The Key to the Map

By Bruce Chudacoff and Tanya Solomon

A squad of terrorists eagerly waits in a small Jerusalem home at midnight. Their mission is to plant a radioactive device under the Temple Mount and cause catastrophic damage to the Dome of the Rock, which will be blamed on the Israelis, igniting the final struggle for dominance and control over the Holy Land.

Across the sea in Rome, Jake Greene, a retired Homeland Security operations executive, and his daughter, Rebecca Gould, an anthropologist, stumble upon an antique map and a strange medallion. They are immediately thrust into a world of ancient secrets, modern warfare, and government conspiracy. As they begin to decipher the mysteries surrounding these objects, they meet and join forces with David Robinson, whose family is sworn to help someone who will one day appear to him holding the medallion. They are caught up in a thrilling search for the lost Ark of the Covenant. They must find a way to foil the terrorists, find the Ark, and conceal it from a world not yet ready for its discovery.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 13, 2016
• ISBN: 9781514457399

Bruce Chudacoff

ABOUT THE AUTHORS Bruce Chudacoff was born and raised in Appleton, Wisconsin, and practiced law there for over forty-five years. He is currently retired and resides in Glenview, Illinois, with his wife, Nancy, of almost forty-eight years. They have three children and six grandchildren. Bruce has degrees from the University of Michigan and Harvard Law School and continues to devote much of his time to the Boy Scouts of America. Tanya Solomon is the daughter of Bruce Chudacoff and resides in Northbrook, Illinois, with her husband, David, of over twenty years. They have two children. Tanya has degrees from the University of Michigan and continues to devote much of her time to retail sales while doing volunteer work in her local community. The Pirate Skeleton is the second in a series of adventures by the Greene and Robinson families. The first adventure is titled The Key to the Map and is available online and from Xlibris.

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Copyright © 2016 by Bruce Chudacoff; Tanya Solomon.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2016901866

ISBN:      Softcover      978-1-5144-5738-2

                 eBook          978-1-5144-5739-9

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

It is customary to state that this is a work of fiction and that none of the characters and events depicted in this book are factual and none bear any resemblance to either real persons or events. While that may be true, no one can say for sure whether the events that we have described relating to the construction of the Holy Temple and the whereabouts of the Ark of the Covenant are fictional or real. Perhaps some day someone will find the Lost Ark and we will know for certain.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Scripture quotations are from Tanakh The Holy Scriptures, copyright © 1985, by The Jewish Publication Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Rev. date: 05/11/2016

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CONTENTS

Prologue

Thursday, December 20, 2012, 7 Tevet 5773, Security Headquarters, Jerusalem

BOOK 1: ANCIENT ISRAEL

Chapter 1: 15 Tishre 2924 (Hebrew Calendar), Jerusalem

Chapter 2: 22 Tishre 2931, Ashkelon

Chapter 3: 9 Av 3338, Jerusalem, The Holy Temple

Chapter 4: Redemption and Restoration

BOOK 2: MODERN DAY ISRAEL

Chapter 1: David Robinson

Chapter 2: Creating a Family

Chapter 3: A Secret Revealed

Chapter 4: Friday, June 23, 2010, 11 Tamuz 5770, Ethiopia

Chapter 5: Gondor, The Ceremony of the Tabot

Chapter 6: Lake Tana and the Tabot at Axum

Chapter 7: Tunnels, Caves and Excavations

Chapter 8: Sunday, October 9, 2011, 11 Tishre 5772

Chapter 9: Saturday, February 4, 2012, 11 Shevat 5772, Teheran

Chapter 10: Tuesday, May 22, 2012, 1 Sivan 5772, Rome The Greene Family

Chapter 11: The Medallion

Chapter 12: Back at the Hotel

Chapter 13: Friday, May 28, 2012, 7 Sivan 5772, Athens

Chapter 14: A Day Later, Appleton, Wisconsin

Chapter 15: Wednesday, November 21, 2012, 7 Sivan 5773, Appleton, Wisconsin

Chapter 16: Monday, December 18, 2012, 5 Tevet 5773, Chicago, Illinois

Chapter 17: Wednesday, December 19, 2012, 6 Tevet 5773, Jerusalem

Chapter 18: Wednesday Night, December 19, 2012, 6 Tevet 5773, Near the Temple Mount

