1 Kings 8:3

3 And all the ancients of Israel came, and the 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 all the ancients of Israel, with the princes of the tribes, and the heads of the families of the children of Israel, were assembled to king Solomon, in Jerusalem: that they might carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord, out of the city of David, that is, out of Sion.

2 And all Israel assembled themselves to king Solomon, on the festival day, in the month of Ethanim, the same is the seventh month.

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

4 And carried the ark of the Lord, and the tabernacle of the covenant, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, that were in the tabernacle: and the priests and the Levites carried them.

5 And king Solomon, and all the multitude of Israel, that were assembled unto him, went with him before the ark, and they sacrificed sheep and oxen, that could not be counted or numbered.