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:
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.
- BSB 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.
- 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 16:34As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept.
- Exod 25:16–21And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee.
- Rom 3:25Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
- Rom 10:4For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.
- 1 Kgs 8:9There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.
- Exod 40:3And thou shalt put therein the ark of the testimony, and cover the ark with the vail.
- Exod 31:18And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.
- 1 Jn 2:2And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
- Heb 4:16Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
- Exod 37:6–9And he made the mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half was the length thereof, and one cubit and a half the breadth thereof.
- Deut 10:5And I turned myself and came down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they be, as the LORD commanded me.
- Heb 10:19–21Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
- Heb 9:4Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant;
- Matt 3:15And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.
- Ps 40:8I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy 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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