2 Chronicles 5:9

And they drew out the staves of the ark, that the ends of the staves were seen from the ark before the oracle; but they were not seen without. And there it is unto this day.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(9) And they drew out . . . were seen.—Rather, And the staves were so long that the tips of the staves were seen. &c.

From the ark.—1Kings 8:8, “from the Holy Place.” So the LXX. and four Hebrew MSS. The priests in the great hall could see the tips of the staves projecting within the Holy of Holies; but persons outside (“without”) of the great hall could not see them.

And there it is unto this day.—And it (the ark) remained there unto this day. So Vulg., “fuit itaque arca ibi.” LXX., Syr., Targ., Arab., They—i.e., the poles were there; and so some Heb. MSS., and 1Kings 8:8. This is no doubt right. A letter has fallen out of the Hebrew text. That the chronicler has preserved this remark without modification to suit altered circumstances, and indeed that the compiler of Kings did the same long before him, is a striking instance of the way in which Oriental historiographers are content to borrow with literal exactitude from the works of predecessors, even in cases where such borrowing appears to the modern mind infelicitous.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

5:1-10 The ark was a type of Christ, and, as such, a token of the presence of God. That gracious promise, Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world, does, in effect, bring the ark into our religious assemblies, if we by faith and prayer plead that promise; and this we should be most earnest for. When Christ is formed in a soul, the law written in the heart, the ark of the covenant settled there, so that it becomes the temple of the Holy Ghost, there is true satisfaction in that soul.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

From the ark - Or, according to a different reading here and according to 1 Kings 8:8, some read, "the ends of the staves were seen from the Holy place."

There it is unto this day - This should be corrected as in the margin.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

9. there it is unto this day—that is, at the time when this history was composed; for after the Babylonish captivity there is no trace of either ark or staves.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

When this history was first written: not when it was reviewed by Ezra, who made some additions to it; for after the return from Babylon neither staves nor ark were any more seen or heard of.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

See Chapter Introduction

Geneva Study Bible

And they drew out the staves of the ark, that the ends of the staves were seen from the ark before the oracle; but they were not seen without. And there it is unto this day.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

9. And they drew out the staves of the ark] R.V. And the staves were so long.

from the ark] Read (with LXX. and 1 Kings 8:8) from the holy place. One standing in the holy place and looking towards the Holy of Holies could see the heads of the staves.

And there it is unto this day] These words are taken over with the loss of one letter (which here makes the difference between singular and plural) from 1 Kings 8:8, but they are out of place in Chron., for when the Chronicler wrote the ark had long ago disappeared. The vessels which were brought back from the Babylonian captivity are specified in Ezra 1:9-10, but the ark of the covenant is not reckoned among them.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 9. - They drew out; i.e. the staves projected. A similar intransitive occurs in Exodus 20:12. Were seen from the ark. The words, "from the ark," are here probably by misposition, and should follow the words, the staves projected; while the parallel tells us what should be in their place here, namely, "from the holy place" (1 Kings 8:8). The confusion and omission will merely lie with some copyists, for five manuscripts show the words "from the holy place." There it is unto this day. The parallel (1 Kings 8:8)reads, "there they are unto this day," i.e. the staves. In either case, whether the ark or the staves were spoken of, the memorandum is exceedingly interesting and noteworthy, as a patent bare copy of an old record dating before the destruction of the temple, on the part of whether the writer of Kings or Chronicles. Plainly the historian touches ground, and shows us that we do also; for it is evident that, far from cunningly devised fable, he has before him in either case an original document. 2 Chronicles 5:9

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

Instead of הלויּם, we have in 2 Kings #1492;כּהנים, the priests bare the ark; and since even according to the Chronicle (2 Chronicles 5:7) the priests bare the ark into the holy place, we must understand by הלויּם such Levites were also priests. - In 2 Chronicles 5:5, too the words הלויּם הכּהנים are inexact, and are to be corrected by 1 Kings 8:4, והלויּם הכּהנים. For even if the Levitic priests bare the ark and the sacred utensils of the tabernacle into the temple, yet the tabernacle itself (the planks, hangings, and coverings of it) was borne into the temple, to be preserved as a holy relic, not by priests, but only by Levites. The conj. ו before הלוים has probably been omitted only by a copyist, who was thinking of הלוים הכהנים (Joshua 3:3; Deuteronomy 17:9, Deuteronomy 17:18, etc.). - In 2 Chronicles 5:8 ויכסּוּ is an orthographical error for ויּסכּוּ, 1 Kings 8:7; cf. 1 Chronicles 28:18; Exodus 25:20. - In 2 Chronicles 5:9, too, מן־הארון has probably come into our text only by a copyist's mistake instead of מן־הקּדשׁ (1 Kings 8:8).