Bible Strands
1 Kings 8:9
There 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 of the land of Egypt.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Solomon addresses the assembly during the temple dedication while priests transport the ark, and the narrative records the object's contents at that precise moment.
The words — אֵין ('ein) and רַק (rak) combine to mean "there not" and "only," establishing exclusive containment. הִנִּיחַ (hiniach) denotes the past action of Moses placing the tablets inside.
The thread — The ark's contents connect to Exodus 25:21 and Exodus 40:20, where the tablets are first commanded and placed inside, and are later referenced in Hebrews 9:4 as part of the covenant's physical furnishings.
Why it lands — The text states that the ark held solely the stone tablets from Horeb, explicitly linking the covenant's authority to God's past act with the Israelites after the Exodus rather than to temple construction or priestly ritual.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.
Cross-references
- Exodus 25:21 Set the mercy seat atop the ark and put the Testimony that I will give you into the ark.
- 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 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.
- Deuteronomy 10:2 And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke; and you are to place them in the ark.”
- Exodus 34:27 The LORD also said to Moses, “Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.”
- Deuteronomy 4:13 He declared to you His covenant, which He commanded you to follow—the Ten Commandments that He wrote on two tablets of stone.
- 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 Egypt.
- 2 Chronicles 7:1 When Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple.
- Exodus 13:21 And the LORD went before them in a pillar of cloud to guide their way by day, and in a pillar of fire to give them light by night, so that they could travel by day or night.
- Exodus 14:24 At morning watch, however, the LORD looked down on the army of the Egyptians from the pillar of fire and cloud, and He threw their camp into confusion.