Moses took the Testimony and placed it in the ark, attaching the poles to the ark; and he set the mercy seat atop the ark.
Parallel translations
- WEB He took and put the testimony into the ark, and set the poles on the ark, and put the mercy seat above on the ark.
- KJV And he took and put the testimony into the ark, and set the staves on the ark, and put the mercy seat above upon the ark:
- NKJV He took the Testimony and put it into the ark, inserted the poles through the rings of the ark, and put the mercy seat on top of the ark.
- NASB Then he took the testimony and put it into the ark, and attached the poles to the ark, and put the atoning cover on top of the ark.
- NLT He took the stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant and placed them inside the Ark. Then he attached the carrying poles to the Ark, and he set the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—on top of it.
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
Moses placed the testimony (the tablets) into the ark and set the mercy seat above it. This made the ark the focal point of God's covenant presence and atonement.
Overview
The ark held the tablets of the law, the 'testimony' of God's covenant, while the mercy seat above served as the place where atoning blood was sprinkled on the Day of Atonement. Thus law and mercy met at the very center of Israel's worship. The mercy seat anticipates Christ, whom Scripture presents as the place of propitiation where God's justice and mercy are reconciled.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Exod 16:34And Aaron placed it in front of the Testimony, to be preserved just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
- Exod 25:16–21And place inside the ark the Testimony, which I will give you.
- Rom 3:25God presented Him as the atoning sacrifice through faith in His blood, in order to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance He had passed over the sins committed beforehand.
- Rom 10:4For Christ is the end of the law, to bring righteousness to everyone who believes.
- 1 Kgs 8:9There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the LORD had made a covenant with the Israelites after they had come out of the land of Egypt.
- Exod 40:3Put the ark of the Testimony in it and screen off the ark with the veil.
- Exod 31:18When the LORD had finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, He gave him the two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God.
- 1 Jn 2:2He Himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
- Heb 4:16Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
- Exod 37:6–9He constructed a mercy seat of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide.
- Deut 10:5and I went back down the mountain and placed the tablets in the ark I had made, as the LORD had commanded me; and there they have remained.
- Heb 10:19–21Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus,
- Heb 9:4containing the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. Inside the ark were the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant.
- Matt 3:15“Let it be so now,” Jesus replied. “It is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness in this way.” Then John permitted Him.
- Ps 40:8I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your law is within my heart.”
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Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 40:20 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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