1 Kings 8:4

And they brought up the ark of the LORD, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, even those did the priests and the Levites bring up.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(4) The tabernacle of the congregation (see 1Chronicles 16:39-40; 2Chronicles 1:3) was still at Gibeon; and the priests and Levites had hitherto been divided between it and the lesser tabernacle over the ark on Mount Zion. Probably each section of the priests and Levites now brought up in solemn procession the sacred things entrusted to them. According to the order of the Mosaic law (Numbers 3:25-37), the Kohathites had charge on the march of the ark and the vessels, the Gershonites of the Tabernacle and its hangings, and the Merarites of the boards and pillars of the Tabernacle and the outer court. This order, no doubt, was followed, as far as possible, on this its last journey. What became of the Tabernacle and its furniture (so far as this was disused), we are not told; but all was probably deposited, as a sacred relic of antiquity, somewhere in the precincts of the Temple. This seems to be implied in the famous Jewish tradition (see 2 Maccabees 2:4-6), that Jeremiah was enabled to hide by miracle “the Tabernacle and the ark and the altar of incense” on the destruction of the Temple.

Benson Commentary

1 Kings 8:4. And the tabernacle of the congregation — That made by Moses, which doubtless before this time had been removed from Gibeon to Zion. And all the holy vessels — Namely, the altar of incense, the table of show- bread, the candlestick, and every thing belonging to them; all these were now carried into the temple, and laid up there, to prevent all idolatrous and superstitious use of them, and to oblige the people to come up to Jerusalem, as the only place where sacrifices were now to be offered, and the various ceremonies of public worship performed.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

8:1-11 The bringing in the ark, is the end which must crown the work: this was done with great solemnity. The ark was fixed in the place appointed for its rest in the inner part of the house, whence they expected God to speak to them, even in the most holy place. The staves of the ark were drawn out, so as to direct the high priest to the mercy-seat over the ark, when he went in, once a year, to sprinkle the blood there; so that they continued of use, though there was no longer occasion to carry it by them. The glory of God appearing in a cloud may signify, 1. The darkness of that dispensation, in comparison with the light of the gospel, by which, with open face, we behold, as in a glass, the glory of the Lord. 2. The darkness of our present state, in comparison with the sight of God, which will be the happiness of heaven, where the Divine glory is unveiled.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And the tabernacle of the congregation - Not the tented structure erected for the ark on Mount Zion 2 Samuel 6:17 by David, but the original tabernacle made by Moses, which had hitherto remained at Gibeon (margin reference). The tabernacle and its holy vessels were probably placed in the treasury.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

2-6. at the feast in the month Ethanim—The public and formal inauguration of this national place of worship did not take place till eleven months after the completion of the edifice. The delay, most probably, originated in Solomon's wish to choose the most fitting opportunity when there should be a general rendezvous of the people in Jerusalem (1Ki 8:2); and that was not till the next year. That was a jubilee year, and he resolved on commencing the solemn ceremonial a few days before the feast of tabernacles, which was the most appropriate of all seasons. That annual festival had been instituted in commemoration of the Israelites dwelling in booths during their stay in the wilderness, as well as of the tabernacle, which was then erected, in which God promised to meet and dwell with His people, sanctifying it with His glory. As the tabernacle was to be superseded by the temple, there was admirable propriety in choosing the feast of tabernacles as the period for dedicating the new place of worship, and praying that the same distinguished privileges might be continued to it in the manifestation of the divine presence and glory. At the time appointed for the inauguration, the king issued orders for all the heads and representatives of the nation to repair to Jerusalem and take part in the august procession [1Ki 8:1]. The lead was taken by the king and elders of the people, whose march must have been slow, as priests were stationed to offer an immense number of sacrifices at various points in the line of road through which the procession was to go. Then came the priests bearing the ark and the tabernacle—the old Mosaic tabernacle which was brought from Gibeon. Lastly, the Levites followed, carrying the vessels and ornaments belonging to the old, for lodgment in the new, house of the Lord. There was a slight deviation in this procedure from the order of march established in the wilderness (Nu 3:31; 4:15); but the spirit of the arrangement was duly observed. The ark was deposited in the oracle; that is, the most holy place, under the wings of the cherubim—not the Mosaic cherubim, which were firmly attached to the ark (Ex 37:7, 8), but those made by Solomon, which were far larger and more expanded.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

The tabernacle of the congregation; that made by Moses, which doubtless before this time had been translated from Gibeon to Zion, and now, together with other things, was put into the treasuries of the Lord’s house, to prevent all the superstitious use and profane abuse of it, and to oblige the people to come up to Jerusalem, as the only place where God would now be worshipped.

The priests and Levites; the priests carrying some, and the Levites others.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And they brought up the ark of the Lord,.... From the city of David to the temple:

and the tabernacle of the congregation; not the tent David made for the ark, though that might be brought also, but the tabernacle of Moses, which had been many years at Gibeon; but now removed to Zion, and from thence to the temple, where it was laid up, as having been a sacred thing; that it might not be put to common or superstitious uses, and to prevent the being of more places than one for worship:

and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle; as the candlestick, shewbread table, incense altar, &c.

even those did the priests and the Levites bring up; some brought one, and some another; the priests brought the ark, and the Levites the vessels.

