Keluaran 25:16

25:16 You are to put into the ark the testimony ¹  that I will give to you.

Keluaran 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.

Keluaran 26:33

26:33 You are to hang this curtain under the clasps and bring the ark of the testimony in there behind the curtain. ²  The curtain will make a division for you between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. ³ 

Keluaran 34:29

The Radiant Face of Moses

34:29 ⁴ Now when Moses came down ⁵  from Mount Sinai with ⁶  the two tablets of the testimony in his hand ⁷  – when he came down ⁸  from the mountain, Moses ⁹  did not know that the skin of his face shone ¹⁰  while he talked with him.

Keluaran 40:3

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

Keluaran 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 ¹¹  the protecting curtain, ¹²  and shielded the ark of the testimony from view, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

[25:16]  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.

[26:33]  ² tn The traditional expression is “within the veil,” literally “into the house (or area) of the (special) curtain.”

[26:33]  ³ tn Or “the Holy of Holies.”

[34:29]  ⁴ sn Now, at the culmination of the renewing of the covenant, comes the account of Moses’ shining face. It is important to read this in its context first, holding off on the connection to Paul’s discussion in 2 Corinthians. There is a delicate balance here in Exodus. On the one hand Moses’ shining face served to authenticate the message, but on the other hand Moses prevented the people from seeing more than they could handle. The subject matter in the OT, then, is how to authenticate the message. The section again can be subdivided into three points that develop the whole idea: I. The one who spends time with God reflects his glory (29-30). It will not always be as Moses; rather, the glory of the Lord is reflected differently today, but nonetheless reflected. II. The glory of Yahweh authenticates the message (31-32). III. The authentication of the message must be used cautiously with the weak and immature (33-35).

[34:29]  ⁵ tn The temporal clause is composed of the temporal indicator (“and it happened”), followed by the temporal preposition, infinitive construct, and subjective genitive (“Moses”).

[34:29]  ⁶ tn The second clause begins with “and/now”; it is a circumstantial clause explaining that the tablets were in his hand. It repeats the temporal clause at the end.

[34:29]  ⁷ tn Heb “in the hand of Moses.”

[34:29]  ⁸ tn The temporal clause parallels the first temporal clause; it uses the same infinitive construct, but now with a suffix referring to Moses.

[34:29]  ⁹ tn Heb “and Moses.”

[34:29]  ¹⁰ tn The word קָרַן (qaran) is derived from the noun קֶרֶן (qeren) in the sense of a “ray of light” (see Hab 3:4). Something of the divine glory remained with Moses. The Greek translation of Aquila and the Latin Vulgate convey the idea that he had horns, the primary meaning of the word from which this word is derived. Some have tried to defend this, saying that the glory appeared like horns or that Moses covered his face with a mask adorned with horns. But in the text the subject of the verb is the skin of Moses’ face (see U. Cassuto, Exodus, 449).

[40:21]  ¹¹ tn Heb “set up,” if it includes more than the curtain.

[40:21]  ¹² tn Or “shielding” (NIV); Heb “the veil of the covering” (cf. KJV).