Chandelier (Heb. menôrâh; Aram. nebresha’; Gr. lujnía, literally “lampholder”). Support to hold one or more lamps. As the source of light was lamps and not candles or candles, it would be better to say “chandelier” and not “candlestick”. Although it is mentioned in connection with the tabernacle* (Exo 25:31), the temple* (1Ki 7:49), a palace (Dan 5:5), domestic life (Mat 5:15), and symbology ( Rev 1:12), in this article we will only consider the lampstand of the earthly sanctuary. The first lampstand made for the tabernacle was of hammered gold, it consisted of a base and a main axis from which 6 other branches came out, and it was located on the south side of the first apartment of the tabernacle (Exo 25:31-40; 40:24 ). The lamps were fueled with pure olive oil and were left burning all night (Exo 27:20, 21; Lev 24:2-4; Josephus says that 3 of the lamps were left burning during the day). Solomon replaced the single candlestick with 10; 5 from each side of the sanctuary of his temple (1Ki 7:49; 2Ch 4:7). Nebuchadnezzar took them to Babylon (Jer 52:19) and apparently they were not returned to Jerusalem at the time of Cyrus, because Zerubbabel’s temple would have contained only one lampstand (which Antiochus IV Epiphanes took after desecrating the temple; 1 Mac. 1 :20, 21). Judas Maccabee had another made (4:49), but in Herod’s temple it was replaced by a much larger one. It was seized by the Romans in AD 70 and was carried in Titus’s triumphal procession, as the relief on the Arc de Triomphe shows (fig 110). The candlestick remained in Rome until the Vandals transported it to Carthage in AD 455. Belisarius took it to Constantinople (AD 534), and was later returned to Jerusalem by Emperor Justimanus. It was probably carried east by the Persians, when they sacked Jerusalem (AD 614). Since then nothing more is known about him. 110. Relief on the Arch of Triumph of Titus where the candelabrum with 7 arms, the table of the showbread, 2 trumpets and an angle of the temple of Jerusalem can be seen. Since archeology did not find any 7-branched candlesticks from OT times – only lamps from a fountain with 7 mouths for the wicks – many believe that the candlestick in the tabernacle and in Solomon’s temple did not resemble the one in Herod’s temple. However, the description in Exo 25:31-37 specifies 7 arms. This became a frequent symbol in later Jewish art, engraved on sarcophagi, tombstones, door lintels and, most especially, decorations in synagogues (of which that of Dura Europos on the Euphrates, from the s III AD, is one of the earliest examples). See Lamp. Bib.: FJ-AJ iii.8.3; FJ-GJ, vii.5.5. Candlestick. See Chandelier.
Source: Evangelical Bible Dictionary
Hebrew, menorah. Solid gold lamp holder, composed of a base and a stem from which three arms came out on each side, all in one body, in which seven lamps were placed, which Yahweh ordered to be made to perpetually light the Tent of Meeting; each of the seven arms had three calyxes in the shape of almond blossoms, with corolla and flower, Ex 25, 31-40; 37, 17-24. It was placed outside the veil, in front of the table, on the southern side of the Dwelling, Ex 26, 35. The c. it was fed with pure olive oil, which the Israelites had to provide, so that the flame would burn forever, Ex 27, 20-21; Lev 24, 3-4. In Solomon’s temple, there were several lampstands, as David had said, 1 Cro 28, 15; ten lampstands before the sanctuary, five to the right and five to the left, according to 1 Kings 7, 49; 2 Cro 4, 7 and 20. When Nebuchadnezzar II, king of Babylon, destroyed Jerusalem, his troops took all the gold objects from the Temple, among them, the lampstands, 2 R 25, 11; 2 Chr 36, 18; Jr 52, 19. After the exile in Babylon, at the time of the Seleucid kings, Antiochus IV Epiphanes entered the sanctuary, rebuilt by Zerubbabel, and stole the c. 1 M 1, 21. After the first victories over the Seleucids, Judas Maccabee made another c., to celebrate the day of purification and dedication of the Temple 1 M 4, 49-50. the c. of Judas was replaced by another in Herod’s temple; this was the one that the Romans took as part of the loot when they razed Jerusalem, year 70, which was reproduced on the triumphal arch of Titus. The prophet Zechariah, in his fifth vision, sees a c. with seven lamps. The angel tells him that they are the eyes of Yahweh, symbolism of divine omniscience, Za 4, 1-10.
Digital Bible Dictionary, Grupo C Service & Design Ltda., Colombia, 2003
Source: Digital Bible Dictionary
The Hebrew word menorah interpreted candlestick or candlestick (especially in the RVR-1960 version) occurs 43 times in the OT. In the tabernacle the candelabrum (Exo 25:31-40) with its seven arms that supported seven golden lamps was on the left side of the priest when he entered the holy place. In the temple that Solomon built there were ten golden lampstands (2Ch 4:7), but these were placed in front of the holy of holies (1Ki 7:49; 2Ch 4:7).
Source: Hispanic World Bible Dictionary
Support of the luminaires with which in other times the candles and candles were held. Later it was adapted to the electric spark plug system.
