Kiryat Yearim: Where the Ark of the Covenant Rested for 20 Years

Kiryat Yearim (Kiryat Jearim, “City of Forests”) is a hilltop west of Jerusalem where the Ark of the Covenant rested for 20 years after the Philistines returned it and before David brought it to Jerusalem. The site, overlooking the road from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem near Abu Ghosh, is crowned by the Church of Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant, whose massive statue of the Virgin Mary holding the infant Jesus is visible from the highway.

Ark Israel

After the Philistines captured the Ark of the Covenant at the Battle of Aphek and suffered plagues in every city where they placed it (Ashdod, Gath, Ekron), they returned it to the Israelites on a cart pulled by two cows. The cart arrived at Beth Shemesh, where the people rejoiced but were struck down for looking inside the Ark. Terrified, the people of Beth Shemesh sent a message: “Who can stand in the presence of the Lord, this holy God?” (1 Samuel 6:20). The Ark was then brought to Kiryat Yearim, to the house of Abinadab on the hill: “So the men of Kiriath Jearim came and took up the ark of the Lord. They brought it to Abinadab’s house on the hill and consecrated Eleazar his son to guard the ark of the Lord” (1 Samuel 7:1).

The Ark remained at Kiryat Yearim for 20 years, during the entire judgeship of Samuel and the reign of King Saul. It was David who finally brought the Ark to Jerusalem, dancing before it “with all his might” (2 Samuel 6:14), in one of the most joyous processions described in the Bible.

The Church of Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant

On the summit of the hill stands Notre Dame de l’Arche de l’Alliance, the Church of Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant. The church was built in 1924 by the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Apparition on the site traditionally identified as the location of Abinadab’s house. It is a modest stone building with a single nave and a quiet interior, but what draws the eye from kilometers away is the large statue of the Virgin Mary on the roof, holding the infant Jesus with arms raised toward the sky. The statue is visible from the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway, and for many travelers it is the first landmark they notice when approaching Jerusalem from the west.

The theological idea behind the statue is specific and deliberate. In Catholic tradition, Mary is understood as the Ark of the New Covenant. Just as the original Ark carried the tablets of the Law, the rod of Aaron, and the presence of God, Mary carried within her the living Word of God. The placement of this statue on the hilltop where the Ark of the Covenant rested for twenty years creates a visual and theological bridge between the Old Testament and the New. Inside the church, the walls are simply decorated, and a mosaic floor from an earlier Byzantine church was discovered beneath the building during excavations. The sisters maintain a small garden around the church, and the silence on the hilltop, overlooking the busy highway below, gives the place a sense of separation from the modern world that suits its ancient story.

The Excavations

Recent archaeological excavations at Kiryat Yearim, led by Israel Finkelstein of Tel Aviv University and Thomas Romer of the College de France, have uncovered the remains of a massive platform on the hilltop dating to the 8th century BCE. The platform, built of large stones and measuring approximately 150 by 110 meters, may have supported a temple or a major public building. The excavators suggest that the site served as a significant religious center during the period of the Judean monarchy, consistent with its identification as the place where the Ark was kept. The excavations are ongoing and have attracted international attention.

The View of the Jerusalem Corridor

The hilltop offers panoramic views of the Jerusalem Corridor, including Abu Ghosh in the valley below, the Castel to the east, and the forests of the Jerusalem hills stretching in every direction. The Ark’s 20-year resting place was on one of the highest and most visible hilltops in the area, a fitting location for the most sacred object in ancient Israel.

Visit with Hoshen Tours

Kiryat Yearim is where the Ark of the Covenant rested for twenty years. Hoshen Tours pairs it with the village of Abu Ghosh, the Finnish settlement at Yad HaShmona, the Crusader spring at Ein Hemed, and the biblical landscape reserve at Neot Kedumim.