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CANDLESTICK.—In Revised Version NT 1881, OT 1885 of the Gospels this word is without exception correctly changed into ‘stand,’ ËÕ÷ÍßÁ being the stand which held the little oil-fed lamp. It might mean anything from a luxurious candelabrum, generally of wood covered with metal, to a bit of stonework projecting from a cottage wall. It was to the lampstand in lowly domestic use (cf. 2Ki_4:10) that Christ referred in Mar_4:21 as being necessary to complete the value of the lamp for those in the house (Mat_5:16) and those who enter it (Luk_8:16; Luk_11:33). And the lesson is that if we have received a truth or a joy through Christ, who is the Light of the World, it is common sense and common justice not to hide it in fear or selfishness, but to use it as a means of illustrating our Father God and illumining those around us (Mat_5:16). Practical illustrations of this parable are found in Mar_5:19-20, Mat_10:27; Mat_10:32, Luk_10:21; Luk_17:18 (cf. Luk_15:6; Luk_15:9; Luk_15:32).
Literature.—Maclaren, God of the Amen, p. 292; Expositor, 2nd ser. i. [1881] pp. 180 ff., 252 ff., 372 ff., 6th ser. 271 ff.
A. Norman Rowland.