Exodus 40 Footnotes

40:20 Did the ark of the covenant contain the Ten Commandments only, or did it also include the manna and Aaron’s rod that budded (Heb 9:4)? The Bible suggests that from the days of Moses at least through the time of Solomon (1Kg 8:9), only the Ten Commandments were present within the ark. It is possible, however, that during a time of national apostasy—perhaps during the time of Manasseh (2Kg 20:21–21:18)—an Aaronic priest tried to protect other sacred relics from the time of Moses by placing them in the ark of the covenant. God’s command to place the stone slabs containing the Ten Commandments inside the ark (Dt 10:2) did not prohibit the placement of other items alongside them. Their presence together underneath the Lord’s symbolic throne would symbolize three different dimensions of his gracious provision for his people: law, leadership, and sustenance.