Exodus 25:21
in Exodus 25Set the mercy seat atop the ark, and put the Testimony that I will give you into the ark.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And thou shalt put the mercy-seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.
KJV
And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.
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This verse in Exodus 25
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThis propitiatory covering, as it might well be translated, was a type of Christ, the great propitiation, whose satisfaction fully answers the demands of the law, covers our transgressions, and comes between us and the curse we deserve. Thus he is the end of the law for righteousness.
This site's exposition
And the cherubim are to have wings that spread upward
on Exodus 25:20-22
The cherubim face each other with wings spread, “looking toward the mercy seat”. Genesis 3:24 set cherubim to guard the way to the tree of life. Here they stand over the place God names: “I will meet with you there above the mercy seat”.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church3 voices
A commentator
BonaventureItinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 7 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
These six considerations having therefore been traversed, as if they were the six steps of the throne of the true Solomon, by which one arrives at peace, where the true peaceful one rests in a peaceful mind as in an interior Jerusalem; and as if …
The same applied to the plate placed on top of the ark, from which the priest learned from God whatever was necessary by revelation once a year, when the high priest entered, at the solemn moment of prayer, while all the tribes of Israel were …
A commentator
BonaventureItinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 7 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
Whoever looks upon this mercy seat with full turning of the countenance, gazing upon him who hangs upon the cross through faith, hope, and charity, devotion, admiration, exultation, appreciation, praise, and jubilation, makes the Passover, that is, the passing over, with him, so as to …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 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)
And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark,....
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְנָתַתָּ֧ | venatata | and you will put | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַכַּפֹּ֛רֶת | hakaporet | the atonement cover | H3727 → | 27 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הָאָרֹ֖ן | haaron | the ark | H727 → | 202 times |
| מִלְמָ֑עְלָה | milmaelah | from to above <towards> | H4605 → | 140 times |
| וְאֶל־ | veel- | and into | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הָ֣אָרֹ֔ן | haaron | the ark | H727 → | 202 times |
| תִּתֵּן֙ | titen | you will put | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָ֣עֵדֻ֔ת | 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 |
וְנָתַתָּ֧and you will put
venatataH5414 →2011 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַכַּפֹּ֛רֶתthe atonement cover
hakaporetH3727 →27 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הָאָרֹ֖ןthe ark
haaronH727 →202 times
מִלְמָ֑עְלָהfrom to above <towards>
milmaelahH4605 →140 times
וְאֶל־and into
veel-H413 →5510 times
הָ֣אָרֹ֔ןthe ark
haaronH727 →202 times
תִּתֵּן֙you will put
titenH5414 →2011 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָ֣עֵדֻ֔תthe 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
7 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
Romans 10:4For Christ is the end of the law, to bring righteousness to everyone who believes.
it leads to
- Galatians 3:24
So the law became our guardian to lead us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
- Romans 8:3–4
For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man, as an offering for sin.…
- Matthew 5:17–18
Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them.
- Acts 13:38–39
Therefore let it be known to you, brothers, that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.
- John 1:17
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
- Galatians 3:24
Through
Exodus 26:34Put the mercy seat on the ark of the Testimony in the Most Holy Place.
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.
- Hebrews 9:5
Above the ark were the cherubim of glory, overshadowing the mercy seat. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now.
- Exodus 40:20
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies16
On this verse
About Exodus
This page draws on Bonaventure, Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Chapter 7; Isaac of Nineveh, DISCOURSE 22; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.