Albert Barnes Commentary Exodus 25:10-16

"And they shall make an ark of acacia wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof. And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about. And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in the four feet thereof; and two rings shall be on the one side of it, and two rings on the other side of it. And thou shalt make staves of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold. And thou shalt put the staves into the rings on the sides of the ark, wherewith to bear the ark. The staves shall be in the rings of the ark: they shall not be taken from it. And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee." — Exodus 25:10-16 (ASV)

. The ark is uniformly designated in Exodus as the ark of the testimony. Elsewhere it is called the testimony, the ark of the covenant (most frequently in Deuteronomy and the other books of the Old Testament), the ark of the Lord, the ark of God, the ark of the strength of the Lord, and the holy ark.

The ark of the covenant was the central point of the sanctuary. It was designed to contain the testimony (Exodus 25:16; Exodus 40:20; Deuteronomy 31:26)—that is, the tables of the divine law, the terms of the covenant between Yahweh and His people—and it was to support the mercy-seat with its cherubim, from between which He was to hold communion with them (Exodus 25:22).

On this account, in these directions for the construction of the sanctuary, it is named first among all the parts. However, in the narrative of the work as it was actually carried out, we find that it was not made until after the tabernacle (Exodus 37:1–9). It was suitable that the receptacle should be first provided to receive and shelter the most sacred of the contents of the sanctuary as soon as it was completed. The order in which the works were executed seems to be given in Exodus 31:7-10 and Exodus 35:11-19.

The completion of the ark is recorded in Exodus 37:1-5. On its history, see the concluding note to Exodus 40:0.

Exodus 25:10. An ark – Taking the cubit at 18 inches (see Genesis 6:15 note), the ark of the covenant was a box 3 feet 9 inches long, 2 feet 3 inches wide, and 2 feet 3 inches deep.

Exodus 25:11. Overlay it with pure gold – These words are descriptive of the common process of gilding. The Egyptians in early times were acquainted with both the art of gilding and that of covering a substance with thin plates of gold.

A crown of gold – This refers to an edging or moulding of gold around the top of the ark, within which the cover or mercy-seat (Exodus 25:17) may have fitted . There were golden mouldings, called by the same name, for the table of showbread (Exodus 25:24; Exodus 37:11–12) and for the golden altar (Exodus 30:3; Exodus 37:26).

Exodus 25:12. Four corners thereof – Or rather, its four bases, or feet. It is not unlikely that there were low blocks, or plinths, placed under the corners to which the rings were attached , and that it is to these that the word is here applied. The ark, when it was carried, must thus have been raised above the shoulders of the bearers.

Exodus 25:15. They shall not be taken from it – This direction was probably given so that the ark might not be touched by hand (compare 2 Samuel 6:6).

Exodus 25:16. The testimony – Literally, “something spoken again and again.” The stone tables of the Ten Commandments are called the Testimony, or the tables of the Testimony, just as the ark which contained them is called the ark of the Testimony, and the tabernacle in which the ark was placed is called the tabernacle of the testimony. Taking this in connection with the prohibitory form of the commandments, the name must have been understood as signifying the direct testimony of Yahweh against sin in humanity (Deuteronomy 31:26–27).

The ark of the covenant has been most generally likened to the arks, or movable shrines, which are represented on Egyptian monuments. The Egyptian arks were carried by poles on the shoulders, and some of them had on their cover two winged figures not unlike what we conceive the golden cherubim to have been. Thus far, the similarity is striking.

But there were points of great dissimilarity. Between the winged figures on the Egyptian arks, a material symbol of a deity was placed, and the arks themselves were carried about in religious processions, so as to make a show before the people. We do not know what they contained.

Regarding the ark of the covenant, the absence of any symbol of God was one of its great characteristics. It was never carried in a ceremonial procession; when it was moved from one place to another, it was closely packed up, concealed from the eyes of even the Levites who bore it. When the tabernacle was pitched, the ark was never exhibited but was kept in solemn darkness. Rest, it is evident, was its appointed condition. It was occasionally moved out of its place in the holy of holies, but only as long as the nation was without a settled capital and had something of the character of an army on the march.

It was no less distinguished from all other arks by the simple grandeur of its purpose: it was constructed to contain the plain text of the Ten Commandments written on stone in words that were intelligible to all.