Exodus 26:34

26:34 You are to put the atonement lid on the ark of the testimony in the Most Holy Place.

Exodus 40:3

40:3 You are to place the ark of the testimony in it and shield the ark with the special curtain.

Exodus 23:2

23:2 “You must not follow a crowd ¹  in doing evil things; ²  in a lawsuit you must not offer testimony that agrees with a crowd so as to pervert justice, ³ 

Exodus 25:21

25:21 You are to put the atonement lid on top of the ark, and in the ark you are to put the testimony I am giving you.

Exodus 31:7

31:7 the tent of meeting, the ark of the testimony, the atonement lid that is on it, all the furnishings ⁴  of the tent,

Exodus 31:18

31:18 He gave Moses two tablets of testimony when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, tablets of stone written by the finger of God. ⁵ 

Exodus 40:5

40:5 You are to put ⁶  the gold altar for incense in front of the ark of the testimony and put the curtain at the entrance to the tabernacle.

Exodus 40:20-21

40:20 He took the testimony and put it in the ark, attached the poles to the ark, and then put the atonement lid on the ark. 40:21 And he brought the ark into the tabernacle, hung ⁷  the protecting curtain, ⁸  and shielded the ark of the testimony from view, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

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¹ tn The word רָבִּים (rabbim), here rendered “crowd,” is also used infrequently to refer to the “mighty,” people of importance in society (Job 35:9; cf. Lev 19:15).

² tn For any individual to join a group that is bent on acting wickedly would be a violation of the Law and would incur personal responsibility.

³ tn Heb “you will not answer in a lawsuit to turn after the crowd to turn.” The form translated “agrees with” (Heb “to turn after”) is a Qal infinitive construct from נָטָה (natah); the same root is used at the end of the verse but as a Hiphil infinitive construct, “to pervert [justice].”

⁴ tn Heb “all the vessels of the tent.”

⁵ sn The expression “the finger of God” has come up before in the book, in the plagues (Exod 8:15) to express that it was a demonstration of the power and authority of God. So here too the commandments given to Moses on stone tablets came from God. It too is a bold anthropomorphism; to attribute such a material action to Yahweh would have been thought provoking to say the least. But by using “God” and by stating it in an obviously figurative way, balance is maintained. Since no one writes with one finger, the expression simply says that the Law came directly from God.

⁶ tn Heb “give” (also four additional times in vv. 6-8).

⁷ tn Heb “set up,” if it includes more than the curtain.

⁸ tn Or “shielding” (NIV); Heb “the veil of the covering” (cf. KJV).