Lamp (Bible)

Occurrences in the Bible

Lamps appear throughout both the Old and New Testaments.

• The tabernacle: Exodus 27:20–21 commands that the lamp be kept burning with olive oil from evening until morning. This light burned on the lampstand in the tabernacle. First Samuel 3:3 describes the night of Samuel's call with the words "ere the lamp of God went out."
• The word: Psalm 119:105 says, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." Proverbs 6:23 likewise compares the commandment to a lamp.
• Life and lineage: The lamp of the wicked is said to be put out (Proverbs 13:9; Job 18:5–6). God promises that David will always have a lamp in Jerusalem (1 Kings 11:36; 2 Kings 8:19), meaning that the Davidic dynasty will not be cut off.
• The teaching of Jesus: Jesus taught that a lamp is not put under a bushel but on a candlestick (Matthew 5:15; Mark 4:21), and he said, "The light of the body is the eye" (Matthew 6:22). Lamps also appear in the Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:1–13) and in Luke 12:35. Jesus called John the Baptist "a burning and a shining light" (John 5:35).
• The Epistles and Revelation: 2 Peter 1:19 compares the prophetic word to a light shining in a dark place. Revelation 1:20 interprets the seven candlesticks as the seven churches. Revelation 21:23–24 states that the Lamb is the light of the New Jerusalem.

Background

In ancient Israel, a lamp was a small clay vessel filled with olive oil and fitted with a wick that was then lit. For this reason, passages about lamps frequently mention oil as well. The extinguishing of the lamp is depicted as a sign of the desolation of homes and cities (Jeremiah 25:10).

The Hebrew word for lamp is ner, and for lampstand menorah. The Greek word for lamp is lychnos, and for lampstand lychnia. Some take the lampas in the Parable of the Ten Virgins to be a torch-like lamp. The New Korean Revised Version renders lychnia in Revelation as "candlestick," but the word refers not to a holder for candles but to a stand on which an oil lamp was placed.

Significance Across Scripture

In the Old Testament, the lamp represents three things:

• Unceasing worship before God
• The guidance of the word
• The continuance of life and of the covenant dynasty

The New Testament takes up this symbolism. The words of Isaiah 42:3, "the smoking flax shall he not quench," are applied to Jesus in Matthew 12:20. The disciples and the church are called lamps that give light to the world. In the end, the Lamb becomes the light of the New Jerusalem, and the imagery of the sanctuary lamp finds its fulfillment in the direct presence of God.

Interpretation and Debated Points

• The oil in the Parable of the Ten Virgins: The text does not specify what the oil signifies. Proposed interpretations include the Holy Spirit, genuine faith, good works, and watchful readiness. Some hold that because the focus of the parable is the exhortation to "watch" (Matthew 25:13), its details should not be interpreted one by one.
• "Word" in Psalm 119: The term originally refers to the law of God. Christian tradition extends its reading to the whole of the Bible.

In the Korean Church

Psalm 119:105 is frequently cited to encourage Bible reading and meditation on Scripture, and worship songs based on the verse are also sung. The Parable of the Ten Virgins is commonly used as a sermon text urging preparation for the Second Coming. Some churches light candles during Advent; this tradition arose from the church calendar and does not derive directly from the biblical passages on lamps.