Exodus 25:31-40

The Lampstand

25:31 ¹ “You are to make a lampstand ²  of pure gold. The lampstand is to be made of hammered metal; its base and its shaft, its cups, ³  its buds, and its blossoms are to be from the same piece. ⁴  25:32 Six branches are to extend from the sides of the lampstand, ⁵  three branches of the lampstand from one side of it and three branches of the lampstand from the other side of it. ⁶  25:33 Three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms are to be on one branch, and three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms are to be on the next ⁷  branch, and the same ⁸  for the six branches extending from the lampstand. 25:34 On the lampstand there are to be four cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms, 25:35 with a bud under the first ⁹  two branches from it, and a bud under the next ¹⁰  two branches from it, and a bud under the third ¹¹  two branches from it, according to the six branches that extend from the lampstand. 25:36 Their buds and their branches will be one piece, ¹²  all of it one hammered piece of pure gold.

25:37 “You are to make its seven lamps, ¹³  and then set ¹⁴  its lamps up on it, so that it will give light ¹⁵  to the area in front of it. 25:38 Its trimmers and its trays ¹⁶  are to be ¹⁷  of pure gold. 25:39 About seventy-five pounds ¹⁸  of pure gold is to be used for it ¹⁹  and for all these utensils. 25:40 Now be sure to make ²⁰  them according to the pattern you were shown ²¹  on the mountain. ²² 

Exodus 37:17-24

The Making of the Lampstand

37:17 He made the lampstand of pure gold. He made the lampstand of hammered metal; its base and its shaft, its cups, its buds, and its blossoms were from the same piece. ²³  37:18 Six branches were extending from its sides, three branches of the lampstand from one side of it, and three branches of the lampstand from the other side of it. 37:19 Three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms were on the first branch, and three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms were on the next ²⁴  branch, and the same ²⁵  for the six branches that were extending from the lampstand. 37:20 On the lampstand there were four cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms, 37:21 with a bud under the first two branches from it, and a bud under the next two branches from it, and a bud under the third two branches from it; according to the six branches that extended from it. ²⁶  37:22 Their buds and their branches were of one piece; ²⁷  all of it was one hammered piece of pure gold. 37:23 He made its seven lamps, its trimmers, and its trays of pure gold. 37:24 He made the lampstand ²⁸  and all its accessories with seventy-five pounds of pure gold.

Exodus 39:37

39:37 the pure ²⁹  lampstand, its lamps, with the lamps set in order, and all its accessories, and oil for the light;

Exodus 40:24-25

40:24 And he put the lampstand in the tent of meeting opposite the table, on the south side of the tabernacle. 40:25 Then he set up the lamps before the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Exodus 40:2

40:2 “On the first day of the first month you are to set up ³⁰  the tabernacle, the tent of meeting.

Exodus 4:7

4:7 He said, “Put your hand back into your robe.” So he put his hand back into his robe, and when he brought it out from his robe – there it was, ³¹  restored ³²  like the rest of his skin! ³³ 

Zechariah 4:1-3

Vision Five: The Menorah

4:1 The angelic messenger ³⁴  who had been speaking with me then returned and woke me, as a person is wakened from sleep. 4:2 He asked me, “What do you see?” I replied, ³⁵  “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.” ³⁶ 

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 ³⁷  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 ³⁸  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 ³⁹  do not light a lamp and put it under a basket ⁴⁰  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.

Revelation 1:20--2:1

1:20 The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and the seven golden lampstands is this: ⁴¹  The seven stars are the angels ⁴²  of the seven churches and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

To the Church in Ephesus

2:1 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus, ⁴³  write the following: ⁴⁴ 

“This is the solemn pronouncement of ⁴⁵  the one who has a firm grasp on ⁴⁶  the seven stars in his right hand ⁴⁷  – the one who walks among the seven golden ⁴⁸  lampstands:

[25:31]  ¹ sn Clearly the point here is to provide light in the tent for access to God. He provided for his worshipers a light for the way to God, but he also wanted them to provide oil for the lamp to ensure that the light would not go out. Verses 31-36 describe the piece. It was essentially one central shaft, with three branches on either side turned out and upward. The stem and the branches were ornamented every so often with gold that was formed into the shape of the calyx and corolla of the almond flower. On top of the central shaft and the six branches were the lamps.

[25:31]  ² tn The word is מְנֹרָה (mÿnorah) – here in construct to a following genitive of material. The main piece was one lampstand, but there were seven lamps on the shaft and its branches. See E. Goodenough, “The Menorah among the Jews of the Roman World,” HUCA 23 (1950/51): 449-92.

[25:31]  ³ sn U. Cassuto (Exodus, 342-44) says that the description “the cups, knobs and flowers” is explained in vv. 32-36 as three decorations in the form of a cup, shaped like an almond blossom, to be made on one branch. Every cup will have two parts, (a) a knob, that is, the receptacle at the base of the blossom, and (b) a flower, which is called the corolla, so that each lamp rests on top of a flower.

[25:31]  ⁴ tn Heb “will be from/of it”; the referent (“the same piece” of wrought metal) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[25:32]  ⁵ tn Heb “from the sides of it.”

