Denotes a vertical structural support — a pillar or column — that bears the weight of a building. In the NT, the literal architectural sense recedes behind powerful metaphorical uses. Paul calls James, Cephas, and John 'pillars' of the Jerusalem church (Gal 2:9), the church itself is the 'pillar and buttress of the truth' (1 Tim 3:15), and the glorified believer becomes a permanent pillar in God's temple (Rev 3:12). The single literal-metaphorical boundary case is Rev 10:1, where an angel's legs are compared to pillars of fire, echoing the Exodus pillar of cloud and fire.