Exodus 37:10 ¶ And he made
the table of shittim wood: two cubits was the length thereof, and
a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof: 11 And he overlaid it with pure gold, and made
thereunto a crown of gold round about. 12
Also he made thereunto a border of an handbreadth round about; and made
a crown of gold for the border thereof round about. 13 And he cast for it four rings of gold, and
put the rings upon the four corners that were in the four feet thereof.
14 Over against the border were the
rings, the places for the staves to bear the table. 15 And he made the staves of shittim
wood, and overlaid them with gold, to bear the table. 16 And he made the vessels which were
upon the table, his dishes, and his spoons, and his bowls, and his covers to
cover withal, of pure gold. 17
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: 18 And
six branches going out of the sides thereof; three branches of the candlestick
out of the one side thereof, and three branches of the candlestick out of the
other side thereof: 19 Three bowls made
after the fashion of almonds in one branch, a knop and a flower; and three
bowls made like almonds in another branch, a knop and a flower: so throughout
the six branches going out of the candlestick. 20 And in the candlestick were four bowls
made like almonds, his knops, and his flowers: 21 And a knop under two branches of the same,
and a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches of the
same, according to the six branches going out of it. 22 Their knops and their branches were of the
same: all of it was one beaten work of pure gold. 23 And he made his seven lamps, and his
snuffers, and his snuffdishes, of pure gold. 24 Of a talent of pure gold made he it,
and all the vessels thereof.
I
am going to repeat some comments I made on chapter 25. Much is made of the word
candlestick by skeptics. Modern Bible
translators choose to translate the word as lampstand. This is the definition
Strong gave it. In the era of the translation of the King James Bible, the
Authorized Version, on which we rely, a candlestick was simply, “an
instrument to bear a candle,” as in Thomas Wilson’s 1612 A Christian Dictionary.[1]
Reliable sources state that the word, lampstand, came in use in English around
the mid-1800s. So, it would not have been available to the translators.
Candlestick is entirely appropriate if you regard the cross-references and
review the Hebrew word, which is in use today, the menorah.
Knop is
another word over which people stumble. A knop is a decorative knob at the top
of something. It can be the ornamental top or capital of a pillar designed to
distribute the weight placed directly on the pillar. Think of the opening at
the top of a typical candle holder where the candle fits in or the part of the
oil-burning menorah just under that cup. If I’m not mistaken this would be the
meaning of the knop.
There
are six branches from the centerpiece and seven lamps. Candlesticks play an
important part in prophecy as this candlestick will represent actual historical
churches and types of churches in Christianity.
Zechariah
4:1 ¶ And the angel that talked with me
came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep, 2 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: 3
And two olive trees by it, one
upon the right side
of the bowl, and the other upon the left side
thereof. 4 So I answered and spake to
the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord? 5
Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest
thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. 6 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying,
This is the word of the LORD
unto
Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit,
saith the LORD of hosts. 7 Who art thou, O great mountain? before
Zerubbabel thou shalt become a
plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying,
Grace, grace unto it. 8 Moreover the
word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 9
The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of
this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know
that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you. 10 For who hath despised the day of small
things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of
Zerubbabel with those seven;
they are the eyes of the LORD,
which run to and fro through the whole earth.
11 ¶
Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof? 12 And I answered again, and said unto him, What
be these two olive branches
which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves? 13
And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said,
No, my lord. 14 Then said
he, These are the two anointed
ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.
Revelation
1:9 ¶ I John, who also am your brother,
and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ,
was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the
testimony of Jesus Christ. 10 I was in
the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a
trumpet, 11 Saying, I am Alpha and
Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are
in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira,
and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. 12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with
me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; 13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks
one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a
garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. 14 His head and his hairs were
white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; 15
And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and
his voice as the sound of many waters. 16
And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a
sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. 17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as
dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the
first and the last: 18 I am he that liveth, and was dead;
and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of
death. 19 Write the things which thou
hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;
20 The mystery of the seven stars which
thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven
stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which
thou sawest are the seven churches.
Snuffers and snuffdishes should
be mentioned here also. Snuffers were
a small metal cone on the end of a handle for putting out the flame at the top
of a candle. A snuffdish was a dish
for the snuffer.
[1] Ian Lancashire,
ed., Lexicons of Early Modern English (Toronto:
University of Toronto Press, 2017), http://leme.library.utoronto.ca/.
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