Objects that are often used in daily life are frequently mentioned in the Bible. Among these items is the lamp, which was a staple of biblical home goods and held a pivotal position in the domestic sphere. Furthermore, the Bible makes reference to lamps with symbolic value. The significance of these passages could be comprehended because lamps were utilized in every household.
This still holds true for us today, however the modern reader of the Bible will miss some details because the lamps used in historical times are not the same as ours. The Hebrew Bible uses the word ֠ϵר, pronounced “ner” or “nyr,” to refer to the lamp and light.
Oil lamp
The term “ner” (or “nyr”)/lamp mostly refers to a tiny oil lamp made of clay. They were plain lamps most of the time, but occasionally there were also lamps with beautiful, elegant shapes. The “ner” or lamp was lit with olive oil (Exodus 25:6; 27:20; see also Matthew 25:3–4). Many archaeological discoveries of ceramic oil lamps have allowed us to reconstruct their biblical appearance and track the evolution of their design from Abraham’s time onward.
The lamp was originally an open dish made of ceramic with a rim-mounted spout that held the wick that floats in the oil. Moving this was obviously incredibly unsafe and inconvenient. As a result, the shape of the lamp became progressively closed, with just an aperture on top for pouring oil in. This kind of oil lamp dates back to the time of Jesus.
It took constant attention to keep a lamp glowing. To keep it from burning and finally going out, the oil needed to be replaced and the wick needed to be cut frequently. In Isaiah’s day, the metaphor of the “faintly burning wick” (Isaiah 42:3) was significant, and it was believed that without God’s intervention, such a wick would extinguish.
Typically, a lamp had enough oil to last the entire night, but occasionally the wick needed to be shortened. This indicates that if the crafty, diligent woman (Proverbs 31:18) wanted to keep her lamp glowing, she could not sleep through the night because “… her “ner”/lamp does not go out at night.” That made it possible for her to light the fire in the morning!
“Ner”/lamp as an image of life and guidance
An image of a glowing “ner” or lamp represents joy, plenty, and [well-being bestowed by God]. In his suffering, Job failed to notice that (Job 29:3). According to 1 John 1:5, God is the only one who can give the human lamp of life its genuine, quickening light, saying, “Because it is You who light my “ner”/lamp.”(Psalm 18:28). “Because you are my “ner”/lamp, O Lord,” added David (2 Samuel 22:29).
Sing this with David, you who know and fear the Lord! We are able to turn to the Lord in gratitude in this way because He is our light in every circumstance we are in. He has not changed; he is still our heavenly, consoling source of light. “Your word is a “ner”/lamp to my feet and a light to my path” is another way that God uses the “ner”/lamp to represent the direction and instruction that He gives to believers through His Spirit and Word. (Psalm 119:105). This is a powerful statement of confidence about the Word that we must never lose!
The extinguished lamp
A burning “ner” or lamp is a symbol of bad luck and impending doom. God states, “I will expel from them… the light of the “ner”/lamp,” when the prophet Jeremiah warns the people of Judah and Jerusalem that their disloyalty will result in dreadful [judgment].”(Jeremiah 25:10). The Bible teaches us that life is hard and unfulfilling without God. Living without God is always in the dark, without hope or sight.
The godless person’s existence is characterized in Proverbs as a burden, unfulfilled, and languishing: “…the lamp of the wicked will be extinguished” (Proverbs 13:9; 24:20; compare 20:20). The lack of God’s life-giving light will lead the “ner” or lamp of the godless to go out. The happy “light of the righteous,” who seek and fear the Lord God, is such a contrast to this!
The lamp metaphor is mostly used in the New Testament to exhort believers to let God’s light shine rather than to cover it (Matthew 5:15; Mark 4:21; Luke 8:16). “God is light…”1 John 1:5-7. We may bear testimony to this as light bearers!
A “ner”/lamp in Jerusalem
In the Old Testament, children are also represented by the “ner” or lamp. Thus, according to 1 Kings 11:36, the Lord God assures David that he would always have a “ner” or lamp in Jerusalem. Even with all of David’s descendants’ disloyalty and apostasy, God would honor that pledge. Nevertheless, the Lord, God of Israel, gave David a “ner” or lamp in Jerusalem for his sake. As stated in 1 Kings 15:4. For the sake of David, His servant, the Lord was yet unwilling to destroy Judah since He had promised to give him and his sons a “ner” or lamp forever. Kings 8:19.
The men who serve David also refer to him as the “ner” or “lamp” of Israel (2 Samuel 21:17). After deciding on Jerusalem, also known as Zion, God declared, “There… I have prepared a “ner”/lamp for my anointed.” (Psalm 132:17).
God is dependable and [has fulfilled His promise] to David’s heirs. But when He sent His own Son, the Lord Jesus, to earth as the promised Messiah to illuminate humanity with His God-light, it was the richest and most sublime fulfillment of all. And we can look forward to the New Jerusalem, where everything will be illuminated by God’s splendor and where the lamp will be the Lamb who took away our sins (Isaiah 53: 7), Himself (Revelation 21:23).
“you are my lamp, O Lord…” (2 Samuel 22:29)
© Copyright dr. Annechiena Sneller-Vrolijk
