Difference between revisions of "Lamp"

<p> Various kinds of lamps are mentioned in the Bible, some for indoor use (&nbsp;2 Kings 4:10; &nbsp;Daniel 5:5; &nbsp;Matthew 5:15; &nbsp;Acts 20:8), others for outdoor use (&nbsp;Psalms 119:105; &nbsp;Matthew 25:1; &nbsp;John 18:3). They were made of a variety of materials (clay, metal or wood) and were of different shapes and designs, but they all functioned in much the same way. Basically, a lamp consisted of a bowl to hold the fuel (oil) and a cloth wick that soaked up the oil for the flame (&nbsp;Exodus 27:20; &nbsp;Matthew 25:3-4). </p> <p> A lamp was so important for everyday living in the ancient world that it was almost a symbol of life itself (&nbsp;2 Samuel 21:17; &nbsp;Job 29:2-3; &nbsp;Proverbs 13:9; &nbsp;Revelation 18:23). The Word of God and the servants of God are at times likened to lamps, since they provide light from God in a world of darkness (&nbsp;Psalms 119:105; &nbsp;Matthew 5:16). The lamp was therefore a fitting symbol of the witness that the people of God bear to him (&nbsp;Luke 12:35; &nbsp;John 5:33; &nbsp;John 5:35; cf. &nbsp;John 1:7). </p> <p> '''Lampstands''' </p> <p> In the tabernacle built by Moses, seven lamps were fitted to a single lampstand to provide light for the Holy Place. God gave [[Moses]] no dimensions for the lampstand, but it weighed about thirty-five kilograms, was made of one piece of gold and was richly ornamented. The common people provided the oil for the lamps, and the priests checked the lamps each morning and evening to ensure they were kept burning (&nbsp;Exodus 25:31-40; &nbsp;Exodus 27:20-21). In Solomon’s temple there were ten lampstands, five against each of the two side walls (&nbsp;1 Kings 7:49). </p>

<p> Much is said in the holy Scripture concerning the lamps of the temple. And when the Lord Jesus appeared to John, he was seen in the midst of the golden candlesticks (&nbsp;Revelation 1:12-13) And John saw before the throne, at another vision, seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, (&nbsp;Revelation 4:5) (See also &nbsp;Exodus 25:37; Exo 37:23; &nbsp;Numbers 8:2; &nbsp;Zechariah 4:2) No doubt, that besides the general use of lighting the temple, they had a reference to spiritual things, and were meant as emblems of the illuminating and brightening offices of God the Holy [[Ghost]] to the churches and people. We know that this almighty [[Minister]] in the church of Jesus, acts as "a spirit of judgment, and a spirit of burning." (&nbsp;Isaiah 4:4) And how blessedly he manifests the sovereignty of is power in both "convincing of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment," the church of God in all ages hath borne witness. [[Precious]] are his sevenfold gifts, when by his gracious influence he penetrates the heart of the redeemed, melting by his burning the frozen affections, softening and subduing the stubborn mind, and making it willing in the day of his power. Oh, what unknown influence doth the Holy Ghost manifest in the hearts of those he makes his temple! (&nbsp;1 Corinthians 6:19) what light, what grace, what information, what comfort, the Lord the Spirit imparts! Oh, ye ransomed of the Lord, who know the infinite preciousness his grace, see that ye"grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption!" (&nbsp;Ephesians 4:30) I cannot dismiss the subject of the sacred lamps of the temple, emblems as they were of the light of the Spirit, without one observation more, namely, that it should seem, the perpetual, use of them was designed to keep alive the remembrance of his unceasing, presence, who is the light of his people. It is said in the history of Samuel, "that 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, that the Lord called Samuel." (&nbsp;1 Samuel 3:3-4) Was not this emblematical of the Spirit of prophecy, that before one lamp of the Lord went out another should be lighted, before [[Eli]] was quite extinguished Samuel should be kindred? Do we not find it so through the church's history in all ages? Did not the spirit of [[Elijah]] rest on Elisha? Did not all the prophets succeed one another in their ministry, as might best promote and carry on the Lord's cause in the earth? I do not presume to speak decidely upon the subject, but if the thought be right, is there not great sweetness in that Scripture explained in reference to this view, and with an eye to the Lord Jesus? "I have ordained a lamp for mine anointed." (&nbsp;Psalms 132:17) </p> <p> That lamps are constantly used figuratively in Scripture, I need not insist upon. The Lord is said to be the light of his people, (&nbsp;Psalms 27:1; &nbsp;Job 29:3) and even his servants, shining by his brightness, are spoken of by the same figure. Thus David was called "the lamp of Israel," &nbsp;2 Samuel 21:17 and John the [[Baptist]] said to be "a burning and a shining light." (&nbsp;John 5:35) </p>

