Problem: 1 Kings 8:9 explicitly states that only the stone tablets of Moses’ Law were inside the Ark. Hebrews 9:4, however, says that Aaron’s rod and a golden jar of manna was in there as well. However, between the time of Moses and the time of Solomon, which 1 Kings 8 talks about, there were about 450 years. Many have noted that the Ark was moved quite a bit and the objects could have easily been taken out and left at the Temple or some other place. Very possibly, the golden jar would have been used as one of the numerous golden articles in the Temple (Exodus 25).
Solution: Slightly unrelated, the jar of manna being golden is not found in the Old Testament. Apparently it was a Jewish tradition as Philo also mentions it (On Mating with the Preliminary Studies 100). This doesn’t mean that Hebrews is using Jewish traditions as Scripture. The inference that the jar was golden can easily be made from all the golden objects mentioned in Exodus 25:
- All plates and dishes at the Table for the Bread of the Presence, as well as bowls and pitchers for pouring offerings were to be golden
- The inside and outside of the Ark, which was in the Tabernacle, had to be golden
- Even the poles that were to carry the Ark and the Table for the Bread of the Presence were to be overlayed with gold
It’d be pretty odd for some clay jar to be holding the manna alongside a bunch of golden things. Especially when the Old Testament tells us it was always located near the Ark (Exodus 16:33-34; Numbers 17:10 for Aaron’s staff), and probably eventually placed in it for convenience.
