Bible Strands
Exodus 40:3
Put the ark of the Testimony in it and screen off the ark with the veil.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — God commands Moses to arrange the interior of the Tent of Meeting on the first day of the first month. This instruction follows the structural erection of the tabernacle and precedes the placement of the table and lampstand.
The words — The verb שַׂמְתָּ (samta) translates literally to "you will put," and סַכֹּתָּ (sakkota) means "you will cover" or "screen off." These terms establish the dual actions of insertion and visual separation for the sacred object.
The thread — The placement sequence aligns with the equipment list in Exodus 35:12 and the later transport instructions in Numbers 4:5. The veiled ark reappears in Revelation 11:19 as the covenant object displayed in the heavenly temple.
Why it lands — The text requires exact obedience to divine spatial order for holy items. A reader must apply prescribed boundaries without adding or subtracting from the specified arrangement.
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
And thou shalt put therein the ark of the testimony, and cover the ark with the vail.
Cross-references
- Exodus 35:12 the ark with its poles and mercy seat, and the veil to shield it;
- Numbers 4:5 Whenever the camp sets out, Aaron and his sons are to go in, take down the veil of the curtain, and cover the ark of the Testimony with it.
- Revelation 11:19 Then the temple of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple. And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and a great hailstorm.
- Exodus 25:22 And I will meet with you there above the mercy seat, between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony; I will speak with you about all that I command you regarding the Israelites.
- 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.
- Leviticus 16:14 And he is to take some of the bull’s blood and sprinkle it with his finger on the east side of the mercy seat; then he shall sprinkle some of it with his finger seven times before the mercy seat.
- Exodus 25:10 And they are to construct an ark of acacia wood, two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high.
- Exodus 26:31 Make a veil of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and finely spun linen, with cherubim skillfully worked into it.
- Exodus 26:33 And hang the veil from the clasps and place the ark of the Testimony behind the veil. So the veil will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.
- Exodus 36:35 Next, he made the veil of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and finely spun linen, with cherubim skillfully worked into it.