1 Kings 7:49

7:49 the pure gold lampstands at the entrance to the inner sanctuary (five on the right and five on the left), the gold flower-shaped ornaments, lamps, and tongs,

1 Kings 7:1

The Building of the Royal Palace

7:1 Solomon took thirteen years to build his palace. ¹ 

1 Kings 1:15

1:15 So Bathsheba visited the king in his private quarters. ²  (The king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite was serving the king.)

Zechariah 4:2-3

4:2 He asked me, “What do you see?” I replied, ³  “I see a menorah of pure gold with a receptacle at the top and seven lamps, with fourteen pipes going to the lamps. 4:3 There are also two olive trees beside it, one on the right of the receptacle and the other on the left.” ⁴ 

Zechariah 4:11-14

4:11 Next I asked the messenger, “What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the menorah?” 4:12 Before he could reply I asked again, “What are these two extensions ⁵  of the olive trees, which are emptying out the golden oil through the two golden pipes?” 4:13 He replied, “Don’t you know what these are?” And I said, “No, sir.” 4:14 So he said, “These are the two anointed ones ⁶  who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.”

Matthew 5:14-16

5:14 You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill cannot be hidden. 5:15 People ⁷  do not light a lamp and put it under a basket ⁸  but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. 5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before people, so that they can see your good deeds and give honor to your Father in heaven.

John 8:12

Jesus as the Light of the World

8:12 Then Jesus spoke out again, ⁹  “I am the light of the world. ¹⁰  The one who follows me will never ¹¹  walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Revelation 1:20

1:20 The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and the seven golden lampstands is this: ¹²  The seven stars are the angels ¹³  of the seven churches and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

[7:1]  ¹ tn Heb “His house Solomon built in thirteen years and he completed all his house.”

[1:15]  ² tn Or “bedroom.”

[4:2]  ³ tc The present translation (along with most other English versions) follows the reading of the Qere and many ancient versions, “I said,” as opposed to the MT Kethib “he said.”

[4:3]  ⁴ sn The vision apparently describes two olive trees providing olive oil by pipes to a large basin atop the menorah. From this basin two pipes extend to each of the seven lamps of the menorah, for a total of fourteen pipes in all. See vv. 11-12.

[4:12]  ⁵ tn The usual meaning of the Hebrew term שְׁבֹּלֶת (shÿbolet) is “ears” (as in ears of grain). Here it probably refers to the produce of the olive trees, i.e., olives. Many English versions render the term as “branches,” but cf. NAB “tufts.”

[4:14]  ⁶ tn The usual word for “anointed (one),” מָשִׁיַח (mashiakh), is not used here but rather בְנֵי־הַיִּצְהָר (vÿne-hayyitshar), literally, “sons of fresh oil.” This is to maintain consistency with the imagery of olive trees. In the immediate context these two olive trees should be identified with Joshua and Zerubbabel, the priest and the governor. Only the high priest and king were anointed for office in the OT and these two were respectively the descendants of Aaron and David.

[5:15]  ⁷ tn Grk “Nor do they light.” The plural in Greek is indefinite, referring to people in general.

[5:15]  ⁸ tn Or “a bowl”; this refers to any container for dry material of about eight liters (two gallons) capacity. It could be translated “basket, box, bowl” (L&N 6.151).

[8:12]  ⁹ tn Grk “Then again Jesus spoke to them saying.”

[8:12]  ¹⁰ sn The theory proposed by F. J. A. Hort (The New Testament in the Original Greek, vol. 2, Introduction; Appendix, 87-88), that the backdrop of 8:12 is the lighting of the candelabra in the court of women, may offer a plausible setting to the proclamation by Jesus that he is the light of the world. The last time that Jesus spoke in the narrative (assuming 7:53-8:11 is not part of the original text, as the textual evidence suggests) is in 7:38, where he was speaking to a crowd of pilgrims in the temple area. This is where he is found in the present verse, and he may be addressing the crowd again. Jesus’ remark has to be seen in view of both the prologue (John 1:4, 5) and the end of the discourse with Nicodemus (John 3:19-21). The coming of Jesus into the world provokes judgment: A choosing up of sides becomes necessary. The one who comes to the light, that is, who follows Jesus, will not walk in the darkness. The one who refuses to come, will walk in the darkness. In this contrast, there are only two alternatives. So it is with a person’s decision about Jesus. Furthermore, this serves as in implicit indictment of Jesus’ opponents, who still walk in the darkness, because they refuse to come to him. This sets up the contrast in chap. 9 between the man born blind, who receives both physical and spiritual sight, and the Pharisees (John 9:13, 15, 16) who have physical sight but remain in spiritual darkness.

[8:12]  ¹¹ tn The double negative οὐ μή (ou mh) is emphatic in 1st century Hellenistic Greek.

[1:20]  ¹² tn The words “is this” are supplied to make a complete sentence in English.

[1:20]  ¹³ tn Or perhaps “the messengers.”