Chapter 19: Thursday, December 20, 2012, 7 Tevet 5773

Chapter 20: Later on Thursday

Chapter 21: Thursday evening, December 20, 2012, 7 Tevet 5773, The Prime Minister's Official Residence

Chapter 22: Thursday evening, December 20, 2012, 7 Tevet 5773, Security Headquarters

Chapter 23: Thursday night, December 20, 2012, 7 Tevet 5773, The Knesset

Chapter 24: Friday morning, December 21, 2012, 8 Tevet 5773, Village of Silwan, just after midnight

Chapter 25: Saturday morning, December 22, 2012, 9 Tevet 5773, Eilat

Chapter 26: Saturday, December 22, 2012, 9 Tevet 5773, Robinson Institute Offices, Jerusalem

Chapter 27: Saturday, December 22, 2012, 9 Tevet 5773, The Knesset, Jerusalem

Chapter 28: Saturday evening, December 22, 2012, 9 Tevet 5773, Village of Silwan

Chapter 29: Saturday evening, December 22, 2012, 9 Tevet 5773, The Knesset

Chapter 30: Later that evening, Village of Silwan

Chapter 31: Nearing Midnight, the Knesset

Chapter 32: Positioning

Chapter 33: Village of Silwan

Chapter 34: The Israeli Command Centers

Chapter 35: Inside the Tunnel

Chapter 36: Near the Silwan Tunnel Entrance

Chapter 37: Command Post Beit

Chapter 38: At the Silwan Tunnel

Chapter 39: Command Post Beit

Chapter 40: Command Post Aleph

Chapter 41: At the Battle Site

Chapter 42: The Battle Continues

Chapter 43: Sunday, December 23, 2012, 10 Tevet 5773, Beneath the Temple Mount

Chapter 44: Sunday, December 23, 2012, 10 Tevet 5773, Jerusalem

Chapter 45: Sunday, December 23, 2012, 10 Tevet 5773, The Knesset

Chapter 46: Yassin's Interrogation

Chapter 47: Conference Time

Chapter 48: Back to the Tunnels

Chapter 49: The Prime Minister's Office

Chapter 50: Amit's House, Monday Afternoon

Chapter 51: Planning for the Future

Chapter 52: Tuesday, December 26, 2012, 13 Tevet 5773, Jerusalem

Chapter 53: Thursday, December 28, 2012, 15 Tevet 5773, Chicago

An Excerpt from The Pirate Skeleton

Early Wednesday Morning December 10 - Lutz Park

Later Wednesday Morning, A House Near the City

The Major Participants

Acknowlegements

About the Authors

Prologue

"As the navel is set in the centre of the human body,

so is the land of Israel the navel of the world...

situated in the centre of the world,

and Jerusalem in the centre of the land of Israel,

and the sanctuary in the centre of Jerusalem,

and the holy place in the centre of the sanctuary,

and the ark in the centre of the holy place,

and the foundation stone before the holy place,

because from it the world was founded."

Midrash Tanchuma, Qedoshim.

Thursday, December 20, 2012, 7 Tevet 5773, Security Headquarters, Jerusalem

Abdullah was alone for the first time in hours. He remained tied to the metal chair in the middle of the room. His leg ached from the wound he had suffered in the raid and he was feeling sick again. The sickness had been getting worse over the last few days. Now he was vomiting blood and his hair was falling out in clumps. Over the last few weeks he had noticed that his hair had started falling out but he had not been overly concerned about it. He would feel nauseous and weak for a few hours but then he got better. Now though, the nausea was almost constant and he was so dizzy he couldn't maintain his balance. He felt hot and sweaty and had a severe headache. He needed to go to the bathroom badly.

How had it come to this? Abdullah had been relatively satisfied with his life in the small Arab village he had grown up in. He had a work visa that allowed him to enter Israel proper for his construction job. His boss was fair and treated him with respect. His pay was greater than that of most of the young men in the village and he had attracted favorable attention from Quaddi's father. He had hoped that in a few months his father would find a way to speak to the man about marriage to her.