<div> '''1: λαμπάς ''' (Strong'S #2985 — Noun [[Feminine]] — lampas — lam-pas' ) </div> <p> denotes "a torch" (akin to lampo, "to shine"), frequently fed, like, a "lamp," with oil from a little vessel used for the purpose (the angeion of &nbsp;Matthew 25:4 ); they held little oil and would frequently need replenishing. Rutherford (The New Phrynichus) points out that it became used as the equivalent of luchnos (No. 2), as in the parable of the ten virgins, &nbsp;Matthew 25:1,3,4,7,8; &nbsp;John 18:3 , "torches;" &nbsp;Acts 20:8 , "lights;" &nbsp;Revelation 4:5; &nbsp;8:10 (RV, "torch," AV, "lamp"). See Note below. Cp. phanos, "a torch," &nbsp; John 18:3 (translated "lanterns"). </p> <div> '''2: λύχνος ''' (Strong'S #3088 — Noun Masculine — luchnos — lookh'-nos ) </div> <p> frequently mistranslated "candle," is a portable "lamp" usually set on a stand (see LAMPSTAND); the word is used literally, &nbsp;Matthew 5:15; &nbsp;Mark 4:21; &nbsp;Luke 8:16; &nbsp;11:33,36; &nbsp;15:8; &nbsp;Revelation 18:23; &nbsp;22:5; (b) metaphorically, of Christ as the Lamb, &nbsp;Revelation 21:23 , Rv , "lamp" (AV, "light"); of John the Baptist, &nbsp;John 5:35 , Rv , "the lamp" (AV, "a ... light"); of the eye, &nbsp;Matthew 6:22; &nbsp;Luke 11:34 , RV, "lamp;" of spiritual readiness, &nbsp;Luke 12:35 , RV, "lamps;" of "the word of prophecy," &nbsp;2 Peter 1:19 , RV, "lamp." See Light. </p> &nbsp;John 18:3

<p> λαμπας . There is frequent mention of lamps in Scripture, and the word is often used figuratively. The houses in the east were, from the remotest antiquity, lighted with lamps; and hence it is so common in Scripture to call every thing which enlightens the body or mind, which guides or refreshes, by the name of a lamp. These lamps were sustained by a large candlestick set upon the ground. The houses of Egypt, in modern times, are never without lights: they burn lamps all the night long, and in every occupied apartment. So requisite to the comfort of a family is this custom reckoned, or so imperious is the power which it exercises, that the poorest people would rather retrench part of their food than neglect it. As this custom no doubt prevailed in [[Egypt]] and the adjacent regions of [[Arabia]] and Palestine in former times, it imparts a beauty and force to some passages of Scripture which have been little observed. Thus, in the language of Jeremiah, to extinguish the light in an apartment is a convertible phrase for total destruction; and nothing can more properly and emphatically represent the total destruction of a city than the extinction of the lights: "I will take from them the light of a candle, and this whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment." Job describes the destruction of a family among the Arabs, and the desolation of their dwellings, in the very language of the prophet: "How oft is the candle of the wicked put out, and how oft cometh their destruction upon them!" &nbsp;Job 21:17 . [[Bildad]] expresses the same idea in the following beautiful passage: "Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out, and the spark of his fire shall not shine. The light shall be dark in his tabernacle, and his candle shall be put out with him," &nbsp;Job 18:5-6 . A burning lamp is, on the other hand, the chosen symbol of prosperity, a beautiful instance of which occurs in the complaint of Job: "O that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved me; when his candle shined upon my head, and when by his light I walked through darkness," &nbsp;Job 29:2-3 . When the ten tribes were taken from Rehoboam, and given to his rival, [[Jehovah]] promised to reserve one tribe, and assigns this reason: "That David my servant may have a light always before me in Jerusalem," &nbsp;1 Kings 11:36 . In many parts of the east, and in particular in the Indies, instead of torches and flambeaux, they carry a pot of oil in one hand, and a lamp full of oily rags in the other. </p>

