Lamp

(1.) That part of the candle-sticks of the tabernacle and the temple which bore the light (Ex. 25:37; 1 Kings 7:49; 2 Chr. 4:20; 13:11; Zech. 4:2). Their form is not described. Olive oil was generally burned in them (Ex. 27:20). (2.) A torch carried by the soliders of Gideon (Judg. 7:16, 20). (R.V., “torches.”) (3.) Domestic lamps (A.V., “candles”) were in common use among the Hebrews (Matt. 5:15; Mark 4:21, etc.). (4.) Lamps or torches were used in connection with marriage ceremonies (Matt. 25:1). This word is also frequently metaphorically used to denote life, welfare, guidance, etc. (2 Sam. 21:17; Ps. 119:105; Prov. 6:23; 13:9).

LAMP. The lights of the East are of various kinds; not only oil, but pitch, naphtha, and wax are used to maintain the flame. The wicks were generally made of cotton or of flax. According to rabbinical tradition, the wicks of the sacred lamps were made of the old linen garments of the priests. The form of Oriental lamps was fanciful, and often elegant. We have no descriptions of the forms specially used by the Hebrews, but they were probably not different from those used in Egypt and Western Asia. The materials of which lamps were made were baked clay, terra cotta, bronze, etc. The lamps of the Hebrews, it is probable, were suffered to burn all night, and this occasioned no great expense in a country so rich in oil. We are told that this was considered indispensable to the comfort of a family, and that the poorest people would rather deny themselves food than neglect it. The putting out of the light denoted the ruin and extinction of the family and the desertion of the house. This gives force to the words in Job 18:5-6; John 21:17; Job 29:3:" The light of the wicked shall be put out; * * * light shall be dark in his tabernacle, and his candle shall be put out with him." "How oft is Assyrian Terra-Cotta and Glass Lamps. (From British Museum.) Chaldaean Lamps Lamp with Christian Inscription. the candle of the wicked put out." Jer 25:10-11: Prov 20:20. Also in Prov 13:9: "The light of the righteous rejoiceth, but the lamp of the wicked shall be put out;" and of the prudent wife, "Her candle goeth not out by night." Prov 31:18.

LAMP. The lights of the East are of various kinds; not only oil, but pitch, naphtha, and wax are used to maintain the flame. The wicks were generally made of cotton or of flax. According to rabbinical tradition, the wicks of the sacred lamps were made of the old linen garments of the priests. The form of Oriental lamps was fanciful, and often elegant. We have no descriptions of the forms specially used by the Hebrews, but they were probably not different from those used in Egypt and Western Asia. The materials of which lamps were made were baked clay, terra cotta, bronze, etc.
The lamps of the Hebrews, it is probable, were suffered to burn all night, and this occasioned no great expense in a country so rich in oil. We are told that this was considered indispensable to the comfort of a family, and that the poorest people would rather deny themselves food than neglect it. The putting out of the light denoted the ruin and extinction of

the family and the desertion of the house. This gives force to the words in Job 18:5-6; John 21:17; Job 29:3:" The light of the wicked shall be put out; * * * light shall be dark in his tabernacle, and his candle shall be put out with him." "How oft is Assyrian Terra-Cotta and Glass Lamps. (From British Museum.) Chaldaean Lamps Lamp with Christian Inscription. the candle of the wicked put out." Jer 25:10-11: Prov 20:20. Also in Prov 13:9: "The light of the righteous rejoiceth, but the lamp of the wicked shall be put out;" and of the prudent wife, "Her candle goeth not out by night." Prov 31:18.

Part of speech: noun (n.)

A thin plate or lamina. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Part of speech: noun (n.)

1. A light-producing vessel, instrument or apparatus; especially, a vessel with a wick used for the combustion of oil or other inflammable liquid, for the purpose of producing artificial light.

2. Figuratively, anything which enlightens intellectually or morally; anything regarded metaphorically a performing the uses of a lamp. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. Ps. cxix. 105. Ages elapsed ere Homer's lamp appeared. Cowper.

3. A device or mechanism for producing light by electricity. See Incandescent lamp, under Incandescent. Æolipile lamp, a hollow ball of copper containing alcohol which is converted into vapor by a lamp beneath, so as to make a powerful blowpipe flame when the vapor is ignited. Weale. -- Arc lamp (Elec.), a form of lamp in which the voltaic arc is used as the source of light. -- Dëbereiner's lamp, an apparatus for the instantaneous production of a flame by the spontaneous ignition of a jet of hydrogen on being led over platinum sponge; -- named after the German chemist Döbereiner, who invented it. Called also philosopher's lamp. -- Flameless lamp, an aphlogistic lamp. -- Lamp burner, the part of a lamp where the wick is exposed and ignited. Knight. -- Lamp fount, a reservoir for oil, in a lamp. -- Lamp jack. See 2d Jack, n., 4 (l) & (n). -- Lamp shade, a screen, as of paper, glass, or tin, for softening or obstructing the light of a lamp. -- Lamp shell (Zoöl.), any brachiopod shell of the genus Terebratula and allied genera. The name refers to the shape, which is like that of an antique lamp. See Terebratula. -- Safety lamp, a miner's lamp in which the flame is surrounded by fine wire gauze, preventing the kindling of dangerous explosive gases; -- called also, from Sir Humphry Davy the inventor, Davy lamp. -- To smell of the lamp, to bear marks of great study and labor, as a literary composition.