Leviticus 24:4
in Leviticus 24He shall tend the lamps on the pure gold lampstand before the LORD continually.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He shall keep in order the lamps upon the pure candlestick before Jehovah continually.
KJV
He shall order the lamps upon the pure candlestick before the Lord continually.
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This verse in Leviticus 24
Commentary
5 notes on this verseHe shall order the lamps on the pure candlestick,.... So called, as Jarchi suggests, for these two reasons, partly because it was made of pure gold, and partly because it was to be kept pure and clean, and free from ashes, by the priest; see Exo 25:31, before the Lord continually; which both respects the situation of the candlestick, and the work about it, which Aaron was to do continually before and in the presence of the Lord.
This site's exposition
the LORD said to Moses
on Leviticus 24:1-4
Exodus 27:20-21 gave this command first, and Leviticus repeats it as a standing charge on the whole nation. The people bring pure oil of pressed olives, so the light burns on what the congregation supplies.
This site's exposition
the pure gold lampstand
John Gill reports two reasons given by Jarchi, a medieval Jewish commentator, for calling the lampstand pure. It was pure gold, and it was kept free of ashes. Continually before the LORD, Gill adds, describes both where it stood and the work Aaron did on it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The seven lamps made all one lamp, in allusion to which the blessed Spirit of grace is represented by seven lamps of fire before the throne ( Rev. iv. 5 ), for there are diversities of gifts, but one Spirit, 1 Cor. xii. Ministers are as burning and shining lights in Christ's church, but it is the duty of people to provide comfortably for them, as Israel for the lamps.
Thus it is the work of the ministers of the gospel to hold forth that word of life, not to set up new lights, but, by expounding and preaching the word, to make the light of it more clear and extensive.
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עַ֚ל | ʾal | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַמְּנֹרָ֣ה | hamenorah | the lampstand | H4501 → | |
| הַטְּהֹרָ֔ה | hatehorah | <the> pure | H2889 → | 94 times |
| יַעֲרֹ֖ךְ | yaarokh | he will arrange | H6186 → | 74 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַנֵּר֑וֹת | hanerot | the lamps | H5216 → | |
| לִפְנֵ֥י | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| תָּמִֽיד׃ פ | tamid | continually | H8548 → | 104 times |
עַ֚לon
ʾalH5921 →5755 times
הַמְּנֹרָ֣הthe lampstand
hamenorahH4501 →
הַטְּהֹרָ֔ה<the> pure
hatehorahH2889 →94 times
יַעֲרֹ֖ךְhe will arrange
yaarokhH6186 →74 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַנֵּר֑וֹתthe lamps
hanerotH5216 →
לִפְנֵ֥י<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
תָּמִֽיד׃ פcontinually
tamidH8548 →104 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Revelation 11:4These witnesses are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.
it leads to
- Zechariah 4:2–3
“What do you see?” he asked. “I see a solid gold lampstand,” I replied, “with a bowl at the top and seven lamps on it, with seven spouts to the lamps.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Zechariah 4:11–14
Then I asked the angel, “What are the two olive trees on the right and left of the lampstand?”
- Jeremiah 11:16
The LORD once called you a flourishing olive tree, beautiful with well-formed fruit. But with a mighty roar He will set it on fire, and its branches will be consumed.
- Psalms 52:8
But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in the loving devotion of God forever and ever.
- Isaiah 54:5
For your husband is your Maker—the LORD of Hosts is His name—the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; He is called the God of all the earth.
- Zechariah 4:2–3
Through
Exodus 31:8the table with its utensils, the pure gold lampstand with all its utensils, the altar of incense,
it leads to
- Exodus 37:10–28
He also made the table of acacia wood two cubits long, a cubit wide, and a cubit and a half high.
- Exodus 37:10–28
Through
Exodus 39:37the pure gold lampstand with its row of lamps and all its utensils, as well as the oil for the light;
it leads to
- Philippians 2:15
so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine as lights in the world
- Philippians 2:15
Through
1 Chronicles 28:15the weight of the gold lampstands and their lamps, including the weight of each lampstand and its lamps; the weight of each silver lampstand and its lamps, according to the use of each lampstand;
it leads to
- Exodus 25:31–39
Then you are to make a lampstand of pure, hammered gold. It shall be made of one piece, including its base and shaft, its cups, and its buds and petals.
- Exodus 25:31–39
Where this verse is studied
About Leviticus
This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.