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.
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:
- 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.
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 Yahweh commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept.
- Exod 25:16–21You shall put the testimony which I shall give you into the ark.
- Rom 3:25whom God sent to be an atoning sacrifice, through faith in his blood, for a demonstration of his righteousness through the passing over of prior sins, in God’s forbearance;
- Rom 10:4For Christ is the fulfillment of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
- 1 Kgs 8:9There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets which Moses put there at Horeb, when Yahweh made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.
- Exod 40:3You shall put the ark of the testimony in it, and you shall screen the ark with the veil.
- Exod 31:18He gave to Moses, when he finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony, stone tablets, written with God’s finger.
- 1 Jn 2:2And he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world.
- Heb 4:16Let us therefore draw near with boldness to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and may find grace for help in time of need.
- Exod 37:6–9He made a mercy seat of pure gold. Its length was two and a half cubits, and a cubit and a half its width.
- Deut 10:5I turned and came down from the mountain, and put the tablets in the ark which I had made; and there they are as Yahweh commanded me.
- Heb 10:19–21Having therefore, brothers, boldness to enter into the holy place by the blood of Jesus,
- Heb 9:4having a golden altar of incense, and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which was a golden pot holding the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant;
- Matt 3:15But Jesus, answering, said to him, “Allow it now, for this is the fitting way for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed him.
- Ps 40:8I delight to do your will, my God. Yes, 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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