1 Kings 8 · a question people ask
Was there anything in the ark besides the tablets?
1 Kings says, "There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets which Moses put there at Horeb" (8:9), and 2 Chronicles says, "There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets which Moses put there at Horeb" (2 Chronicles 5:10). Hebrews, describing the first covenant's "earthly sanctuary" (Hebrews 9:1) and "the tabernacle which is called the Holy of Holies" (Hebrews 9:3), speaks of "the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which was a golden pot holding the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant" (Hebrews 9:4). The Bible doesn't say how 1 Kings 8:9 and Hebrews 9:4 fit together. This answer quotes each and leaves them side by side.
The verses
“There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets which Moses put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.”
“There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets which Moses put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of Egypt.”
“Now indeed even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service and an earthly sanctuary.”
“After the second veil was the tabernacle which is called the Holy of Holies, having a golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which was a golden pot holding the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant;”