[25:32]  ⁶ tn Heb “from the second side.”

[25:33]  ⁷ tn The text uses “one” again; “the one…the one” means “the one…and the next” in the distributive sense.

[25:33]  ⁸ tn Heb “thus.”

[25:35]  ⁹ tn For clarity the phrase “the first” has been supplied.

[25:35]  ¹⁰ tn For clarity the phrase “the next” has been supplied.

[25:35]  ¹¹ tn For clarity the phrase “the third” has been supplied.

[25:36]  ¹² tn Heb “will be from it.”

[25:37]  ¹³ tn The word for “lamps” is from the same root as the lampstand, of course. The word is נֵרוֹת (nerot). This probably refers to the small saucer-like pottery lamps that are made very simply with the rim pinched over to form a place to lay the wick. The bowl is then filled with olive oil as fuel.

[25:37]  ¹⁴ tn The translation “set up on” is from the Hebrew verb “bring up.” The construction is impersonal, “and he will bring up,” meaning “one will bring up.” It may mean that people were to fix the lamps on to the shaft and the branches, rather than cause the light to go up (see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 277).

[25:37]  ¹⁵ tn This is a Hiphil perfect with vav consecutive, from אוֹר (’or, “light”), and in the causative, “to light, give light.”

[25:38]  ¹⁶ sn The first word refers to something like small tongs or tweezers used to pull up and trim the wicks; the second word refers to fire-pans or censers.

[25:38]  ¹⁷ tn “are to be” has been supplied.

[25:39]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “a talent.”

[25:39]  ¹⁹ tn The text has “he will make it” or “one will make it.” With no expressed subject it is given a passive translation.

[25:40]  ²⁰ tn The text uses two imperatives: “see and make.” This can be interpreted as a verbal hendiadys, calling for Moses and Israel to see to it that they make these things correctly.

[25:40]  ²¹ tn The participle is passive, “caused to see,” or, “shown.”

[25:40]  ²² sn The message of this section surely concerns access to God. To expound this correctly, though, since it is an instruction section for building the lampstand, the message would be: God requires that his people ensure that light will guide the way of access to God. The breakdown for exposition could be the instructions for preparation for light (one lamp, several branches), then instructions for the purpose and maintenance of the lamps, and then the last verse telling the divine source for the instructions. Naturally, the metaphorical value of light will come up in the study, especially from the NT. So in the NT there is the warning that if churches are unfaithful God will remove their lampstand, their ministry (Rev 2-3).

[37:17]  ²³ tn Heb “from it”; the referent (“the same piece” of wrought metal) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:19]  ²⁴ tn Heb “the one branch.” But the repetition of “one…one” means here one after another, or the “first” and then the “next.”

[37:19]  ²⁵ tn Heb “thus for six branches….”

[37:21]  ²⁶ tn As in Exod 26:35, the translation of “first” and “next” and “third” is interpretive, because the text simply says “under two branches” in each of three places.

[37:22]  ²⁷ tn Heb “were from it.”

[37:24]  ²⁸ tn Heb “it”; the referent (the lampstand) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[39:37]  ²⁹ tn Possibly meaning “pure gold lampstand.”

[40:2]  ³⁰ tn Heb “you will raise,” an imperfect of instruction.

[4:7]  ³¹ tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) points out the startling or amazing sight as if the reader were catching first glimpse of it with Moses.

[4:7]  ³² tn Heb “it returned.”

[4:7]  ³³ tn Heb “like his flesh.”

[4:1]  ³⁴ tn See the note on the expression “angelic messenger” in 1:9.

[4:2]  ³⁵ 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]  ³⁶ 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]  ³⁷ 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]  ³⁸ 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]  ³⁹ tn Grk “Nor do they light.” The plural in Greek is indefinite, referring to people in general.

[5:15]  ⁴⁰ 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).

[1:20]  ⁴¹ tn The words “is this” are supplied to make a complete sentence in English.

[1:20]  ⁴² tn Or perhaps “the messengers.”

[2:1]  ⁴³ map For location see JP1 D2; JP2 D2; JP3 D2; JP4 D2.

[2:1]  ⁴⁴ tn The phrase “the following” after “write” is supplied to clarify that what follows is the content of what is to be written.

[2:1]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “These things says [the One]…” The expression τάδε λέγει (tade legei) occurs eight times in the NT, seven of which are in Rev 2-3. “The pronoun is used to add solemnity to the prophetic utterance that follows. …In classical drama, it was used to introduce a new actor to the scene (Smyth, Greek Grammar, 307 [§1241]). But the τάδε λέγει formula in the NT derives from the OT, where it was used to introduce a prophetic utterance (BAGD, s.v. ὅδε, 1)” (ExSyn 328). Thus, the translation “this is the solemn pronouncement of” for τάδε λέγει is very much in keeping with the OT connotations of this expression.

[2:1]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “holds,” but the term (i.e., κρατῶν, kratwn) with an accusative object, along with the context, argues for a sense of firmness. (Cf. ExSyn 132.)

[2:1]  ⁴⁷ sn On seven stars in his right hand see 1:16.

[2:1]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “lampstands of gold” with the genitive τῶν χρυσῶν (twn cruswn) translated as an attributive genitive.