2 Chronicles 5:4
in 2 Chronicles 5When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the Levites took up the ark,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And all the elders of Israel came: and the Levites took up the ark;
KJV
And all the elders of Israel came; and the Levites took up the ark.
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This verse in 2 Chronicles 5
Commentary
2 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
the Levites took up the ark
on 2 Chronicles 5:4-5
Where 1 Kings 8:3 says “the priests took up the ark,” Chronicles has “the Levites took up the ark”. That is the rule David laid down, that no one but the Levites may carry the ark. The wording matches 15:2 and 15:13 and answers the disorder of 1 Chronicles 13.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The Levites took up the ark - i. e., such of the Levites as were also priests (compare 2Ch 5:7; 1Ki 8:3).
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
The Levites carried the Ark. But in the book of Kings it says, “The priests carried the Ark” (1 Kgs:3)!
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
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 |
| הַלְוִיִּ֖ם | halviyim | the Levites | H3881 → | 291 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
הַלְוִיִּ֖םthe Levites
halviyimH3881 →291 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
1 Chronicles 15:2Then David said, “No one but the Levites may carry the ark of God, because the LORD has chosen them to carry the ark of the LORD and to minister before Him forever.”
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 3 separate paths from here.
- 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.
- Deuteronomy 10:8
At that time the LORD set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to serve Him, and to pronounce blessings in…
- Numbers 18:1–8
So the LORD said to Aaron, “You and your sons and your father’s house must bear the iniquity involving the sanctuary. And you and your sons alone must bear the iniquity involving your priesthood.
- Numbers 8:13–14
You are to have the Levites stand before Aaron and his sons and then present them before the LORD as a wave offering.
- 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.
- 2 Samuel 6:6–7
About 2 Chronicles
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Keil, The Books of the Chronicles and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.