<p> <b> LAMP. </b> —There are two words in the [[Gospels]] translated ‘lamp,’ λύχνος and λαμπάς. The former (Revised Version NT 1881, OT 1885 ‘lamp,’ Authorized Version ‘candle’) is used &nbsp;Matthew 5:15, &nbsp;Mark 4:21, &nbsp;Luke 8:16 of the usual means of lighting a house. In &nbsp;Matthew 6:22 the eye, as the source of light, the organ by which light is appreciated, is called the lamp (Revised Version NT 1881, OT 1885; Authorized Version ‘light’) of the body. In &nbsp;John 5:35 the same word is applied to John the Baptist, who is not the eternal light (φῶς, &nbsp;John 1:8), but the burning and shining lamp kindled by it and bearing witness to it. </p> <p> The word λαμπάς occurs in &nbsp;John 18:3, where it is rendered ‘torch.’ It is also used in the parable of the Ten Virgins, Matthew 25, where it would be better translated ‘torch.’ In Eastern countries the torch, like the lamp, is fed with oil, which is carried in small vessels constructed for the purpose (ἀγγεῖον, &nbsp;Matthew 25:4). See Candle, Light, Torch. </p> <p> Literature.—Trench, <i> Synonyms </i> , xlvi.; Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible, artt. ‘Lamp’ and ‘Lantern’; Edersheim, <i> Life and Times </i> , ii. 455 ff.; H. J. van Lennep, <i> [[Bible]] Lands and Customs </i> , p. 132; W. M. Thomson, <i> Land and Book </i> , iii. 472. </p> <p> C. H. Prichard. </p>

<p> '''Lamp.''' </p> <p> 1. That part of the Golden [[Candlestick]] belonging to the Tabernacle which bore the light; also of each of the ten candlesticks placed by [[Solomon]] in the Temple before the Holy of Holies. &nbsp;Exodus 25:37; &nbsp;1 Kings 7:49; &nbsp;2 Chronicles 4:20; &nbsp;2 Chronicles 13:11; &nbsp;Zechariah 4:2. The lamps were lighted every evening and cleansed every morning. &nbsp;Exodus 30:7-8. </p> <p> 2. A torch or '''flambeau''' , such as was carried by the soldiers of Gideon. &nbsp;Judges 7:16; &nbsp;Judges 7:20. Compare &nbsp;Judges 15:4. The use, in marriage processions, of lamps fed with oil is alluded to in the parable of the ten virgins. &nbsp;Matthew 25:1. Modern [[Egyptian]] lamps consist of small glass vessels with a tube at the bottom containing a cotton wick twisted around a piece of straw. </p> <p> For night travelling, a lantern composed of waxed cloth strained over a sort of cylinder of wire rings, and a top and bottom of perforated copper. This would, in form, at least, answer to the lamps within pitchers of Gideon. </p> <p> "The Hebrews, like the ancient Greeks and Romans, as well as the modern Orientals, were accustomed to burn lamps all night. This custom, with the effect produced by their going out or being extinguished, supplies various figures to the sacred writers. &nbsp;2 Samuel 21:17; &nbsp;Proverbs 13:9; &nbsp;Proverbs 20:20. On the other hand, the keeping up of a lamp's light is used as a symbol of enduring and unbroken succession. &nbsp;1 Kings 11:36; &nbsp;1 Kings 15:4; &nbsp;Psalms 132:17." - McClintock and Strong. </p>

