The Book of Joshua 4:18 has a strange verse that can best be understood through its original Hebrew context. ‘It came about that when the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant had come up from the middle of the Jordan and the soles of the priest’s feet were ‘lifted up’ to the dry ground that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place, and went over all its banks like before.’The Hebrew version of ‘lifted up’ uses a grammatical verb known as ‘niphal’ that basically describes an object in a passive state, having an action impose upon it. That’s a little like describing a door in its state of having been closed – an external force made that happen. This is one example of how speculation came about that the Ark could have defied gravity.
But the science involved goes a stage further than just describing the Ark having an ability to levitate. This verse would imply that such power can be extended to those in immediate contact with it.
Understanding the legends associated with the Ark’s amazing ability to be physically carried, bearing in mind its immense weight, has puzzled countless investigators. Prior to delving deeper into the Ark’s own entity related to this phenomenon, in the first instance we question the validity of an object being able to withstand gravitational pull.
