The idea
God specifies acacia (shittim) for the Ark, a wood regarded as sacred in Egypt and extremely durable. The Septuagint translates it as 'incorruptible wood' (xyla asēpta), and Josephus confirms the Ark was made of wood 'naturally strong, and could not be corrupted.' This is the detail the Assumption argument rests on. Pius XII, defining the dogma in 1950, named Modestus of Jerusalem and John Damascene as ancient writers who 'looked upon the Ark of the Covenant, built of incorruptible wood and placed in the Lord's temple, as a type of the most pure body of the Virgin Mary, preserved and exempt from all the corruption of the tomb and raised up to such glory in heaven.' Pitre's a fortiori: if the old Ark's wood was holy and incorruptible, how much more the body of the new Ark.
Key verses
- Exodus 25:5 — shittim wood — 'incorruptible' in the Greek.
- Psalm 132:8 — 'Arise, O LORD, into thy rest; thou, and the ark of thy strength.'
- Revelation 11:19 — the Ark seen in the heavenly temple.
The connection
| Old Testament root | New Testament fulfilment | |
|---|---|---|
| The Ark of incorruptible wood, brought into the sanctuary | → | Mary's body, kept from corruption, taken into heaven |
The vault's earlier note asserted 'incorruptible ark → incorruptible body'; this is the textual basis for the arrow — a translator's choice in the Greek Bible that the Fathers, and then a papal definition, took as a prophecy.
Sources
- Septuagint — Exodus 25:5 LXX (p 46) · read
- Josephus — Antiquities 3.134 (p 46) · read
- Munificentissimus Deus (Pius XII, 1950) — §26 (p 63) · read
- Modestus of Jerusalem (p 63)
- John Damascene — On the Dormition II.2 (p 63) · read