Staves
Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types [1]
Exodus 25:13 (c) These were the two rods covered with gold by which the ark was carried. Other articles of furniture also were furnished with these rods for carrying purposes. In this passage the rods indicate the wandering and movable character of the ark of the covenant. It was to be on the move constantly, therefore the staves were to remain in the rings on the ark. (See Exodus 25:15). However, when it found its permanent resting place (See1Ki 8:8). the staves were removed. The first period is a type of the wandering life of a Christian before he fully gives himself over to the Holy Spirit in complete consecration. The second period is pictured by the removal of the staves in the dedication of the temple. The ark was to wander no more. So GOD wants His child to get to the place where he is stable, substantial and unmovable in the fellowship of the King. (See1Ch 15:15; 2 Chronicles 5:9; see under "STAFF").
Webster's Dictionary [2]
(1): ( pl.) pl. of Stave.
(2): ( pl.) of Staff
(3): ( n.) pl. of Staff.
King James Dictionary [3]
Staves plu. of staff, when applied to a stick, is pronounced with a as in ask, the Italian sound.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia [4]
stāvz ( בּדּים , baddı̄m ): Ten or eleven Hebrew words are used in the Old Testament to describe various staffs, bars, and wooden rods used by the Hebrews (compare Staff; Rod; Scepter ). One word only is used to describe the staves or wooden poles used for carrying the holy furniture of the tabernacle from place to place. That word is badh (plural baddı̄m ), which occurs 28 times in Exodus and Numbers and 5 times in Kings and Chronicles (compare also Job 17:16; Hosea 11:6 ). The only passage in which these staves are mentioned by another name is 1 Chronicles 15:15 , where the staves used for carrying the ark from its captivity into Jerusalem are called mōṭāh . The reason for this probably is that the original baddı̄m had been lost during the long absence of the sacred chest from its home in the tabernacle.
In the wilderness wanderings, arrangements were made that four items of the holy furniture of the portable tabernacle should be carried on the shoulders of Levites, suspended on these staves. These were the golden altar of incense, the golden table for shewbread, the brazen altar of sacrifice, and the ark of the covenant ( Exodus 35:12-16 ).
In the case of the large altar of sacrifice, which was in reality a hollow wooden chest covered with brass (bronze) plates (see Altar ), four rings were attached to the brass grating which rose midway in the chest, and through these rings the staves passed. The staves were of acacia wood and were covered with brass plating. In the case of the three golden utensils of the sanctuary, the staves were of acacia wood, covered with gold plates.
The last mention of any of these staves is in 1 Kings 8:7-9 , where it is stated of the ark, in the holy of holies in Solomon's Temple, that the ends of its staves were seen by anyone standing in the adjoining holy place, before (i.e. east of) the oracle. Priests only might view them there, the curtain being withdrawn. The writer of 1 Ki 8 adds that the staves were thus visible when he wrote, an item of evidence worthy of note as to the date of the document.
Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature [5]
is properly the plural of staff, but it is used in the A.V. distinctively as the rendering of the plural of בִּד , Bad (literally Part, and so occasionally rendered "branch," etc.), spoken of the Bars Or Poles for carrying the sacred ark ( Exodus 25:13-28, etc.; Numbers 4:6-14; 1 Kings 8:7-8; 2 Chronicles 5:8-9); and of מוֹטָה , motah, a Staff or Pole for bearing on the shoulder ( 1 Chronicles 15:15), especially the Ox -Bow of a yoke ("band," Leviticus 26:13), and hence the "yoke" itself (q.v.). (See Staff).
