1 Kings 8:3
in 1 Kings 8When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the priests took up the ark,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark.
KJV
And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark.
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This verse in 1 Kings 8
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
In 2Ch 5:4, ““the Levites” took up the ark;” and by the Law the ark was the special charge of the Kohathites Num 3:31; Num 4:15. But all priests were Levites Jos 3:3, though all Levites were not priests. And as Joshua had done Jos 3:6; Jos 6:6, so Solomon called upon the priests to bear the holy structure, allowing to mere Levites only the inferior honor of helping to transport the tabernacle and the vessels of the sanctuary.
This site's exposition
the priests took up the ark
on 1 Kings 8:3-5
The priests, not the ordinary Levites, carry the ark this time, an honor Wesley and Gill both trace to the law that barred common Levites from the most holy place where it would finally rest. The tabernacle of the congregation and its holy vessels come up with it, so the wilderness sanctuary itself is retired into the new house rather than left standing at Gibeon. The sacrifice offered before the ark is counted in Kings only as too great for number, a first note of the extravagance that runs through the whole dedication.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The priests - For although the Levites might do this, Num. iv, 15, yet the priests did it at this time, for the greater honour of the solemnity; and because the Levites might not enter into the holy- place, much less into the holy of holies, where it was to be placed, into which the priests themselves might not have entered, if the high-priest alone could have done it.
And all the elders of Israel came,.... To Zion, the city of David: and the priests took up the ark; from thence; in 2Ch 5:4 it is said the Levites did it, whose business it was, Deu 31:25, and so the priests might be called; for every priest was a Levite, though every Levite was not a priest, and the priests did at all times bear the ark; see Jos 3:15.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
That annual festival had been instituted in commemoration of the Israelites dwelling in booths during their stay in the wilderness, as well as of the tabernacle, which was then erected, in which God promised to meet and dwell with His people, sanctifying it with His glory.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּבֹ֕אוּ | vaiyavou | and they came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| כֹּ֖ל | kol | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| זִקְנֵ֣י | ziknei | [the] elders of | H2205 → | 178 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| וַיִּשְׂא֥וּ | vaiyisu | and they lifted | H5375 → | 656 times |
| הַכֹּהֲנִ֖ים | hakohanim | the priests | H3548 → | 750 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָאָרֽוֹן׃ | haaron | the ark | H727 → | 202 times |
וַיָּבֹ֕אוּand they came
vaiyavouH935 →2568 times
כֹּ֖לall
kolH3605 →5413 times
זִקְנֵ֣י[the] elders of
zikneiH2205 →178 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
וַיִּשְׂא֥וּand they lifted
vaiyisuH5375 →656 times
הַכֹּהֲנִ֖יםthe priests
hakohanimH3548 →750 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָאָרֽוֹן׃the ark
haaronH727 →202 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Deuteronomy 31:9So Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and to all the elders of Israel.
it leads to
- Joshua 3:3
and commanded the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God being carried by the Levitical priests, you are to set out from your positions and follow it.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Numbers 4:15
When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy objects and all their equipment, as soon as the camp is ready to move, the Kohathites shall come and do the carrying. But they…
- Joshua 3:3
Through
Joshua 3:3and commanded the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God being carried by the Levitical priests, you are to set out from your positions and follow it.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 31:9
So Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and to all the elders of Israel.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Numbers 10:33
So they set out on a three-day journey from the mountain of the LORD, with the ark of the covenant of the LORD traveling ahead of them for those three days to seek a…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 31:9
Through
Numbers 4:15When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy objects and all their equipment, as soon as the camp is ready to move, the Kohathites shall come and do the carrying. But they…
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 6:6–7
When they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen had stumbled.
- Numbers 7:9
But he did not give any to the Kohathites, since they were to carry on their shoulders the holy objects for which they were responsible.
- 1 Chronicles 13:9–10
When they came to the threshing floor of Chidon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark, because the oxen had stumbled.
- Numbers 10:21
Then the Kohathites set out, transporting the holy objects; the tabernacle was to be set up before their arrival.
- 2 Samuel 6:6–7
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 1 Kings
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament.