Exodus 25:16
in Exodus 25And place inside the ark the Testimony, which I will give you.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee.
KJV
And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee.
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This verse in Exodus 25
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThe testimony - The two tables of stone which were not yet given; these tables were called עדת eduth, from עד forward, onward, to bear witness to or of a person or thing. Not only the tables of stone, but all the contents of the ark, Aaron’s rod, the pot of manna, the holy anointing oil, etc., bore testimony to the Messiah in his prophetic, sacerdotal, and regal offices.
This site's exposition
put the staves into the rings
on Exodus 25:14-16
The staves go in and are never to be taken out, which keeps the ark ready to move at any hour. Into it goes the testimony, the two tables God writes at 31:18 and Moses breaks at 32:19. Nothing else is named as going inside here, and Hebrews 9:4 reports the golden pot of manna and Aaron's rod alongside the tables.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
And these holy places made with hands were the figures of the true, Heb. ix, 24. The gospel-church is the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched, and not man, Heb. viii, 2. The body of Christ, in and by which he made atonement, was the greater and more perfect tabernacle, Heb. ix, 11.
quarantine:near-duplicate (2026-07-29) — near-dup(64%, 2 voices)
11 ) or witness, Acts vii. The gospel of Christ is also called a testimony or witness, Matt. xxiv. That the tables of the law were carefully preserved in the ark for the purpose, to teach us to make much of the word of God, and to hide it in our hearts, in our innermost thoughts, as the ark was placed in the holy of holies.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens
And thou shall put into the ark the testimony that I shall give thee.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The superb and elaborate style of the ark that contained "the testimony" was emblematic of the great treasure it held; in other words, the incomparable value and excellence of the Word of God, while its being placed in this chest further showed the great care which God has ever taken for preserving it.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
In the rings that are on the sides of the ark. 120 See verse.
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. 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְנָתַתָּ֖ | venatata | and you will put | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | into | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הָאָרֹ֑ן | haaron | the ark | H727 → | 202 times |
| אֵ֚ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָעֵדֻ֔ת | haedut | the testimony | H5715 → | 59 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אֶתֵּ֖ן | ʾeten | I will give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| אֵלֶֽיךָ׃ | ʾeleikha | to you | H413 → | 5510 times |
וְנָתַתָּ֖and you will put
venatataH5414 →2011 times
אֶל־into
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הָאָרֹ֑ןthe ark
haaronH727 →202 times
אֵ֚ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
הָעֵדֻ֔תthe testimony
haedutH5715 →59 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
אֶתֵּ֖ןI will give
ʾetenH5414 →2011 times
אֵלֶֽיךָ׃to you
ʾeleikhaH413 →5510 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 Kings 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…
it leads to
- Exodus 25:21
Set the mercy seat atop the ark, and put the Testimony that I will give you into the ark.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Hebrews 9:4
containing 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.
- Exodus 25:21
Through
Hebrews 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.
it leads to
- Numbers 17:10
The LORD said to Moses, “Put Aaron’s staff back in front of the Testimony, to be kept as a sign for the rebellious, so that you may put an end to their grumbling against…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Chronicles 5:10
There was nothing in the ark except the two 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…
- Exodus 40:3
Put the ark of the Testimony in it and screen off the ark with the veil.
- Exodus 26:33
And hang the veil from the clasps and place the ark of the Testimony behind the veil. So the veil will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.
- Leviticus 16:12
Then he must take a censer full of burning coals from the altar before the LORD, and two handfuls of finely ground fragrant incense, and take them inside the veil.
- Numbers 17:10
Through
Exodus 16:34And Aaron placed it in front of the Testimony, to be preserved just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
it leads to
- Exodus 40:20
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.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 40:20
Where this verse is studied
About Exodus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.