Topic
Candlestick, the Golden
21 passages cited, from 1 classic reference work.
These works date from 1915 and are in the public domain. They reflect the Protestant scholarship of their time: their history, archaeology and dates can be out of date, and where they interpret, other traditions read the text differently. The verses are shown in the King James Version, the wording these works were written against.
The verses
The passages the works cite, those cited by more of them first.
- Exodus 25:31–39ISBE
¶ And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of the same. And six branches shall come out of the sides of it; three branches of…
- Exodus 25:39ISBE
Of a talent of pure gold shall he make it, with all these vessels.
- Exodus 30:7ISBE
And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it.
- Exodus 30:8ISBE
And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations.
- Exodus 37:17–24ISBE
¶ And he made the candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work made he the candlestick; his shaft, and his branch, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, were of the same: And six branches going out of the sides thereof; three branches of the candlestick out…
- Exodus 40:24ISBE
¶ And he put the candlestick in the tent of the congregation, over against the table, on the side of the tabernacle southward.
- Leviticus 24:3ISBE
Without the vail of the testimony, in the tabernacle of the congregation, shall Aaron order it from the evening unto the morning before the LORD continually: it shall be a statute for ever in your generations.
- 1 Samuel 3:3ISBE
And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep;
- 1 Kings 7:49ISBE
And the candlesticks of pure gold, five on the right side, and five on the left, before the oracle, with the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs of gold,
- 2 Chronicles 4:7ISBE
And he made ten candlesticks of gold according to their form, and set them in the temple, five on the right hand, and five on the left.
- 2 Chronicles 13:11ISBE
And they burn unto the LORD every morning and every evening burnt sacrifices and sweet incense: the shewbread also set they in order upon the pure table; and the candlestick of gold with the lamps thereof, to burn every evening: for we keep the charge of…
- Zechariah 4:2ISBE
And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof:
Show 9 more
- 1 Maccabees 1:21 ISBE
- 1 Maccabees 4:49 ISBE
- 1 Maccabees 4:50 ISBE
- Matthew 5:14 ISBE
- Matthew 5:16 ISBE
- Luke 12:35 ISBE
- Philippians 2:15 ISBE
- Revelation 1:20 ISBE
- Revelation 2:1 ISBE
In the reference works
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915) · 21 references
kan'-d'-l-stik, gold'-'-n (menorah, literally "lamp-stand"): An important part of the furniture of the tabernacle and temples.
See TABERNACLE; TEMPLE; LAMP.
1. The Tabernacle:
The candlestick is first met with in the descriptions of the tabernacle (Ex 25:31-39; 37:17-24). It was, with the utensils connected with it (snuffers, snuff dishes), to be made of pure beaten gold, of one piece, a talent in weight (Ex 25:39). It consisted of a pedestal or base, of a central stem (the name "candlestick" is specially given to this), of six curving branches--three on each side--and of seven lamps resting on the tops of the branches and stem. Stem and branches were ornamented with cups like almond-blossoms, knops and flowers--four of this series on the stem, and three on each of the branches. Some, however, understand the "cup" to embrace the "knop" and "flower" (calyx and corolla). The shape of the pedestal is uncertain. Jewish tradition suggests three small feet; the representation of the candlestick on the Arch of Titus has a solid, hexagonal base. The position of the candlestick was on the South side of the holy place (Ex 40:24).
2. Temple of Solomon:
In Solomon's temple the single golden candlestick was multiplied to ten, and the position was altered. The candlesticks were now placed in front of the Holy of Holies, five on one side, five on the other (1Ki 7:49; 2Ch 4:7). Further details are not given in the texts, from which it may be presumed that the model of the tabernacle candlestick was followed.
3. Temple of Zerubbabel:
The second temple reverted to the single golden candlestick. When the temple was plundered by Antiochus Epiphanes, the candlestick was taken away (1 Macc 1:21); after the cleansing, a new one was made by Judas Maccabeus (1 Macc 4:49,50).
4. Temple of Herod:
The same arrangement of a single golden candlestick, placed on the South side of the holy place, was continued in Herod's Temple (Josephus, BJ, V, v, 5). It was this which, carried away by Titus, was represented on his Arch at Rome.
5. Use and Symbolism:
The immediate object of the candlestick was to give light in the holy place. The lamps were lighted in the evening and burned till the morning (Ex 30:7,8; Le 24:3; 1Sa 3:3; 2Ch 13:11), light being admitted into the temple during the day by the upper windows. Josephus in his Cosmical speculations (BJ, V, v, 5) takes the seven lamps to signify the seven planets. In Zechariah's vision of the golden candlestick (Zec 4:2 ff), the seven lamps are fed by two olive trees which are interpreted to be "the two anointed ones," Zerubbabel and Joshua--the civil and spiritual representatives of theocracy. The candlestick here, like the seven candlesticks in Re 1:20; 2:1, symbolizes the church of God, then in its Old Testament form, the idea conveyed being that God's church is set to be a lightgiver in the world. Compare Christ's words (Mt 5:14,16; Lu 12:35), and Paul's (Php 2:15).
The oldest known representation of the seven-branched candlestick is on a coin of Antigonus, circa 40 BC (see Madden's Coins of the Jews, 102). For literature see TABERNACLE; TEMPLE.
James Orr
Texts: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915), from the CrossWire SWORD modules (public domain). Verse references were parsed from the works' own markup and checked against the KJV verse list.