<p> '''Lamp.''' The lights of the East are of various kinds; not only oil, but pitch, naphtha, and wax are used to maintain the flame. The wicks were generally made of cotton or of flax. According to rabbinical tradition, the wicks of the sacred lamps were made of the old linen garments of the priests. The form of Oriental lamps was fanciful, and often elegant, of which we have numerous specimens found in the ruined cities of the East. The materials of which lamps were made were baked clay, terra cotta, bronze, etc. The lamps of the Hebrews, it is probable, were suffered to bum all night, and this occasioned no great expense in a country so rich in oil. The putting put of the light denoted the ruin and extinction of the family and the desertion of the house. This gives force to the words in &nbsp;Job 18:5-6; &nbsp;Job 21:17; &nbsp;Job 29:3; "The light of the wicked shall be put out;... light shall be dark in his tabernacle, and his candle shall be put out with him." "How oft is the candle of the wicked put out." &nbsp;Jeremiah 25:10-11; &nbsp;Proverbs 20:20. Also in &nbsp;Proverbs 13:9; "The light of the righteous rejoiceth, but the lamp of the wicked shall be put out: " and of the prudent wife, "Her candle goeth not out by night." &nbsp;Proverbs 31:18. </p>

<p> (See CANDLE; CANDLESTICK.) The ordinary means of lighting apartments. In &nbsp;Judges 7:16; &nbsp;Judges 7:20, lamps mean torches; so &nbsp;John 18:3; &nbsp;Matthew 25:1. The terra cotta and bronze handlamps from Nimrud and Koyunjik perhaps give a good idea of the Bible lamp. The Egyption kandeel or common lamp is a small glass vessel with a tube in the bottom in which is stuck a wick of cotton twisted round straw. [[Water]] is poured in first, then the oil. The usual symbols of the early Christian lamps found at Jerusalem are the cross, the seven branched candlestick, the palm (&nbsp;John 12:13; &nbsp;Revelation 7:9). The rudeness of the lamps indicates the poverty of the early saints at Jerusalem. The inscriptions that occur are "the light of Christ shineth to all," and the initials I. X. TH., "Jesus Christ God." </p>

<li> Lamps or torches were used in connection with marriage ceremonies (&nbsp;Matthew 25:1 ). <p> This word is also frequently metaphorically used to denote life, welfare, guidance, etc. (&nbsp;2 Samuel 21:17; &nbsp;Psalm 119:105; &nbsp;Proverbs 6:23; &nbsp;13:9 ). </p> <div> <p> '''Copyright Statement''' These dictionary topics are from M.G. Easton M.A., D.D., Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition, published by [[Thomas]] Nelson, 1897. Public Domain. </p> <p> '''Bibliography Information''' Easton, Matthew George. Entry for 'Lamp'. Easton's Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/ebd/l/lamp.html. 1897. </p> </div> </li>

<p> '''(1):''' ''' (''' n.) A light-producing vessel, instrument or apparatus; especially, a vessel with a wick used for the combustion of oil or other inflammable liquid, for the purpose of producing artificial light. </p> <p> '''(2):''' ''' (''' n.) A thin plate or lamina. </p> <p> '''(3):''' ''' (''' n.) Figuratively, anything which enlightens intellectually or morally; anything regarded metaphorically a performing the uses of a lamp. </p> <p> '''(4):''' ''' (''' n.) A device or mechanism for producing light by electricity. See Incandescent lamp, under Incandescent. </p>

<p> LAMP, n. L. lampas Gr. to shine Heb. </p> 1. A vessel for containing oil to be burned by means of a wick or a light, a burning wick inserted in a vessel of oil. Hence, 2. Figuratively, a light of any kind. The moon is called the lamp of heaven. <p> Thy gentle eyes send forth a quickening spirit, to feed the dying lamp of life within me. </p> <p> [[Lamp]] of safety, or safety lamp, a lamp for lighting coal mines, without exposing workmen to the explosion of inflammable air. </p>

<p> ''' Copyright StatementThese files are public domain. Bibliography InformationMcClintock, John. Strong, James. Entry for 'Lamp'. Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and [[Ecclesiastical]] Literature. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/tce/l/lamp.html. Harper & Brothers. New York. 1870. ''' </p>