Then the visit had come from the Hamas agent. Abdullah had been accused of ignoring his responsibilities in the armed struggle against the Zionist enemy. He would be given one chance to meet his proper destiny or his family would suffer for it. On the other hand, as a martyr to the cause he could provide economic security for his family and entry into Paradise for himself with the other heroes of the struggle. While the promise of 73 virgins for him there held a great deal of interest to Abdullah, he was disappointed that he would no longer have a chance with Quaddi. Nevertheless, he knew there was no choice in the matter. His life would be over soon and he would be remembered for all time as a martyr. At least his family would have an enhanced position in the village.

Abdullah had been cautioned by the agent to continue on with his job and to act as a model citizen as long as he was in training for his mission. On nights and weekends he was taught how to use an old AK-47. He learned about concealment and small unit tactics. Abdullah had become a member of a small, clandestine cell of young workers from the surrounding area. His trainers had come from Gaza, they said, but Abdullah knew their accents were Iranian.

As time passed, Abdullah's skills slowly improved along with those of his fellow trainees. Then there came a new type of training. Abdullah's trainers introduced his unit to a stranger. The man was treated by the trainers with great respect and referred to simply as Sir. Sir brought with him a number of heavy boxes, bags of rubber gloves and some long, metal tubes. He taught the group how to don the gloves and how to move heavy objects between the boxes and the tubes. Sir continually emphasized the need for extreme care in this task.

Whenever Abdullah's unit took the training from Sir, Abdullah noticed that Sir observed them from a distance and the other trainers were absent. As Abdullah thought about it now he could trace to the start of Sir's training. It had started with the nausea, dizziness and then occasional vomiting. After a while he noticed diarrhea had begun as well but he had always had a weak stomach and he thought that was due to the stress and the excitement of the training. Abdullah knew that a few of the others were also experiencing the same symptoms that he had but he had kept his mouth shut about it. He knew what happened to people who complained too much.

Soon Abdullah became quite proficient at moving the heavy objects in the proper sequence and connecting them as Sir instructed. One day, Sir informed Abdullah that he would be given the honor of doing the final assembly of their device. Even though he felt tired and weak these days, Abdullah was confident that his condition would not interfere with his ability to do the job so he still said nothing about the sickness. Then one day the orders were given. The members of the cell were to go home to say goodbye to their families and report back for a mission in two days. Excitement grew in Abdullah's heart. Soon he would be able to fulfill his destiny.

The big day arrived. All the members of the unit reported in as ordered. They were given new clothing to put on and were each given a short speech to read about their martyrdom. After they had had a chance to practice the speeches they had each been videoed professing their loyalty to Allah and to the Cause.

The members of the unit were shown their objective on a map. It was a long tunnel located somewhere in Jerusalem. They assembled their gear and departed for the jump-off point. They were driven in a panel truck to a spot in the Old City where they quietly got out of the truck and walked single file carrying their equipment to a large door in an old stone building. They entered and were led to the tunnel entrance. As they began to descend to the entrance their guide left them with an enthusiastic Allah Akbar!

Soon the team was walking down the tunnel carrying the black boxes and the metal tubes. Abdullah had already put on his rubber gloves and he was in the lead when he suddenly heard noises ahead of him.

Quickly, Abdullah halted the group and doused his light. Everyone placed their paraphernalia at the side of the tunnel and took up their weapons. Suddenly, shouts were heard and both sides opened fire. In only moments, Abdullah found himself alone and being surrounded by a large group of armed Israeli soldiers. He felt a burning sensation in his leg and was unable to run away with the rest of the squad. He was quickly subdued, hooded and hauled off to a building nearby.

Abdullah had been sitting in a dark room tied to the chair for what seemed like days. The chair had been bolted to the floor so he couldn't tip it over. Abdullah was hungry and tired. He was sicker than a dog and his leg was unmercifully painful. Suddenly, Abdullah's hood was torn off and a bright light was shining in his eyes. He tried to duck but someone was holding his head in a vicelike grip and all he could do was to try to close his eyes to the brightness. He was confronted by a group of men firing questions at him from all sides: Who are you? Where are you from? What was your objective? What were you doing near the Noble Sanctuary? The questions came at him incessantly. They were so fast and so insistent that he couldn't answer them even if he had known what the answers were. Abdullah was confused and terrified. He had no idea where he had been and why he was there. He knew what he was to do with the boxes and the tubes but had no idea what would happen when he did it. He had guessed that he was not expected to return from his mission but he didn't know why that was. Now all Abdullah wanted was to go home but he knew that wasn't going to happen. Abdullah could not disclose what he had actually been doing that night because he did not know. All he could confess to was that he and his fellows were to make a demonstration against the occupation so, after a few hours, he confessed to that. No one asked him about the boxes and the tubes so he didn't have to make anything up about them.

