Deuteronomy 10:5

10:5 Then I turned, went down the mountain, and placed the tablets into the ark I had made – they are still there, just as the Lord commanded me.

Exodus 25:16-22

25:16 You are to put into the ark the testimony ¹  that I will give to you.

25:17 “You are to make an atonement lid ²  of pure gold; ³  its length is to be three feet nine inches, and its width is to be two feet three inches. 25:18 You are to make two cherubim ⁴  of gold; you are to make them of hammered metal on the two ends of the atonement lid. 25:19 Make ⁵  one cherub on one end ⁶  and one cherub on the other end; from the atonement lid ⁷  you are to make the cherubim on the two ends. 25:20 The cherubim are to be spreading their wings upward, overshadowing ⁸  the atonement lid with their wings, and the cherubim are to face each other, ⁹  looking ¹⁰  toward the atonement lid. 25:21 You are to put the atonement lid on top of the ark, and in the ark you are to put the testimony I am giving you. 25:22 I will meet with you there, ¹¹  and ¹²  from above the atonement lid, from between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will command you for the Israelites.

Exodus 40:20

40:20 He took the testimony and put it in the ark, attached the poles to the ark, and then put the atonement lid on the ark.

Exodus 40:1

Setting Up the Sanctuary

40:1 ¹³ Then the Lord spoke to Moses: ¹⁴ 

Exodus 8:9

8:9 Moses said to Pharaoh, “You may have the honor over me ¹⁵  – when shall I pray for you, your servants, and your people, for the frogs to be removed ¹⁶  from you and your houses, so that ¹⁷  they will be left ¹⁸  only in the Nile?”

Hebrews 9:4

9:4 It contained the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered entirely with gold. In this ark ¹⁹  were the golden urn containing the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant.

[25:16]  ¹ sn The “testimony” is the Decalogue (Exod 24:12; 31:18; Deut 4:13; 9:9; 1 Kgs 8:9); the word identifies it as the witness or affirmation of God’s commandments belonging to his covenant with Israel. It expressed God’s will and man’s duty. In other cultures important documents were put at the feet of the gods in the temples.

[25:17]  ² tn The noun is כַּפֹּרֶת (kapporet), translated “atonement lid” or “atonement plate.” The traditional translation “mercy-seat” (so KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV) came from Tyndale in 1530 and was also used by Luther in 1523. The noun is formed from the word “to make atonement.” The item that the Israelites should make would be more than just a lid for the ark. It would be the place where atonement was signified. The translation of “covering” is probably incorrect, for it derives from a rare use of the verb, if the same verb at all (the evidence shows “cover” is from another root with the same letters as this). The value of this place was that Yahweh sat enthroned above it, and so the ark essentially was the “footstool.” Blood was applied to the lid of the box, for that was the place of atonement (see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 269-270).

[25:17]  ³ tn After verbs of making or producing, the accusative (like “gold” here) may be used to express the material from which something is made (see GKC 371 §117.hh).

[25:18]  ⁴ tn The evidence suggests that the cherubim were composite angelic creatures that always indicated the nearness of God. So here images of them were to be crafted and put on each end of the ark of the covenant to signify that they were there. Ezekiel 1 describes four cherubim as each having human faces, four wings, and parts of different animals for their bodies. Traditions of them appear in the other cultures as well. They serve to guard the holy places and to bear the throne of God. Here they were to be beaten out as part of the lid.

[25:19]  ⁵ tn The text now shifts to use an imperative with the vav (ו) conjunction.

[25:19]  ⁶ tn The use of זֶה (zeh) repeated here expresses the reciprocal ideas of “the one” and “the other” (see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 26, §132).

[25:19]  ⁷ sn The angels were to form one piece with the lid and not be separated. This could be translated “of one piece with” the lid, but it is likely the angels were simply fastened to it permanently.

[25:20]  ⁸ tn The verb means “overshadowing, screening” in the sense of guarding (see 1 Kgs 8:7; 1 Chr 28:18; see also the account in Gen 3:24). The cherubim then signify two things here: by their outstretched wings they form the throne of God who sits above the ark (with the Law under his feet), and by their overshadowing and guarding they signify this as the place of atonement where people must find propitiation to commune with God. Until then they are barred from his presence. See U. Cassuto, Exodus, 330-35.

[25:20]  ⁹ tn Heb “their faces a man to his brother.”

[25:20]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the faces of the cherubim will be” (“the cherubim” was moved to the preceding clause for smoother English).

[25:22]  ¹¹ sn Here then is the main point of the ark of the covenant, and the main point of all worship – meeting with God through atonement. The text makes it clear that here God would meet with Moses (“you” is singular) and then he would speak to the people – he is the mediator of the covenant. S. R. Driver (Exodus, 272) makes the point that the verb here is not the word that means “to meet by chance” (as in Exod 3:18), but “to meet” by appointment for a purpose (וְנוֹעַדְתִּי, vÿno’adti). The parallel in the NT is Jesus Christ and his work. The theology is that the Law condemns people as guilty of sin, but the sacrifice of Christ makes atonement. So he is the “place of propitiation (Rom 3:25) who gains communion with the Father for sinners. A major point that could be made from this section is this: At the center of worship must be the atoning work of Christ – a perpetual reminder of God’s righteous standard (the testimony in the ark) and God’s gracious provision (the atonement lid).

[25:22]  ¹² tn The verb is placed here in the text: “and I will speak”; it has been moved in this translation to be closer to the direct object clause.

[40:1]  ¹³ sn All of Exod 39:32-40:38 could be taken as a unit. The first section (39:32-43) shows that the Israelites had carefully and accurately completed the preparation and brought everything they had made to Moses: The work of the Lord builds on the faithful obedience of the people. In the second section are the instruction and the implementation (40:1-33): The work of the Lord progresses through the unifying of the work. The last part (40:34-38) may take the most attention: When the work was completed, the glory filled the tabernacle: By his glorious presence, the Lord blesses and directs his people in their worship.

[40:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying.”

[8:9]  ¹⁵ tn The expression הִתְפָּאֵר עָלַי (hitpa’er ’alay) is problematic. The verb would be simply translated “honor yourself” or “deck yourself with honor.” It can be used in the bad sense of self-exaltation. But here it seems to mean “have the honor or advantage over me” in choosing when to remove the frogs. The LXX has “appoint for me.” Moses is doing more than extending a courtesy to Pharaoh; he is giving him the upper hand in choosing the time. But it is also a test, for if Pharaoh picked the time it would appear less likely that Moses was manipulating things. As U. Cassuto puts it, Moses is saying “my trust in God is so strong you may have the honor of choosing the time” (Exodus, 103).

[8:9]  ¹⁶ tn Or “destroyed”; Heb “to cut off the frogs.”

[8:9]  ¹⁷ tn The phrase “so that” is implied.

[8:9]  ¹⁸ tn Or “survive, remain.”

[9:4]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “in which”; in the translation the referent (the ark) has been specified for clarity.