1 Kings 8:3

3 When all of Israel's elders had arrived, the priests picked up the chest.

1 Kings 8:3 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 8:3

And all the elders of Israel came
To Zion, the city of David:

and the priests took up the ark;
from thence; in ( 2 Chronicles 5:4 ) it is said the Levites did it, whose business it was, ( Deuteronomy 31:25 ) , and so the priests might be called; for every priest was a Levite, though every Levite was not a priest, and the priests did at all times bear the ark; see ( Joshua 3:15 ) ( 6:4 ) ( 2 Samuel 15:29 ) .

1 Kings 8:3 In-Context

1 Then Solomon assembled Israel's elders, all the tribal leaders, and the chiefs of Israel's clans at Jerusalem to bring up the chest containing the LORD's covenant from David's City Zion.

2 Everyone in Israel assembled before King Solomon in the seventh month, the month of Ethanim, during the festival.

3 When all of Israel's elders had arrived, the priests picked up the chest.

4 They brought the LORD's chest, the meeting tent, and all the holy equipment that was in the tent. The priests and the Levites brought them up,

5 while King Solomon and the entire Israelite assembly that had joined him before the chest sacrificed countless sheep and oxen.