The interrogation ended and Abdullah was alone again. He had no idea what time it was but he felt almost relieved to have confessed. The interrogators had placed the hood back over his head and he could not hear or see anything. As he sat there immobile and now immersed in his own sweat, vomit and his urine-soaked pants, he felt like time had stopped. In fact, it had not.

BOOK 1

ANCIENT ISRAEL

Chapter 1

15 Tishre 2924 (Hebrew Calendar), Jerusalem

It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining. It was warm but not hot. There was a soft breeze blowing the leaves on the trees. All was perfect. King Solomon stood alone near a stone table atop the great mountain. He had risen with the dawn this morning. After reciting his morning prayers he had bathed and carefully dressed. He had eaten a small breakfast with his favorite wife and set out with only a few of his most trusted advisors. Nearby, the priests stood in a small group. Beyond them were the architects and the workmen. They all patiently waited, silently anticipating what was to come.

Solomon again studied the plans for what he was certain would be the most important testament to the glory of God that had ever been conceived, a monument to last for all time, the Holy Temple. The Temple would be built atop a mountain in the center of Jerusalem where it could be seen and venerated by everyone. The Temple would be Solomon's crowning achievement, something that the Lord had forbidden his father from building. The plans were perfect. The Temple would become a permanent replacement for the Tabernacle, the tent which had housed the Ark of the Covenant since the Exodus, and it would be on a much grander scale. The Temple would be a perfect resting place for the Ark and an inspiring center for Jewish worship.

Solomon had spent years preparing for this project, deciding just where the stone would come from for the construction and where the great timbers would be hewn to support the structure. He had mortgaged his future and that of all Israel on this great work. He had demanded tribute from the kings of his vassal states, his old friend Hiram in particular, to provide for the decoration of the building. Solomon had financed the building project with funds from the entire populace.

Solomon had known that the support of the priests and of the people would be crucial to his success in building the Temple and he had laid the groundwork carefully, taking the High Priest into his confidence and obtaining the enthusiastic approval and encouragement of the entire Levite clan as well. As soon as the High Priest and the leaders of the Levites had approved the plans, men had begun hewing stone for it from Solomon's special quarry. They had been working at this task for many months. Each block of stone had to be properly shaped and dressed before removing it. The block was then numbered with the location that it would ultimately occupy in the Temple. Then came the trip from the quarry through the city to the building site where the blocks had been stored and readied for the proper day to begin construction.

Solomon had consulted carefully with the priests and was assured that now the time was right. The workmen were ready. He gave the word to begin. The priests uttered prayers to the Holy One, Blessed be He, and the workmen maneuvered the first stone of the Temple into place. Solomon's heart skipped a beat and he felt a thrill as the great project commenced. Solomon knew in his heart that affairs of state called him but he just could not tear himself away from the construction site. He watched, fascinated, as the great blocks of stone were placed precisely where they needed to be. It amazed him that the building process was so quiet. No hammer sounds interrupted the chanting of the priests; each block of stone found its assigned place. Solomon was convinced that the Divine One had indeed blessed His future temple.

Solomon continued to study the plans as the great blocks of stone were dragged up the mountain and jockeyed into their proper places. Only one change remained to be made in those plans, and this was not one that would be shared with the construction foreman or anyone else connected with the project other than the High Priest. Solomon had consulted with his aides and had selected one man, known for his skills in building, Caleb, the son of Jephunneh to carry out the change. The King returned to his residence and ordered his aides to bring Caleb to him. He took Caleb to his private chamber where they could be alone and would not be overheard.

The terrified man waited apprehensively before the King, trying not to tremble. You are Caleb the builder? asked the King.

Yes, stammered Caleb, frantically trying to remember what he had done that was so wrong that it now brought him to this place.

