1 Kings 8:9

9 There was not [anything] in the ark {except} the two tablets of stone which Moses had placed there at Horeb, where Yahweh {made} [a covenant] with the {Israelites} after they went out from the land of Egypt.

1 Kings 8:9 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 8:9

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.

1 Kings 8:9 In-Context

7 for the cherubim [were] spreading their wings over the place of the ark. The cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles from above.

8 The poles [were] long, and the ends of the poles could be seen from the holy place {in front of} the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen [from] the outside, and they are there until this day.

9 There was not [anything] in the ark {except} the two tablets of stone which Moses had placed there at Horeb, where Yahweh {made} [a covenant] with the {Israelites} after they went out from the land of Egypt.

10 When the priests went out from the holy place, the cloud filled the house of Yahweh.

11 The priests [were] not able to stand to minister {because of the presence of} the cloud, for the glory of Yahweh filled the house of Yahweh.

Footnotes

• [a]. Hebrew "only"
• [b]. Literally "cut"
• [c]. Literally "sons/children of Israel"