1 Kings 8:9

  1 Kings 8:9

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.

a. ASV: There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone which Moses put there at Horeb, when Jehovah made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. [Thomas Nelson & Sons first published the American Standard Version in 1901. This translation of the Bible is in the public domain.]

b. YLT: There is nothing in the ark, only the two tables of stone which Moses put there in Horeb, when Jehovah covenanted with the sons of Israel in their going out of the land of Egypt. [The Young's Literal Translation was translated by Robert Young, who believed in a strictly literal translation of God's word. This version of the Bible is in the public domain.]

c. Classic Amplified: There was nothing in the ark except the two tables of stone which Moses put there at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites when they came out of the land of Egypt. [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

d. NLT: Nothing was in the Ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Mount Sinai, where the LORD made a covenant with the people of Israel when they left the land of Egypt. [Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.]

e. The Rubin Edition, The Early Prophets, 1 & 2 Kings, Rabbinic Commentary: Nothing was in the Ark but the two stone Tablets that Moses placed there in Horeb, by which HASHEM covenanted with the Children of israel when they left the land of Egypt.  [The ArtScroll Series/Rubin Edition THE PROPHETS: KINGS Copyright 2006 by MESORAH PUBLICATIONS, Ltd.]

f. The Israel Bible: There was nothing inside the Aron but the two tablets of stone which Moshe placed there at horeb, when HASHEM made [a covenant] with the Israelites after their departure from the land of Egypt. [The English Translation was adapted by Israel 365 from the JPS Tanakh. Copyright Ⓒ 1985 by the Jewish Publication Society. All rights reserved.]

1. “There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb…”

a. [There was] nothing [Strong: 369 'ayin ah'-yin as if from a primitive root meaning to be nothing or not exist; a non-entity; generally used as a negative particle:--else, except, fail, (father-)less, be gone, in(-curable), neither, never, no (where), none, nor, (any, thing), not, nothing, to nought, past, un(-searchable), well-nigh, without.]

b. [in the] ark [Strong: 727 'arown aw-rone' or laron {aw-rone'}; from 717 (in the sense of gathering); a box:--ark, chest, coffin.]

c. save [Strong: 7535 raq rak the same as 7534 as a noun; properly, leanness, i.e. (figuratively) limitation; only adverbial, merely, or conjunctional, although:--but, even, except, howbeit howsoever, at the least, nevertheless, nothing but, notwithstanding, only, save, so (that), surely, yet (so), in any wise.]

d. [the] two [Strong: 8147 shnayim shen-ah'-yim dual of 8145; feminine shttayim {shet-tah'-yim}; two; also (as ordinal) twofold:--both, couple, double, second, twain, + twelfth, + twelve, + twenty (sixscore) thousand, twice, two.]

e. tablets [Strong: 3871 luwach loo'-akh or luach {loo'-akh}; from a primitive root; probably meaning to glisten; a tablet (as polished), of stone, wood or metal:--board, plate, table.]

f. [of] stone [Strong: 68 'eben eh'-ben from the root of 1129 through the meaning to build; a stone:--+ carbuncle, + mason, + plummet, (chalk-, hail-, head-, sling-)stone(-ny), (divers) weight(-s).]

g. which [Strong: 834 'aher ash-er' a primitive relative pronoun (of every gender and number); who, which, what, that; also (as an adverb and a conjunction) when, where, how, because, in order that, etc.:--X after, X alike, as (soon as), because, X every, for, + forasmuch, + from whence, + how(-soever), X if, (so) that ((thing) which, wherein), X though, + until, + whatsoever, when, where (+ -as, -in, -of, -on, -soever, -with), which, whilst, + whither(- soever), who(-m, -soever, -se). As it is indeclinable, it is often accompanied by the personal pronoun expletively, used to show the connection.]

h. Moses [Strong: 4872 Mosheh mo-sheh' from 4871; drawing out (of the water), i.e. rescued; Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiver:--Moses.]

i. put [Strong: 3240 yanach yaw-nakh' a primitive root; to deposit; by implication, to allow to stay:--bestow, cast down, lay (down, up), leave (off), let alone (remain), pacify, place, put, set (down), suffer, withdraw, withhold. (The Hiphil forms with the dagesh are here referred to, in accordance with the older grammarians; but if any distinction of the kind is to be made, these should rather be referred to 5117, and the others here.)]

j. there [Strong: 8033 sham shawm a primitive particle (rather from the relative pronoun, 834); there (transferring to time) then; often thither, or thence:--in it, + thence, there (-in, + of, + out), + thither, + whither.]

k. [at] Horeb [Strong: 2722 Choreb kho-rabe' from 2717; desolate; Choreb, a (generic) name for the Sinaitic mountains:--Horeb.]