Geneva Study Bible

And they brought up the ark of the LORD, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, even those did the priests and the Levites bring up.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

4. and the tabernacle of the congregation] Better, as in other places, the Tent of meeting. This consecrated tent, which had up to this time stood in Gibeon, was now taken down, and the curtains and poles of which it consisted seem to have been brought to the Temple to be preserved. There was probably room enough for their bestowal in the ‘side chambers’ which enclosed the Temple on three sides. Others have suggested a chamber above the most holy place. We have nothing to guide us to a conclusion either in history or tradition. A tradition which points to the preservation of the Tent is found 2Ma 2:4.

those did the priests and the Levites bring up] In the parallel passage in 1 Chronicles 5:5, the conjunction ‘and’ is omitted and special attention is called to Deuteronomy 17:18, where, and in subsequent places of the same book ‘the priests the Levites’ are spoken of. It is noteworthy that Josephus speaks only of the Levites, until the ark is to be brought within the most holy place. Then, he says, all the rest withdrew and the priests carried it to its resting-place. He also describes the procession, and how the road was drenched with libations and with the blood of many sacrifices, while the abundant burning of incense filled all the air with fragrance so that people at a great distance could note that God was, as men would judge, changing His abode and coming to dwell in the house which had been newly built and dedicated to Him. The LXX. (Vat.) omits nearly the whole of 1 Kings 8:2-3, and also a portion of 1 Kings 8:4.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 4. - And they brought up the ark of the Lord [which had now been for nearly 40 years "in the tabernacle that David had pitched for it" on the Mount Zion (2 Samuel 6:17) ], and the tabernacle of the congregation [Heb, "the tabernacle of meeting" (Exodus 29:42, 46. See Dict. Bib. 2. p. 1414; Bahr, Symbolik, 1:80, 81). This had been for many years at Gibeon. (Cf. ch. 3:4; 2 Chronicles 1:8; 1 Chronicles 16:39. See note on ch. 3:4.) The tabernacle of Mount Zion is never called "the tabernacle of the congregation" - indeed, it is expressly dis-tingnished from it, 2 Chronicles 1:3, 4. The ark and the tabernacle were now reunited in the temple of Solomon, thus "marking the identity and continuity of the life and ritual of the Hebrew Church" (Wordsworth) ], and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle [Perhaps the brazen altar. Certainly the altar of incense, the table of shewbread, the candlestick, and also the brazen serpent (Stanley) ], even those did the priests and Levites bring up. [We are hardly justified in saying (as Keil, al.) that the Levites carried all but the ark. The text rather favours the view that the priests assisted in bringing up the tabernacle and its furniture. So 2 Chronicles 5:5. Neither the tabernacle nor its vessels were designed for further use in the temple; the latter had been replaced by vessels better suited to the enlarged sanctuary - they were simply preserved, so far as we know, as relics of the past. in the treasury or side chambers. 1 Kings 8:4

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

After the arrival of all the elders (i.e., of the representatives of the nation, more particularly described in 1 Kings 8:1), the priests carried the ark and brought it up (sc., into the temple), with the tabernacle and all the holy vessels in it. The expression אתם ויּעלוּ, which follows, introduces as a supplementary notice, according to the general diffuseness of the early Hebrew style of narrative, the more precise statement that the priests and Levites brought up these sacred vessels. מועד אהל is not the tent erected for the ark of the covenant upon Zion, which can be proved to have been never so designated, and which is expressly distinguished from the former in 2 Chronicles 1:4 as compared with 1 Kings 8:3, but is the Mosaic tabernacle at Gibeon in front of which Solomon had offered sacrifice (1 Kings 3:4). The tabernacle with the vessels in it, to which, however, the ark of the covenant, that had long been separated from it, did not belong, was probably preserved as a sacred relic in the rooms above the Most Holy Place. The ark of the covenant was carried by priests on all solemn occasions, according to the spirit of the law, which enjoined, in Numbers 3:31 and Numbers 4:5., that the ark of the covenant and the rest of the sacred vessels should be carried by the Levites, after the priests had carefully wrapped them up; and the Levites were prohibited from directly touching them, on pain of death. When, therefore, the ark of the covenant was carried in solemn procession, as in the case before us, probably uncovered, this could only be done by the priests, more especially as the Levites were not allowed to enter the Most Holy Place. Consequently, by the statement in 1 Kings 8:3, that the priests and Levites carried them (אתם), viz., the objects mentioned before, we are to understand that the ark of the covenant was carried into the temple by the priests, and the tabernacle with its vessels by the Levites.

(Note: Instead of כּהנים in 1 Kings 8:3, we have הלּויּם in 2 Chronicles 5:4; and instead of והלּויּם הכּהנים in 1 Kings 8:4, we have הלּויּם הכּהנים, "the Levitical priests." These variations are to be attributed to inexactness in expression. For it is obvious that Thenius is wrong in his notion that the chronicler mentioned the Levites instead of the priests, from the simple fact that he states in 1 Kings 8:7 that "the priests carried the ark," etc., in exact agreement with our account.)