The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Kings — Section 151

vi.. 7) which, we may be sure, were not [Heb. fi·om] the holy place [Marg. ark, e.ltogether forgotten on this ooc&sion] that the word found iu the Chron. v. 9. It is could not be told or numbered for multi- questionable, however, whether e::i'J~i'J is tude. [Cf. 2 Sam. vi. 13. But the sacrifices ever used, by itself, of the ark (Gesen., on that occasion were on e. much smaller scale (1 Chron. xv. 26). Josephus adds Thesaurus, s. v.) It may be used of the (Ant. TI.ii. 4. 1), that a vast quantity of in- most holy place (see on ver. 10), but here cense was burnt, and that men preceded the it would e.ppeo.r to designate the ~~ 1iJ (oh, ark, singing and dancing. until it reached its vi. 17), the body or " temple of tho house" destination]. (Exod. xxvi. 33 ; Heb. ix. 2). Its meaning Ver. 6.-And the priests brought 1n the appears to be so defined by the next words] ark of the covenant unto h1s [i.e., its. before the oracle [i.e., a person standing ·in But this word is never found in the A. V. the holy place, but e.t the west end, near It has come into use since the date of our the entrance to the oracle (eh. vi. 31), could translation] place [cf. eh. vi. 19] into the see the ends of the staves. Several questions oracle of the house, to the most holy place of considerable nicety suggest themselves [Heb. holy of holies], even under the Wings here. 1. What was the position of the of the cherubims [eh. vi 27. Whether the ark ? Did it stand, that is to say, east and ark stood with its length east and west, or west, or north and south under the wings north and south, it is somewhat difficult to of the cherubim? 2. What was the posi- decide. But see on ver. 8]. tion of the staves ? Were they attached to Ver. 7.-For the cherubims spread forth the ends or to the sides of the ark? 3. How their two wings over the place of the could the ends of the staves be seen, and by ark, and the cherubims covered pi:.ib, from whom and when-on the occo.sion of the ';l;_l~, texit; hence iqlQ, booth; LXX. 1rEp1• dedication only or in later years ? 4. Why e,caXvm-ov, i.e., overshadowed and concealed. has our author recorded this circumstance? This word is of some importance as show- As to 1, the balance of evidence is in favour tng that the e.rk would thenceforward and of the ark having stood north and south, in e. line, that is, with the wings of the cheru- always be in complete darkness, under the bim, For (1) only thus apparently could outstretched wings of the cherubim-a fact the cherubim have " covered the ark and which 11t1ggests the true explanation of the the staves thereof. " (2) If it had been following verse] the ark and the stavea otherwise, the " cherubim overshadowing thereof above [Heh. from above] . the merny seat," presuming that they were Ver. 8.-And they drew out [It is uncer- retained in the temple, would have bad an tain whether ~:l1!5! is transitive, as our A. V. unequal and onesided position, for instead of renders it, and as· in eh. iii. 14 = lengthen, being equally prominent, they would have in which case, however, it should almost stood, one with the back, the other with be followed by n~, or intransitive, as in the face to the entrance and the holy place. Exod. :x:x. 12 ; Dent. v. 16 ; x:xv. 15, when (3) Had the ark stood east and west the pro- the meaning would be, " The staves were jecting staves would surely have been in the wng," but the latter rendering has the sup- high priest's way in the performance of his port of most scholars. As the oracle in the solemn functions (Levit. xvi. 12-15). That tabernacle was a cube of ten cubits, they they served to guide him to the mercy cannot have been more than eight or Dine seat is of course mere conjecture, and e.s cubits, and it is doubtful whether, the ark such of no weight. 2. As to the staves, being only 2½ cubits, they would be so long. Josephus states (Ant. iii. 7, 5) that they ran Their length is mentioned in order to ac- along the siMB of the ark, and this would count for the ends being seen. It is im- appear to be the nature.I e.nd proper ar- material to the meaning of the passage, rangement. It follows hence again that nowever, which interpretation we put upon they cannot have been more than eight or this verb. If we adhere to the A. V. then nine cubits long, inasmuch e.s they found o. we must understand that, as it was for- place between the bodies of the cherubim, bidden to remove the staves from the rings which cannot have been more than nino at the comers of the ark (Exod. uv. 12- cubits apart. 3. The explanation of the 15), they drew the staves forward towards Rabbins is that the ends of the staves were one end of the ark ; that they removed the not really seen, but that they projected into staves altogether from the ark (Stanley) is e. the curtain and so me.de two visible protru- view to which the text lends no support] sions or prominences. But this view hardly the staves, that the ends [Heh. head,. It satisfies the requirements of the text, e.nd it is possible the ends of the staves were assumes that the ark stood east and west, fitted with knobs. This would prevent their which we have found good reason to doubt. removal] of ~e lltav• wero BeeJ1 out Sn ]3ut even if this were so, it is doubtfuJ OB. vru. 1-60.] THE FIRST BOOR OF KINGS. 149