1 Kings 8:8

And they drew out [It is uncertain whether יַאֲרִכוּ is transitive, as our A.V. renders it, and as in 1 Kings 3:14 = lengthen, in which case, however, it should almost be followed by אֵת , or intransitive, as in Exodus 20:12 ; Deuteronomy 5:16 ; Deuteronomy 25:15 , when the meaning would be, " The staves were long, " but the latter rendering has the support of most scholars. As the oracle in the tabernacle was a cube of ten cubits, they cannot have been more than eight or nine cubits, and it is doubtful whether, the ark being only 2.5 cubits, they would be so long. Their length is mentioned in order to account for the ends being seen. It is immaterial to the meaning of the passage, however, which interpretation we put upon this verb. If we adhere to the A.V. then we must understand that, as it was forbidden to remove the staves from the rings at the corners of the ark ( Exodus 25:12-15 ), they drew the staves forward towards one end of the ark; that they removed the staves altogether from the ark (Stanley) is a view to which the text lends no support] the staves, that the ends [Heb. heads . It is possible the ends of the staves were fitted with knobs. This would prevent their removal] of the staves were seen out in [Heb. from ] the holy place [Marg. ark, the word found in the Chronicles Hebrews 5:9 . It is questionable, however, whether הַקֹּדֶשׁ is ever used, by itself, of the ark (Gesen; Thesaurus, s.v.) It may be used of the most holy place (see on Hebrews 5:10 ), but here it would appear to designate the הֵיכָל ( 1 Kings 6:17 ), the body or "temple of the house" ( Exodus 26:33 ; Hebrews 9:2 ). Its meaning appears to be so defined by the next words] before the oracle [ i.e; a person standing in the holy place, but at the west end, near the entrance to the oracle ( 1 Kings 6:31 ), could see the ends of the staves. Several questions of considerable nicety suggest themselves here.

1 . What was the position of the ark? Did it stand, that is to say, east and west, or north and south under the wings of the cherubim?

2 . What was the position of the staves? Were they attached to the ends or to the sides of the ark?

3 . How could the ends of the staves be seen, and by whom and when—on the occasion of the dedication only or in later years?

4 . Why has our author recorded this circumstance?

As to

1. the balance of evidence is in favour of the ark having stood north and south, in a line, that is, with the wings of the cherubim. For

2 . As to the staves, Josephus states (Ant. 3.7. 5) that they ran along the sides of the ark, and this would appear to be the natural and proper arrangement. It follows hence again that they cannot have been more than eight or nine cubits long, inasmuch as they found a place between the bodies of the cherubim, which cannot have been more than nine cubits apart.

3 . The explanation of the Rabbins is that the ends of the staves were not really seen, but that they projected into the curtain and so made two visible protrusions or prominences. But this view hardly satisfies the requirements of the text, and it assumes that the ark stood east and west, which we have found good reason to doubt. But even if this were so, it is doubtful whether the staves, so long as they remained in the rings, could be made to reach to the door of the oracle, unless indeed they were lengthened for the purpose. How then were they seen? The following considerations may assist us to answer this question.