Exodus 25:22 (WEB)
There I will meet with you, and I will tell you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the covenant, all that I command you for the children of Israel.
As quoted in the map (KJV)
Exodus 25:22 (KJV)
And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.
Key words
- וְנוֹעַדְתִּי לְךָ שָׁםveno'adti lekha sham · Hebrew
- 'there I will meet with thee' — the Ark is the appointed place of encounter with God.
- כַּפֹּרֶתkapporet · Hebrew
- 'mercy seat' — the gold lid of the Ark, between the cherubim, from which God speaks.
- כְּרֻבִיםkeruvim · Hebrew
- 'cherubims' — two golden angel statues that God himself commands (25:18).
Why it matters
God promises to meet Israel and speak to them from above the mercy seat, between the cherubim. Pitre puts this first among the Ark's five features: the Ark is the place where God dwells and speaks on earth (pp 44–46). He also notes, for readers who think all statues are unbiblical, that God here commands two golden statues of angels (p 46). Mary, the new Ark, is the place where God comes to meet his people in the flesh.