2 Chronicles 5:4

2 Chronicles 5:4

And all the elders of Israel came; and the Levites took up the ark.

a. ASV: [Thomas Nelson & Sons first published the American Standard Version in 1901. This translation of the Bible is in the public domain.]

b. YLT: [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: [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

d. NLT: [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: [The ArtScroll Series/Rubin Edition THE PROPHETS: KINGS Copyright 2006 by MESORAH PUBLICATIONS, Ltd.]

f. The Israel Bible: [The English Translation was adapted by Israel 365 from the JPS Tanakh. Copyright Ⓒ 1985 by the Jewish Publication Society. All rights reserved.]

f. Torah, Judaism and Jewish information on the web: www.chabad.org; Online English Translation of the Tanakh (Jewish Bible): [English Translation, Ⓒ Copyright The Judaica Press All rights reserved.]

1. And all the elders of Israel came; and the Levites took up the ark.

a. [And] all [Strong: 3605 kol kole or (Jer. 33:8) kowl {kole}; from 3634; properly, the whole; hence, all, any or every (in the singular only, but often in a plural sense):--(in) all (manner, (ye)), altogether, any (manner), enough, every (one, place, thing), howsoever, as many as, (no-)thing, ought, whatsoever, (the) whole, whoso(-ever).]

b. [the] elders [Strong: 2205 zaqen zaw-kane' from 2204; old:--aged, ancient (man), elder(-est), old (man, men and...women), senator.]

c. [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.]

d. came [Strong: 935 bow' bo a primitive root; to go or come (in a wide variety of applications):--abide, apply, attain, X be, befall, + besiege, bring (forth, in, into, to pass), call, carry, X certainly, (cause, let, thing for) to come (against, in, out, upon, to pass), depart, X doubtless again, + eat, + employ, (cause to) enter (in, into, -tering, -trance, -try), be fallen, fetch, + follow, get, give, go (down, in, to war), grant, + have, X indeed, (in-)vade, lead, lift (up), mention, pull in, put, resort, run (down), send, set, X (well) stricken (in age), X surely, take (in), way.]

e. Levites [Strong: 3881 Leviyiy lay-vee-ee' or Leviy {lay-vee'}; patronymically from 3878; a Levite or descendant of Levi:--Leviite.]

f. took up [Strong: 5375 nasa' naw-saw' or nacah (Psalm 4 : 6 (7)) {naw-saw'}; a primitive root; to lift, in a great variety of applications, literal and figurative, absol. and rel. (as follows):--accept, advance, arise, (able to, (armor), suffer to) bear(-er, up), bring (forth), burn, carry (away), cast, contain, desire, ease, exact, exalt (self), extol, fetch, forgive, furnish, further, give, go on, help, high, hold up, honorable (+ man), lade, lay, lift (self) up, lofty, marry, magnify, X needs, obtain, pardon, raise (up), receive, regard, respect, set (up), spare, stir up, + swear, take (away, up), X utterly, wear, yield.]

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

1). The comparative passage in 1 Kings says the priests took up the ark.

a). 1 Kings 8:3 And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark.

2). Rabbinical Comment in The Rubin Edition, The Early Prophets, 1 & 2 Kings, Rabbinic Commentary [The ArtScroll Series/Rubin Edition THE PROPHETS: KINGS Copyright 2006 by MESORAH PUBLICATIONS, Ltd.]: The Torah assigned the privilege and responsibility of bearing the Ark to the Levite family of Kehath [Kohath] (Numbers 7:9), not to the Kohanim, but that honor belonged to the Kehathites [Kohathites] only in the Wilderness, when the only Konanim were Aaron and his sons. In succeeding years, when the numbers of Kohanim had grown, the task was transferred exclusively to them, because the clear sense of the commandment was that only the most righteous group within the Jewish people are qualified to bear the Ark. In the Wilderness, the Kehathites [Kohathites] were the elite family of the nation. Later the family of Kohanim earned that distinction (Rambam, Sefer HaMitzvos, aseh 34). 

a). The above comment was just one man’s opinion. Below is another opinion from the same Jewish Commentary.

3). Rambam (ibid., Shoresh 3) disagrees. He contends that the Torah explicitly assigns this honor to the family of Kehath [Kohath], and is not subject to change. Since Kohanim are from the Levite family of Kehath [Kohath], they are surely permitted to carry the Ark, as they did here, but not to the exclusion of other Levites…The Ark was brought into the Holy of Holies, where the only one who may enter it is the Kohen Gadol on Yom Kippur. Obviously the Kohen Gadol could not carry it single-handedly, but Solomon felt it preferable that Kohanim rather than Levites perform the task.