John Gill Commentary 1 Kings 8:3

"And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark." — 1 Kings 8:3 (ASV)

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) .