾar, king of all the tribes, killing Ethiopians, burning their churches, and operations near the Red Sea coast and Najran. According to Christian Robin, Himyar and Judaism scholarship via HAL, the other inscription was carved at Biʾr Ḥimā, north of Najrān, and corresponds to approximately July 523 CE. This stone also records fighting with Ethiopians. What makes this carving important is that it invokes Raḥmānān, the monotheistic deity used in Jewish Himyarite religious language, and “the Lord of the Jews.” This is proof that the armies and their leader Yusuf were indeed Jewish.

The Ark of The Covenant is Found by a People From Yemen

Having confirmed both the immigration to Yemen and the following wars, this legend began to look like the most likely route for The Travelling Ark. However, I still didn’t understand how this and the Jeremiah cave legend could both be true. Then I found an Arabic story in Tudor Parfitt’s book, The Lost Ark of the Covenant: Solving the 2,500 Year Old Mystery of the Fabled Biblical Ark.

Parfitt claims that the Jurham tribe, an ancient Arab tribe, found the Ark in the cave where Jeremiah hid it. They then carried it to Mecca. The Jurham themselves were from Yemen. Their history records that they left Yemen and travelled to Mecca, where they met Ishmael and Hagar. They became great rulers there. At some point after this, the Jews in Yemen must have recovered the Ark to use in battle as described in the other legend.

The Ark of The Covenant is Hidden in a Yemen Cave

Did the Jurham give it back to them? We do not know. However, we have another Arabic source which says that, after The Ark is used in battle it is hidden in a Yemen cave. Magdel Le Roux, in Ngoma Lungundu: An African Ark of the Covenant said that The Ark was hidden in a cave in Wadi Hadhramaut. Wadi Hadhramaut is in Yemen. The cave is said to be guarded by snakes and lions. However, The Ark does not remain in a Yemen cave. So, come back and read the rest of the series to find out where it travels next.

With the confirmed Jewish migration and Yemeni Jewish battles, this journey now looks like the strongest case for how The Travelling Ark got to Yemen. However, there are many other legends. Each of them returns us to this country. Before we move on to what happened to The Ark after Yemen, we will explore each of these alternate routes. So, be sure to sign up for the Newsletter. You can be alerted when the next step on our Ark journey is published.

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About Rebecca Keene

Rebecca Keene holds a B.S. in Psychology and Religion and is currently pursuing an M.A. in Women, Gender, Spirituality, and Social Justice. An ordained minister, Kabbalah student, and fierce advocate for the marginalized, she is the author of Faith Under the Rainbow: Reclaiming the Truth About Homosexuality and the Bible. Rebecca founded the social media community Reclaiming the Truth and lives in Kentucky, where she practices Non-Denominational Judaism. Read Rebecca's articles at Reclaiming the Truth. You can read more about the author here.

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