And the men of Kirjathjearim came, and fetched up the ark of the LORD,
and brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill, and sanctified Eleazar
his son to keep the ark of the LORD. And it came to pass, while the ark abode
in Kirjathjearim, that the time was long; for it was twenty
years: and all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD.
And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him [Saul] whom the LORD hath
chosen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all the people
shouted, and said, God save the king.
And David arose ... to bring up from thence the ark of God.... And they
set the ark of God upon a new cart, and brought it out of the house of
Abinadab that was in Gibeah....
And afterward they desired a king: and God gave unto them Saul the son of Cis, a
man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty years.
1 Sam.7:1-2 says that the ark of the covenant was brought to Abinadab's
house and that it stayed there for 20 years. This was before Saul was made king
(1 Sam.10:24).
But according to 2 Sam.6:2-3, David removed the ark
from Abinadab's house. And Acts 13:21 says
that Saul (David's predecessor) was king for 40 years. So the ark must have
been at Abinadab's house for more than 40 years.
