Exodus 25:16

You are to put into the ark the testimony ¹  that I will give to you.

Ex 16:34; Ex 27:21; Ex 30:6,36; Ex 31:18; Ex 32:15; Ex 34:29; Ex 38:21; Nu 17:4; De 10:2-5; De 31:26; 1Ki 8:9; 2Ki 11:12; 2Ch 34:14,15; Ac 7:44; Ro 3:2; Heb 9:4

¹ sn The “testimony” is the Decalogue (Exod 24:12; 31:18; Deut 4:13; 9:9; 1 Kgs 8:9); the word identifies it as the witness or affirmation of God’s commandments belonging to his covenant with Israel. It expressed God’s will and man’s duty. In other cultures important documents were put at the feet of the gods in the temples.