1 Kings 8:3

3 And all the elders of Israel came, and ¹the priests took up the ark.

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 the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers’ houses of the people of Israel, before King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is Zion.

2 And all the men of Israel assembled to King Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.

3 And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark.

4 And they brought up the ark of the Lord, the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent; the priests and the Levites brought them up.

5 And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who had assembled before him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered.

Cross References

• 1. 8:3 [Num. 4:15; Deut. 31:9; Josh. 3:3, 6; 1 Chr. 15:14, 15]