Caleb, do not be afraid, Solomon told him. I have a very special, secret job for you. It will be the most important job of your life. I know you can build a building, but can you dig a tunnel? asked the King.

Caleb thought for a few moments and said, Your Majesty, certainly I can build a tunnel; the hard part isn't digging it; the hard part is making sure it won't collapse. I can do it. Just give me the men and the tools. But where do you want this tunnel and why is it a secret?

Solomon became stern. Surely, you do not question me, do you?

Caleb became frightened. No, no Your Majesty. Please forgive me. I would never question you.

Solomon calmed down. Caleb, you are aware of the significance of taking an oath, are you not?

I am indeed, replied the builder.

Then Caleb, I want you to give me your solemn oath before the Lord that you will never divulge what I am about to tell you to anyone other than those people I permit you to talk with. You know that the Lord will strike you down if you violate this trust I am about to place in you.

Caleb was intrigued. He immediately gave the king his oath of secrecy. Solomon then showed Caleb the plans for the Holy Temple. He pointed out the location of the Holy of Holies and explained that this was to be the resting place of the Ark of the Covenant which contained the sacred Tablets of Stone that had been handed down from the time of Moses. He told Caleb that while he was confident that no harm would ever come to these most sacred religious objects, being in the presence of the Holy One as they would be, certain precautions needed to be taken.

Solomon and Caleb spent several hours poring over the plans. When they were finished, Caleb said, Yes Your Majesty, if you supply me with the proper tools and the right workers, you will have your tunnels.

Solomon replied, Caleb, I will give you what you need, but I repeat, we must have absolute secrecy. No one but you and I can know about this project. You will have to find a way to carry on your work with no one else knowing you are even there, ordered the King. Select your workmen with care. They must be skilled at their craft but, equally important, they must be discreet. None of them can have any family ties. You cannot discuss this project with the architect of the Temple, the other priests or any others working there. When you have selected your workers bring them to me here at the palace. I will see to it that they have their own quarters and I will maintain them there while you have them construct the tunnels.

Caleb and Solomon spent some time together discussing the specifics of what the tunnels would look like and how he would create them. At Caleb's suggestion, Solomon modified the Temple plans slightly. He added a small room which was to be situated immediately behind the rear wall of the Holy of Holies. He also modified the method by which that wall would be constructed. Instead of installing the blocks that made up the rear wall in the offset manner used in the rest of the Temple, and for that manner, almost universally in the stone construction projects of the time, Solomon dictated that the rear wall was to be constructed of smaller blocks placed one on top of the other, leaving straight lines from floor to ceiling at the edge of each line of blocks. When he was later asked about these modifications, the King became quite agitated at the implication that anyone might have the audacity to question God's requirements for His building. Of course no one would defy the will of God and Solomon's special walls for God's special room were constructed as ordered.

The great Temple project proceeded as planned. By day, the workers erected the foundations of the Temple. The walls began to take shape and the roof was added. Eventually, the workers began to install the cedar trim and the Temple's other magnificent decorations. By night, Caleb took over with his company of workers. The tunnels were a marvel of modern engineering. Caleb had not been able to begin their construction at the Temple itself because of the need for secrecy. He had therefore begun at the other end of most of the tunnels and had dug toward the Temple Mount. Eventually, the tunnels reached their goal. Secretly, the men excavated a large cavern beneath the Temple building. They carried the rock out through the tunnels themselves and deposited it in the hills of Judea, far beyond the walls of the city. From the cavern, another tunnel was dug, leading just outside of the western wall of the new structure. This, the shortest of the tunnels, was 20 cubits below ground level, and ended at the site of a shop being built just outside the Temple wall.

Once the inner walls of the Temple had been completed Solomon ordered a one week holiday of celebration. During that time Caleb was able to construct the entrance to the tunnel system. The Holy of Holies had not yet been dedicated to God so Caleb was able to bring a few of his workers directly into the soon to be holy area at night. Caleb caused a hole to be cut into the wall at the rear of the Holy of Holies. Due to the unique construction of the wall, Caleb was able to replace the hole with what actually turned out to be a secret door. When he had finished this work it was impossible to find the edges of the new door. The door simply appeared to be part of the wall.