1). The Rubin Edition, The Early Prophets, 1 & 2 Kings, Rabbinic Commentary: The plain meaning of the verse is that nothing but the second set of Tablets was in the Ark. Accordingly, the shattered remains of the first Tablets (see Exodus 32:19) must have been stored in a second Ark, which, along with Tabernacle of the Wilderness, was stored in the Temple vaults. The same applies to the Torah Scroll that Moses wrote and deposited “next to the Ark” (Deuteronomy 31:26)--it was placed either inside or next to the second Ark. (Radak).  The words “Nothing was in the Ark but…” come rather to exclude the staff o Aaron (Numbers 1725) and the container of manna (Exodus 16:33, 34), which were both next to the Ark, but not in it (Abarbanel).  [The ArtScroll Series/Rubin Edition THE PROPHETS: KINGS Copyright 2006 by MESORAH PUBLICATIONS, Ltd.]

2). Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary: There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone—Nothing else was ever in the ark, the articles mentioned (Heb 9:4) being not in, but by it, being laid in the most holy place before the testimony (Ex 16:33; Nu 17:10).

3). Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible: 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.

2. “...when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.”

a. when [Strong: 834 'aher ash-er' a primitive relative pronoun (of every gender and number); who, which, what, that; also (as an adverb and a conjunction) when, where, how, because, in order that, etc.:--X after, X alike, as (soon as), because, X every, for, + forasmuch, + from whence, + how(-soever), X if, (so) that ((thing) which, wherein), X though, + until, + whatsoever, when, where (+ -as, -in, -of, -on, -soever, -with), which, whilst, + whither(- soever), who(-m, -soever, -se). As it is indeclinable, it is often accompanied by the personal pronoun expletively, used to show the connection.]

b. [the] LORD [Strong: 3068 Yhovah yeh-ho-vaw' from 1961; (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jehovah, Jewish national name of God:--Jehovah, the Lord.]

c. made a covenant [Strong: 3772 karath kaw-rath' a primitive root; to cut (off, down or asunder); by implication, to destroy or consume; specifically, to covenant (i.e. make an alliance or bargain, originally by cutting flesh and passing between the pieces):--be chewed, be con-(feder-)ate, covenant, cut (down, off), destroy, fail, feller, be freed, hew (down), make a league ((covenant)), X lose, perish, X utterly, X want.]

d. with [Strong: 5973 `im eem from 6004; adverb or preposition, with (i.e. in conjunction with), in varied applications; specifically, equally with; often with prepositional prefix (and then usually unrepresented in English):--accompanying, against, and, as (X long as), before, beside, by (reason of), for all, from (among, between), in, like, more than, of, (un-)to, with(-al).]

e. [the] children [Strong: 1121 ben bane from 1129; a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like 1, 251, etc.)):--+ afflicted, age, (Ahoh-) (Ammon-) (Hachmon-) (Lev-)ite, (anoint-)ed one, appointed to, (+) arrow, (Assyr-) (Babylon-) (Egypt-) (Grec-)ian, one born, bough, branch, breed, + (young) bullock, + (young) calf, X came up in, child, colt, X common, X corn, daughter, X of first, + firstborn, foal, + very fruitful, + postage, X in, + kid, + lamb, (+) man, meet, + mighty, + nephew, old, (+) people, + rebel, + robber, X servant born, X soldier, son, + spark, + steward, + stranger, X surely, them of, + tumultuous one, + valiant(-est), whelp, worthy, young (one), youth.]

f. [of] Israel [Strong: 3478 Yisra'el yis-raw-ale' from 8280 and 410; he will rule as God; Jisrael, a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity: --Israel.]