λύχνος G3088
lamp — a portable oil lamp used for domestic light, often a metaphor for spiritual illumination or witness
Lychnos is the ordinary clay oil lamp of the ancient Mediterranean household — small, portable, and placed on a stand to light the room. Jesus draws on this utterly familiar object to make some of his most memorable points: no one lights a lamp and hides it under a basket (Matt 5:15; Mark 4:21; Luke 8:16; 11:33). The lamp of the body is the eye (Matt 6:22; Luke 11:34). John the Baptist was a burning and shining lychnos (John 5:35). In Revelation, the lamp disappears from Babylon as a sign of total desolation (Rev 18:23). Spanish 'lampara,' French 'lampe,' and German 'Lampe' all translate the concrete artifact; the metaphorical weight comes from context.
Senses
1. lamp / light — A portable oil lamp, the standard household light source of the ancient world, placed on a lampstand to illuminate a room. Used literally for the physical object (Matt 5:15; Mark 4:21; Luke 8:16; 11:33; 15:8; Rev 18:23) and figuratively for sources of spiritual light: the eye as the lamp of the body (Matt 6:22; Luke 11:34, 36), John the Baptist as a burning lamp (John 5:35), and the Lamb as the eschatological lamp of the New Jerusalem (Rev 21:23). The multilingual glosses — Spanish 'lampara,' French 'lampe,' German 'Lampe' — uniformly point to the concrete artifact, while the metaphorical extension is carried entirely by discourse context. 14×
AR["-السِّراجِ", "سُرُجُكُمْ", "سِراجاً", "سِراجًا", "سِراجٍ", "سِراجُ", "سِراجُها", "سِرَاجًا", "سِرَاجُ", "لِسِراجٍ"]·ben["প্রদীপ", "প্রদীপকে", "প্রদীপের", "বাতি", "বাতির"]·DE["Lampe"]·EN["a-lamp", "lamp", "lamps", "of-a-lamp", "to-lamp"]·FR["lampe"]·heb["נֵר", "נֵרָהּ", "נֵרוֹת"]·HI["के", "के-प्रकाश", "दीप-की", "दीपक", "दीपक-को", "दीपक-पर"]·ID["Pelita", "pelita"]·IT["lampada", "luchnos", "luchnou", "luchnō"]·jav["damar", "damar,", "dilah", "diyan"]·KO["등불", "등불-을", "등불은", "등불을", "등불의", "등불이", "등잔불을"]·PT["a-uma-lâmpada", "candeia", "de-candeia", "de-lâmpada", "lâmpada"]·RU["Светильник", "светильник", "светильника", "светильники", "светильнику"]·ES["a-lámpara", "de-lámpara", "de-lámpara,", "lámpara", "lámparas", "una-lámpara"]·SW["Taa", "taa", "ya-taa", "ya-taa,"]·TR["Lambası", "kandil", "kandili", "kandilleriniz", "lamba", "lamba'nın", "lambadan", "lambası", "ışığa", "ışığı"]·urd["چراغ", "چراغ-کو", "چراغ-کی"]
Matt 5:15, Matt 6:22, Mark 4:21, Luke 8:16, Luke 11:33, Luke 11:34, Luke 11:36, Luke 12:35, Luke 15:8, John 5:35, 2 Pet 1:19, Rev 18:23 (+2 more)
Related Senses
H2719 1. sword, weapon of war (410×)H4196 1. altar (place of sacrifice) (403×)H7393 1. chariot, chariotry (117×)H7198 1. bow (weapon) (72×)H7979 1. table (71×)H7782 1. ram's horn trumpet (69×)H4294 2. staff, rod, scepter (63×)H4043 1. shield, defensive weapon (60×)H0646 1. ephod (priestly garment) (49×)H8504 1. blue (violet-blue yarn/fabric) (49×)H2595 1. spear, lance (48×)H2671 1. arrow, projectile weapon (46×)H4818 1. chariot, war-chariot (44×)H3658 1. lyre, harp (stringed instrument) (42×)H1537 1. Gilgal (place name) (41×)H0713 1. purple (fabric/dye) (38×)H0905 3. poles, staves (37×)H7392 1. Qal participle: rider, charioteer (37×)H4501 1. cultic lampstand (menorah) (36×)H0212 1. wheel (35×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
λύχνος, ὁ, plural λύχνοι Refs 7th c.BC+. (fragment λυκ-sno-, compare Λύκη):—portable light, lamp, χρύσεος λ. Refs 8th c.BC+; λύχνα καίειν, ἀνάπτειν, light lamps, Refs 5th c.BC+; λύχνους ἅπτειν to have an illumination, Refs 5th c.BC+; λ. ἀπεσβήκει had been put out, Refs 5th c.BC+; περὶ λύχνων ἁφάς about lamp-lighting time, i. e. towards nightfall, Refs 5th c.BC+; πάννυχος λ. παρακαίεται lamps are…