[10] Strong emphasis is placed on the observation that the ark contained the two tablets. The negative phrasing ‘there was nothing in the ark except . . .’ has a strong polemical edge, which may be directed against either pagan or popular concepts of the ark, which attributed certain magical powers to it or viewed it as containing ritual objects or images, or against other traditions which regarded the ark as holding other holy artefacts such as ‘the jar of manna’ (Exod. 16.33) or the ‘rod of Aaron’ (Num. 17.10 [MT 17.25], cf. Gray, Kings, 210; Curtis, 338).
