Did priests also carry the ark?

[tonychanyt]

Joshua 3:

3 They commanded the people, saying, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God with the Levitical priests carrying it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it.

Did priests also carry the ark?

Not usually, Numbers 4:

5 Whenever the camp sets out, Aaron and his sons are to go in, take down the veil of the curtain, and cover the ark of the Testimony with it.

15 When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy objects and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp is to set out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them by the poles, so that they will not touch the holy objects and die. These are the things in the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to carry.

The priests packed up the holy objects. The Kohathites had the responsibility to carry them. It was a special occasion of a miracle in Jos 3:

13 When the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the LORD—the Lord of all the earth—touch down in the waters of the Jordan, its flowing waters will be cut off and will stand up in a heap.”

 

[KevinT]

The offspring of Levi were chosen by God when they rallied military support to Moses as he put down a riot in the camp. Levi had several offspring, including Kohath. Kohath was an ancestor of Aaron. Aaron and his offspring were chosen to be priests while other Levites were given different roles.

I agree that it was the Kohathites that were to transport the ark. But it is also true that things were not always done as they were supposed to be. For example, errant priests put the ark on an ox cart when David was moving the ark to Jerusalem. And Uzzah was killed for grabbing the ark when the oxen stumbled.

So my take would be that the Kohathites were supposed to be the movers, but it would be acceptable for consecrated priests to also carry it on special occasions at the command of God.

Interesting post.

KT