It gave rise to an excellent art of goldsmithing, whose abundant models remain in all ancient temples and museums, sometimes being a true display of wealth (gold, silver, precious stones) or art (goldsmithery).
Pedro Chico González, Dictionary of Catechesis and Religious Pedagogy, Editorial Bruño, Lima, Peru 2006
Source: Dictionary of Catechesis and Religious Pedagogy
A chandelier is simply a lamp holder. The lamp, placed on the lampstand, gives better light (Mt 5,15; Mk 4,21; Lk 8,16; 11,33). It was also used in the sanctuary as an object of worship. The candelabrum with seven arms was famous (Ex 27,20; 1 Kings 7,48). John uses it to designate the seven churches (Rev 1,7.20).
MNE
FERNANDEZ RAMOS, Felipe (Dir.), Dictionary of Jesus of Nazareth, Editorial Monte Carmelo, Burbos, 2001
Source: Dictionary of Jesus of Nazareth
(-> temple, sacrifice, light). Among the sacred symbols of the cult of Israel and of many other peoples, fire and light have occupied an outstanding place: fire that burns the sacrifice* and that rises like a sweet scent to the height of God; light* that symbolizes the divine presence. Logically, the temple must be a sanctuary of light, as highlighted by the sign of the Menorah or candlestick with seven branches. That theme has been specially reworked by the Apocalypse.
(1) Menorah. The seven-branched candlestick: “You shall make a candlestick of hammered pure gold. The candlestick with its base, its stem, its calyxes, its cups and its flowers will be in one piece. Six arms will come out of its sides: three branches from the lampstand on one side, and three arms from the lampstand on the other side. There will be three calyxes in the form of almond blossoms in one arm, with a corolla and a flower; and three calyxes in the form of almond blossoms on the other arm, with a corolla and a flower; like this in the six branches that come out of the lampstand… In addition, you will make seven lamps for it, and you will put them on high, so that they shine forward” (Ex 25,31-40; cf. Ex 37,17-24 and Lv 24,2 -4). This lampstand has various symbolisms, (a) It is the tree of life of God. With careful, liturgical, precise and repetitive words, the text presents it as the tree with seven branches (one central, three on each side), each of which ends in a cup-flower, with the fruit of its calyx and corolla open towards the sky, which is like the light of God for men, (b) It is the tree of the light of God, who said at the beginning of creation his original word: “let there be light and light existed” (cf. Gn 1,3-4), as an important sign of God’s life for men. Therefore, the first news of God before the sacred door of his temple, has been the candlestick of perpetual light. (c) It is the tree of the original paradise (cf. Gn 2,9.24). On the one hand, the believers in Israel, children of Adam, know that they have been expelled from the garden because of their sin, so that they can no longer eat the fruits of life. But they also know that the truth and content of that tree of God is contained in the temple of Jerusalem, where the seven arms of the sacred tree burn endlessly. (d) It is the tree of Israel and thus symbolizes the life of the men and women who have built it and keep it lit before their God, in reverent worship, day and night. The lampstand is Israel, the lamp of the people that maintains its light, its fidelity, before the mystery of God, in an attitude of alliance, (e) It is the light of men. They have to light it and keep it burning, so that it burns “from night to morning, in the presence of Yahweh, as a perpetual law” (Lv 24,2-4). Its seven arms, with its seven lights, are a sign of totality: the stars of the sky, the days of the week. Significantly, when Titus conquered Jerusalem in AD 70 he took with him the lampstand of the temple, as can still be seen on the arch of his name in Rome. Since then, the people of God’s covenant have felt captive, without sacred light before God, without consistency as a people. For this reason, one of the first gestures of the new State of Israel has been to build a large Menorah or candelabrum in the center of the land of Israel. The old candlestick lit before the veil of the temple was a sign of the sacred vocation of the people. The new chandelier before the Knesset or Parliament of Israel wants to evoke the permanence of the Jewish identity throughout the centuries. But both Jews and Christians know that the true lampstand, the light of God, is themselves.
(2) Apocalypse. John has transformed the lampstand with the seven arms of the temple in Jerusalem into seven lampstands (lykhnia) that surround the Son of Man (Rev 1,12.13; 2,1), as a sign of the Seven churches. They are an expression of God’s light in the world (cf. Mt 5:15). It appears at the very beginning of the Apocalypse, in the vision of the Son* of Man: “Mc I returned to see the voice that spoke to me and as I did so I saw seven golden lampstands and in the midst of the seven lampstands as a Son of Man” ( Ap 1,12-13). The author of the Apocalypse places his vision in the surroundings of the temple of Jerusalem, in the place where the lights of the candelabrum or seven-branched lamp burned incessantly, before the Holy of Holies, as the light of God and the watchful presence (grateful) of the people (cf. Ex 25,31-40; 37,1724). This is a central element of the Israelite cult: the sacrificial ritual has lost importance; in its place the liturgy of light has grown, with the seven-branched candlestick that now appears as seven candlesticks that form a totality of joyful and threatened light, representing the Christian churches that constitute the authentic Israel (cf. Ap 1,20 ). And in the midst of the lampstands as a Son of Man… (Rev 1,13). The seven lights of Israel burned before Yahweh who lived in darkness, behind the veil, in such a way that no one could see him. Well…