For the cherubims spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above.
Parallel translations
- WEB For the cherubim spread their wings out over the place of the ark, and the cherubim covered the ark and its poles above.
- BSB For the cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and overshadowed the ark and its poles.
- NKJV For the cherubim spread their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles.
- NASB For the cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim made a covering over the ark and its carrying poles from above.
- NLT The cherubim spread their wings over the Ark, forming a canopy over the Ark and its carrying poles.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The cherubim spread their wings over the ark, covering it and its carrying poles. The sacred chest was sheltered beneath their wings.
Overview
The towering cherubim overshadowed the ark, visually framing it as the footstool of God's heavenly throne. Their covering wings conveyed both protection and the awesome holiness surrounding God's presence. This imagery of guardian cherubim recalls Eden and the holiness that guards approach to God, a barrier graciously opened through the gospel.
Cross-references & the web
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Christ at the center
Solomon's glory, wisdom, and temple where God's presence dwells are a shadow of the greater Son of David — 'one greater than Solomon is here' — and of the true Temple, Christ himself.
How 1 Kings 8:7 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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