Exodus 25:31

And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold,.... Another piece of household furniture, and an useful one, especially in a house where there are no windows, as there were none in the tabernacle,

And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of the same. Candlestick - literally, a lamp-bearer.

Thou shalt make, either by thyself, or by some other person whom thou shalt cause to make it. His shaft; the trunk, or main body of it. His knops, or, apples, made in form of a pomegranate. His flowers shall be of the same, to wit, beaten out of the same piece by the hammer. Compare .

Exodus 25:31 And thou shalt make a candlestick [of] pure gold: [of] beaten work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of the same.Ver. 31. And thou shalt make a candlestick.] Called the candlestick of light. A type of Christ who is Aυτοφως, light essential, and "giveth light to every man that cometh into the world."

THE GOLDEN . (31-39) The golden candlestick, like the table of shewbread, was represented on the Arch of Titus, and the careful copy made under the direction of Reland in 1710, and published in his work, De Spoliis Templi, gives probably the best idea that can be formed of it. It was composed of a straight stem, rising perpendicularly from a base, and having on either side of it three curved arms or branches, all of them in the same plane, and all rising to the same level. The stem and arms were ornamented with representations of almond flowers, pomegranates, and lily blossoms, repeated as there was room for them, the top ornament being in every case a lily blossom, which held a hemispherical lamp. The form and ornamentation of the base are unknown, since the representation of the base upon the Arch of Titus is manifestly from some Roman work which had superseded the original pedestal. The special object of the candlestick seems to have been to give light by night. Its lamps were to be lighted at even (Exodus 30:8) by the High Priest, and were to burn from evening to morning (Exodus 27:21), when they were to be “dressed,” or trimmed (Exodus 30:7), and “extinguished” (Kalisch, Comment, on Exodus, p. 370). The Holy Place had sufficient light during the day from the entrance, where the curtain would let the light through, if indeed it were not also partially looped up.

Verse 31. A candlestick of pure gold] This candlestick or chandelier is generally described as having one shaft or stock, with six branches proceeding from it, adorned at equal distances with six flowers like lilies, with as many bowls and knops placed alternately. On each of the branches there was a lamp, and one on the top of the shaft which occupied the centre; thus there were seven lamps in all, Exodus 25:37. These seven lamps were lighted every evening and extinguished every morning. We are not so certain of the precise form of any instrument or utensil of the tabernacle or temple, as we are of this, the golden table, and the two silver trumpets. Titus, after the overthrow of Jerusalem, A.D. 70, had the golden candlestick and the golden table of the shew-bread, the silver trumpets, and the book of the law, taken out of the temple and carried in triumph to Rome; and Vespasian lodged them in the temple which he had consecrated to the goddess of Peace. Some plants also of the balm of Jericho are said to have been carried in the procession. At the foot of Mount Palatine there are the ruins of an arch, on which the triumph of Titus for his conquest of the Jews is represented, and on which the several monuments which were carried in the procession are sculptured, and particularly the golden candlestick, the table of the shew-bread and the two silver trumpets. A correct MODEL of this arch, taken on the spot, now stands before me; and the spoils of the temple, the candlestick, the golden table, and the two trumpets, are represented on the panel on the left hand, in the inside of the arch, in basso-relievo. The candlestick is not so ornamented as it appears in many prints; at the same time it looks much better than it does in the engraving of this arch given by Montfaucon, Antiq. Expliq., vol. iv., pl. 32. It is likely that on the real arch this candlestick is less in size than the original, as it scarcely measures three feet in height. See the Diarium Italicum, p. 129. To see these sacred articles given up by that God who ordered them to be made according to a pattern exhibited by himself, gracing the triumph of a heathen emperor, and at last consecrated to an idol, affords melancholy reflections to a pious mind. But these things had accomplished the end for which they were instituted, and were now of no farther use. The glorious personage typified by all this ancient apparatus, had about seventy years before this made his appearance. The true light was come, and the Holy Spirit poured out from on high; and therefore the golden candlestick, by which they were typified, was given up. The ever-during bread had been sent from heaven; and therefore the golden table, which bore its representative, the shew-bread, was now no longer needful.

31. candlestick] Lampstand would be a more accurate rendering; but no doubt ‘candlestick’ (though the expression involves an anachronism) is generally understood here in the same sense. its base] Heb. its thigh (or loins), which seems to include rather more than the ‘base,’ viz. the part of the central stem below the lowest pair of branches, as well as the actual base, probably some kind of tripod, into which it must ultimately have expanded.

Exodus 25:31 A candlestick of pure gold - (Compare Exodus 37:17-24.) A lampstand rather than a candlestick. Its purpose was to support seven oil-lamps. Its height appears to have been about three feet, and its width two feet.

THE GOLDEN , Exodus 25:31-40. 31. A candlestick — This is to be thought of as an elaborately constructed lampstand, furnishing places for seven lamps, (Exodus 25:37.) Like the cherubim it consisted of beaten work, (comp.