1 Kings 8:9

9 There was nothing in the ark except ¹the two tablets of stone that Moses put there at Horeb, where ²the LORD made a covenant with the people of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.

1 Kings 8:9 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 8:9

There was nothing in the ark, save the two tables of stone
which Moses put there at Horeb
That is, there were no other writings; or, as Ben Gersom says, no other part of the law, but the decalogue otherwise he observes there were in it Aaron's rod and the pot of manna, according to ( Hebrews 9:4 ) though the particle there may be rendered "at", or "with", or "by", (See Gill on Hebrews 9:4) and so they might be not within it, but in some place on the sides of it, see ( Deuteronomy 31:26 ) ,

when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they
came out of the land of Egypt;
about two months after.

1 Kings 8:9 In-Context

7 For the cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles.

8 And the poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen from the Holy Place before the inner sanctuary; but they could not be seen from outside. And they are there to this day.

9 There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone that Moses put there at Horeb, where the LORD made a covenant with the people of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.

10 And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, a cloud filled the house of the LORD,

11 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD.

Cross References

• 1. Exodus 25:21; Exodus 40:20; Deuteronomy 10:2, 5; Hebrews 9:4
• 2. Exodus 34:27, 28; Deuteronomy 4:13