Caleb created an ingenious, secret locking mechanism to open the door. A special key was created to insert into what looked like a small carving at the bottom of the wall at the rear of the Holy of Holies. The key appeared to the casual observer to be an intricate medallion made of stone and metal, but one could not discern its purpose simply by looking at it. Instead, one had to know its true purpose and how to use it properly. If the medallion was inserted into the carving in the wall and given a slight twist, it would trip the mechanism and the door would swing open. The door opened directly into the room that Solomon had added behind the Holy of Holies.

Once Caleb was able to get his workers into that room he was able to direct them in digging a hole 20 cubits downward. It curved around the base of the natural rock that stood just beneath the floor of the Temple building. Stairs were created from the floor level to the bottom of the hole. Caleb used the same technology that had been employed to build the steps leading up to the Temple from the promenade at its Southern entrance. At the foot of the steps, Caleb's men carved a room into the bedrock. They then created a second doorway that led to a second set of stairs which continued down another five meters. They struck out from the foot of the stairs toward the cavern.

Miraculously, the workers were able to connect their new tunnel from the Temple Mount directly to the central cavern. From there, the workmen were able to continue on with the construction of the remaining tunnels. The tunnel project was a tremendous achievement. They were carefully constructed. A few were as long as 7,000 cubits. All of the tunnels were wide enough for two men to walk abreast. The floors were smooth and level except where they had to slope downward to conform to the topography of the hills they passed under and the steps from level to level were all carved right out of the rock. The ceilings were all over 4 cubits in height. As Caleb completed the tunnels, he consulted with Solomon frequently. At one point, Solomon suggested that only two tunnels should actually lead away from the Temple. He wanted each tunnel to have its own separate door, opened by the key. Except for the two main tunnels, Solomon asked Caleb to construct secret traps which would stop interlopers.

The new shop where the shortest leg of the tunnel ended was to be that of a spice dealer known well by the King. The shop had a special feature lacking in most shops of the period. There was a fully-lined, stone basement under it. In the exact center of the basement there was a pit, ostensibly for water seepage to collect. Such pits were not uncommon in large, public buildings but to have such a pit in a shop, even that of a rich merchant, was most unusual. What made this pit unique in all of Jerusalem, however, was that one side of the pit contained a hidden hidden doorway into Caleb's short tunnel. The doorway was constructed in the same manner as that in the Temple and the same key could be used to open it from inside the pit or from within the tunnel.

After seven long years, the Temple project was finally complete. One night, shortly after the secret portion of the work had been completed, Caleb presented King Solomon with two keys, took him on a tour of the tunnel system and showed him how to open and close the doors. What Caleb did not know, however, was that his master stonemason, David ben Vafsi, had made a spare key, just in case something might happen to the originals. That key he wore on a leather thong around his neck. David planned to give Caleb the third key after the Temple was dedicated.

Several weeks later, the Temple was finally dedicated with great rejoicing, sacrifices and revelry. People filled the streets of the city. Even though the walls of the city were less than 3,500 cubits long, it seemed there were hundreds of thousands of people gathered within them. The most solemn moment came when the Ark of the Covenant was conveyed to the Holy of Holies and set upon the foundation stone of the Temple in that room.

Solomon ordered two maps to be made of the tunnel system, one to be kept by the High Priest with one of the keys and one to be kept by the King himself. When the work had been completed and certain refinements had been made to the tunnel complex to provide an extra measure of protection and secrecy to its existence, the need for Caleb's workers ended.

Solomon called all of Caleb's workers together late in the evening after the Temple had been dedicated. He and Caleb praised them for their efforts which the king told them had been some of the most important work of the entire holy project. The workers were all sworn to secrecy and given generous bonuses for their work. The king promised them all new homes and new lives in a land across the Great Sea. The workers were then transported by the king's own guard to a waiting ship in Ashkelon Harbor several miles west of Jerusalem. The ship set sail at midnight for the workers' new home. Circumstances had not permitted David ben Vafsi the opportunity to meet secretly with Caleb before the ship sailed. The result was that David found himself on a strange ship burdened with the key to the tunnels.

Neither the ship nor its cargo of workmen was ever heard from again.

Solomon had accomplished his purpose. He had secretly constructed a failsafe means of protecting the Holy Ark should it ever be necessary. Caleb remained a close confidant of